Contrary to what you might be thinking, a Luton van is not one that is built in Luton. But this guide to Luton vans will tell you all you need to know about these large and versatile vans include Luton van dimensions, Luton van weights and types of Luton van.
You’ll most likely come across a Luton van when moving house but a Luton is actually designed for any sort of dry freight. A Luton van is also known as a Luton box van and tend to have a massive load volume.
Usually based on a 3.5-tonne large van, they are about a big as a van gets and are characterised by they peaked front. That’s why they can also be called a Luton Peak van.
The peak front is an additional area that can be used for increasing storage. Or, it has been known for really long distance travel for Luton box vans to have the front section converted to a sleeping area – but you’re more likely to find that in a truck with a Luton body.
It’s not uncommon to find that most Luton vans have a tail lift fitted. Usually the sort of items being loaded into a Luton are large, unwieldy and heavy. Imagine trying to get a sideboard into a van – you’ve got a pretty high step to get it up to. A tail lift helps with loading and most rental Luton vans will have them fitted as standard.
A tail lift can come in all manner of weight lifting capacities. Be sure to read what yours is capable of, but generally they are more than capable of lifting most household items. Just be careful. Working at height is dangerous. Falling off a tail lift is no joke.
Luton vans come in a wide range of dimensions. But the dimensions of a Luton van will depend on the donor vehicle. Amongst the most popular Luton vans are Ford Transit Luton, Iveco Daily Luton and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Luton vans.
To see the size of a particular van you can look at the van dimensions page for panel vans. Or for the most popular vans there are dedicated pages so that you can find out the Ford Transit dimensions or the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter dimensions.
Although Luton vans come in all shapes and sizes making it very hard to say how big is a Luton van, they do fall between a common range.
Most large 3.5-tonne Luton vans will have a height somewhere between 2.3m and 2.9m.
How high a Luton van is depends on two factors, the overall chassis height of the base van - thats the difference from the ground to the body, and the overall height of the body. Many Luton vans will have an internal capacity of more than 2.2m - that's because your average ceiling height in the UK is around 2.4m, so wardrobes and sideboards tend to be no more than 2.3m.
Finding out how tall is a Luton van is widely variable depending on the model, but there's a secret little hack that will at least if you a clue as to how tall your Luton van isn't. That's because all vehicles over 3m need to have a height indicator sign in the cab.
If the van you're in doesn't have a height indicator in the cabin, then it's probably under 3m - or it's illegal. Of course even if it has a height indicator you shouldn't take it as the gospel truth about how tall the Luton van is.
This is a bit like asking how long is a piece of string. The problem is that when it comes to large Luton vans - those that are either built on oversized van chassis, or more commonly on truck chassis - there really are no limits. In fact, these are usually Luton trucks or Luton lorries, as they are built on HGV chassis.
Of course, there are limits, nothing is ever limitless in life. Here you are likely limited by the weight. But the body size of these sorts of vans can come in a variety of sizes. Generally speaking, though, a 7.5-tonne Luton will have an interior size of least 6m in length. The height can be well over 2.5m, and overall you can expect a load volume of around 32m3. That's around twice the volume of the largest panel van.
Common platforms for large Luton vans include the DAF LF and Iveco Eurocargo - both of which are trucks. The most common large Luton van won't be 7.5-tonnes, but the Iveco Daily is often used and comes close at 7.2-tonnes.
The main benefit of a large 7.5-tonne Luton van is that there is greater payload. The bodies tend to be made of lightweight plastics and when compared to a 3.5-tonne chassis you are getting around double the payload.
A typical Luton van with a 7.5-tonne GVW can carry around 3200kg, however, many have tail lifts which will reduce the payload to under 3-tonnes.
A Luton truck or van that is a 7.5 tonner will take enough for a two bedroom house. That means it's around 40 to 50 moving boxes, two or three sofas, a couple of beds, dinning room table and chairs and a few other bits.
The size of a 3.5 tonne Luton van is similar to that of a 7.5-tonne van. The key difference is that it can carry less weight.
The body size of a large Luton is surprisingly big. Typically the largest panel vans are 17m3 to as much as 20m3. But as a Luton van, which is built on a chassis cab, with a box body made from lightweight panels, you'll get 25-28m3. That's a big amount of space, and similar to a Luton truck, but the difference is weight. The payload allowance for a 3.5-tonne Luton is considerably lower - probably around 1200kg.
