Box body with a tail lift
Luton van leasing
A Luton is the highest-volume body available inside the 3.5-tonne limit, and limited companies and LLPs lease one from FleetMe on business contract hire. The catch is weight, not space: the box and tail lift come out of payload before you load anything. Sole traders hire over terms up to 12 months instead.
Get my Luton quote →Updated 14 October 2026 · your agreement is with FleetMe
A Luton is bought for cubic metres and regretted for kilograms. The body over the cab gives you far more space than any panel van of the same weight class, which is exactly why removals firms and event caterers choose one. What surprises people is that the space arrives at the cost of the weight allowance, and a tail lift takes another slice on top.
Why volume and payload pull in opposite directions
Payload is gross vehicle weight minus what the vehicle already weighs. A Luton starts from a chassis cab and then has a large box body built onto it, and that body is heavy before a single item goes inside. So the same 3,500kg ceiling that gives a panel van a useful payload gives a Luton considerably less, while offering two or three times the space. For furniture, packaging and empty catering equipment that is a good trade, because those loads run out of room long before they run out of weight. For anything dense it is the wrong vehicle, and a large panel van will carry more. The honest test is whether your typical load is bulky or heavy, and it is worth answering that before the body rather than after.
Is a tail lift worth what it costs you?
A tail lift turns a two-person lift into a one-person job and makes a Luton usable by a driver working alone, which for a removals or delivery operation can be the difference between one wage and two. It is also a substantial piece of steel and hydraulics bolted to the back of the vehicle, and every kilogram of it comes out of the payload you had left. It adds to the monthly rental, it needs regular thorough examination as lifting equipment, and it is one more thing that can put the vehicle off the road. Worth it if you load and unload heavy items without a forklift or a loading bay; hard to justify if you are carrying light bulky goods into premises that have both.
What it is like to run one
A Luton is tall, long and square, and the box over the cab means an overhang you have to think about at barriers and on tight turns. Height is the one that catches new drivers out: know the vehicle's travelling height, keep it in the cab where the driver can see it, and plan around low bridges and height-restricted car parks rather than discovering them. On licences, a standard car licence obtained from 1 January 1997 covers vehicles up to 3,500kg maximum authorised mass (GOV.UK, driving licence categories, 2026), which is what a 3.5-tonne Luton is built to. Anything heavier needs a further category the driver will not hold automatically, so the vehicle choice and the driver's licence are one decision, not two.
Sourced to order, priced on application
A luton van is not one of the vehicles we hold a standing rate for, so there is no guide price on this page and we will not invent one. We source it against your specification (body, length, tail lift, payload) and quote it individually. Tell us what the work needs and we will come back with a written figure.
The vehicles we do price as standard, with their monthly rentals, are on the stock list.
Not a limited company?
Business contract hire is for limited companies and LLPs. If you trade as a sole trader, or you want the vehicle in your own name, what we can supply is vehicle hire of up to 12 months instead. Incorporating is the step that opens up business contract hire over terms up to 12 months.
Get a written quote
Tell us the vehicle, the mileage and how long you need it for. We come back with a written quote, and we aim to do that the same working day. We confirm which agreement applies before anything is signed.
- ✓ Your agreement is with FleetMe
- ✓ We confirm your quote in writing
- ✓ Business rentals quoted ex VAT, with VAT shown
Enquiry received, one step to go.
We can put a guide figure together from what you’ve told us. To confirm the vehicle, the monthly rental and a delivery date in writing, we need your business details and the underwriting information.
Next step · about 5 minutes
Complete your business application
It’s pre-filled from your answers. Nothing is committed until we confirm your quote and you sign.
Continue to my application →No obligation · About 5 minutes
Prefer to leave it there? We’ll still be in touch about your enquiry.
Common questions
How much can a 3.5-tonne Luton actually carry?
Less than its size suggests, and less again with a tail lift fitted. The guide figures for the Luton we supply are on its vehicle page, and they are for the vehicle as built, the driver, any passenger, fuel and equipment all come out of the same allowance. If you regularly carry dense loads, weigh the loaded vehicle at a public weighbridge so you are working from a real number.
Do I need a special licence for a Luton?
Not for a 3.5-tonne one. A car licence obtained from 1 January 1997 covers up to 3,500kg maximum authorised mass (GOV.UK, driving licence categories, 2026). Above that a further licence category is needed, which a driver who passed a car test from that date does not hold automatically.
Luton or a large panel van?
Bulky and light goes in the Luton, dense and heavy goes in the large panel van. A Luton wins decisively on volume and loses on payload, so the answer comes from what you actually carry rather than which looks bigger.
Can a tail lift be added to a leased Luton?
Specify it at quote stage and it forms part of the vehicle we supply. Fitting equipment to a vehicle after delivery has to be agreed with us in writing first, because the vehicle is our asset and what happens to the fitting at hand-back forms part of the contract.
I am a sole trader removals operator, can I lease one?
As a sole trader you are an individual, so the product for you is vehicle hire of up to 12 months rather than a lease. Business contract hire over terms up to 12 months is for limited companies and LLPs, so incorporating is the step that opens it up.
Business van leasing →
How the monthly rental is built, what is included and what is not, and who it is for.
Van size and payload guide →
How to work out what you can legally carry before you choose a body.