My van by Vanessa

Hi, I’m Vanessa. I drive a van too and every now and again, when Ivan gets off the computer, I’m going to post my viewpoint about vans and van driving.

I love my van, I use it for my work, to take feed to my horse and my friends are always asking me to help them out by using it to move furniture, garden ornaments and all manner of things. I even transported a whole van load of helium balloons for a friend’s 30th birthday party once when the venue flooded at the last moment.

Yes, the pressure washer was a great idea for the outside, but I think it’s important to keep the inside clean as well and this can be a bit tricky at times, especially when a certain husband uses my van to transport bags of cement home from the builder’s yard.

I mainly deliver flower arrangements, from the tiniest button-hole to some really fancy creations – I don’t do the arrangements, but I deliver a lot for a local florist and some of them are beautiful but really tricky to transport.

So, having the proper equipment in your van is essential, that’s load securing straps, stacking boxes and containers to stop the arrangements moving around in the back, and some good old fashioned tarps to protect the floor from water spills.

I also go to the flower markets sometimes to pick up the bargains for the florist.  You can get all sorts of things if you get up early enough – but sometimes it can be really chilly. Good job my van always starts. 

And I always go prepared – I’ve got Ivan’s jump leads in the cab of my van.


Image of "Lion on Pallet" © D H Wright and "Jump Leads" © charles Williams, both via Flickr under Creative Commons Licence

Let the washer take the pressure off to keep your van clean

I know it’s tough at the moment, what with the road grit and spray, but when you turn up to a job, the first thing a customer sees is your van and if it’s covered in grime, with “clean me” graffiti on the back – I did this  in photoshop…honest – well, it doesn’t say a lot about your general standards, does it.

So me and the missus, Vanessa, we bought a pressure washer to keep our vans in sparkling-clean condition and I have to say it was a great buy.

I did my homework, as always, to find out exactly what I needed and just like finding the cheapest van insurance I used the internet to hunt down the best deal.

So, here’s my guide to getting the best pressure washer for the job.

Ivan’s top tips for pressure washer buying

• First of all you must consider where you’re going to use the washer: If you work in remote spots without a power supply you’ll need a petrol pressure washer, but if you’re only ever going to use it close to home or your business premises, then an electric washer might be the safer option – no cans of fuel in the back of your van! 

• Secondly, what are you going to use it for? Cheaper models are likely to work at a fairly low pressure of around 100 bar and whilst these are great for cleaning patio furniture and bins, they won’t strip gunge off decking or remove two inches of dried-on mud from a tractor. For those sorts of jobs you’ll need 110 to 130 bar. 

• If you need flexible cleaning, look out for models which allow you to vary the pressure. And if you want complete flexibility you’ll need to check out how portable it is. So weight is a factor and it might even be best to get one on wheels for ease of manoeuvrability round your van as you clean it. 

•  And finally, always check out the accessories the machine comes with, because some of them, like wheel rim brushes or rotary heads, can be expensive to buy as extras.

So, now you’re set with the best tool for job, you can make sure no one ever scrawls “Don’t wash – plough” on the back of your van ever again!

image © tallkev, via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence

Ivan’s iVan van insurance blog

Welcome to the iVan cheap van insurance blog. My name is Ivan (handy eh?) and I drive a van for my living.

My van is what keeps my business going and without it I can’t work, so, getting the right information about all types of vans, van maintenance and van insurance is really important.

Choosing the right commercial vehicle for a business is crucial – I mean it’s no good buying a Ford Transit Connect or a Vauxhall Combo when you need to move pianos or long lengths of copper pipe. And turning up to a job with the wrong tools is always a bad idea so why would you get your van insurance from someone who usually covers cats and dogs.

No, when you need a special job done, you turn to a specialist and if you need to know anything about van insurance, van driving or where to find the best bacon Butty in Hampshire, just ask Ivan and I’ll do my best to keep you up-to-date with all the goings-on in the commercial vehicle world.

And if I don’t know I can always ask the missus – Vanessa. She drives a van too and if there’s anything I can’t answer about driving a van for a living, she’ll be able to answer it for me! Know what I mean?

Welcome to iVan Insurance