That makes Luton vans as 3.5 tonners more suited to moving the bulky but light items. Think of them as wardrobe movers.
A 3.5-tonne Luton van's dimensions allow it to move all manner of items, but you're probably talking about getting much of the content from a flat in there, rather than a house.
There may or may not be a tail lift. Luton vans with tail lifts are more practical, but they will be able to carry even less weight.
As you'll have figured out by now there is now standard size of Luton van. The length of a Luton van is entirely determined by how long the chassis is of the donor vehicle. Most are built on the largest sizes available, so you can expect the Luton van length to be at least 7m overall with a load area about 5m long.
The height of a Luton van is a little easier to estimate as most only add a small amount to the top of the cabin and tend to be around the same height as an extra-high roof panel van. That means that for a regular Luton van the height will be around 2.2m to 2.4m high.
There are of course larger versions but they start to look particularly ungainly and become even less fuel efficient. Most bodybuilders stay away from making these oversized converted Luton vans.
As you'll have gathered, a Luton van's size can vary massively. On the whole they are pretty large. You'll find that most Luton vans are 20 cubic metres or more in size. They have a reasonable payload and they will be tall and wide to fit in the most awkward sizes of items.
The size of a Luton van will also depend on the chassis it is built on. Most will be built on the largest chassis available - usually an L4 - but there are manufacturers like Iveco and Ford that make even longer versions.
The dimensions of a Luton van will also be determined by the payload needed from it. The bigger and heavier the body, the smaller the payload will be.
Absolutely. There's nothing that says you can't drive a Luton van with a tail lift. A tail lift on a Luton van is just a way of safely helping you gain access to the load area.
The weight of a tail lift will mean that the payload of the van is reduced slightly, but there's nothing to stop you from driving one.
Operating the tail lift isn't difficult either. To operate a tail lift on a Luton van also isn't difficult. Most are operated using a remote on a wander lead. This is a corded remote attached to the inside of the van.
Simply unbolt the tail lift - allow it to drop down. Pull up the shutter on the Luton van's loadspace and then take the remote and at a safe distance, lower the tail lift. It's that easy.
The different tail lifts you can get on a Luton van are as numerous as the chassis and bodies they are available in.
Typical Luton vans with tail lift can raise a weight of between 300kg and 750kg. Most tail lifts will have a weight warning of its capacity. Do not exceed the Luton van tail lift weight, doing so could risk damage to the tail lift, the Luton van or more importantly yourself.
This sounds like it could be an urban legend, but when things become popular they often pass into common usage, so we'll chalk this one up as fact.
The name obviously comes from the town of Luton, but has become synonymous with this style of vehicle because of the Bedford vans being produced there. Bedford vans with Luton bodies stuck, and the name Luton van was coined.
Anyone with a full driving licence can drive a Luton van that is 3.5-tonnes and under. These are vans that can be driven on a car licence. There's a comprehensive guide about who can you drive a van with a normal car licence which will explain it all.
If the Luton van is heavier, you'll need to have a C1 licence - this allows you to drive a rigid vehicle up to 7.5 tonnes. Some people will have this ability under something called Grandfather Rights. More about this is explained in the article on driving licences.
Driving a Luton van is no different to driving any other large van but there are a few things you need to be mindful of.
The height of a Luton van is very different to other large vans, so be sure that you know exactly how high the van is before you set off. Tackling low bridges could be an issue, so proceed with caution.
There's also the matter of weight distribution. While you're unlikely to load anything heavy into the Luton peak element of the van - we certainly wouldn't recommend it - the fact that the van is taller and the box extends above the front of the cabin means the weight distribution is different and the centre of gravity is higher.
Overall, there's nothing to be concerned about when driving a Luton van, it's just a large and practical van.
Because of their size, Luton vans are used for a wide range of jobs. It's really common for people to convert a Luton van to a motorhome or to make a Luton van converted to a camper.
You'll also see many as Luton curtainside vans. There are like regular curtainsider trucks, using heavy-duty curtains on rails along the side of the van - to allow forklift trucks to side load a Luton curtainside.
You may even find the odd one as a Luton low loader van or even as a Luton car transporter - these are often used for the transportation of premium cars like classic cars or supercars, and the Luton part of the van is a sleeping area for the driver. Long distance car transportation is big business so a bespoke van like a Luton is the perfect solution for safe and secure transport.
