Breakdown Problem
Van Broken Down With a Load On Board
When a work van stops, two things are on the line: the vehicle and the day's work. Most operators quote you for the van and leave you to worry about the two thousand pounds of tools in the back. We'd rather sort both out in one visit, because leaving a loaded van on a street overnight is how tools disappear.
What you're likely seeing
- Van stopped fully loaded with stock, tools or materials
- Weight over the plated limit once loaded — needs the right unit
- Broken down on a delivery round with time-critical goods aboard
- Refrigerated load that can't sit for hours
- Van blocking a customer site, yard or loading bay
Do this before anything else
- 1Lock the load compartment before leaving the vehicle, and photograph what's inside.
- 2If you're on a customer site, tell the site manager — many have their own rules about recovery vehicle access and banksmen.
- 3Don't unload heavy items onto a pavement or verge without somewhere secure to put them.
On a motorway or dual carriageway, ring 999 and ask for National Highways before you call any recovery company. Motorway breakdown advice →
How we move the vehicle
We recover vans up to 3.5t gross on flatbeds, and arrange a heavy unit for anything above that. Tell us the plated weight and what's on board when you call — a loaded Sprinter is a very different job from an empty one, and turning up with the wrong unit wastes your morning. Where the load has to be transferred, we'll say so up front rather than at the roadside.
What it costs
Priced on the vehicle weight and the distance, quoted before dispatch. If the load needs a second vehicle or a transfer, that's quoted separately and agreed with you first — never added afterwards.
Full recovery cost guideQuestions we get asked
The service you probably need
Other problems we're called to
Tell us what the car is doing
Describe the fault on the phone and we'll tell you honestly whether this is a roadside fix or a recovery — and what it will cost — before a driver leaves.