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A production line waiting for components, a building site short of materials, a store refit with a fixed opening date – most goods moved within the UK spend at least part of their journey on a lorry. zipmend organises lorry transport in the UK for exactly these situations: you book online, see a fixed price straight away and have the freight collected from your premises.
Between plants and suppliers, typical loads in manufacturing and engineering are machine components, tooling, steel profiles and packaging material. Construction sends palletised building materials, insulation, sanitary fittings and site equipment. Retail and events move shop fittings, display stands, trade fair equipment and seasonal stock to stores and venues. Palletised goods usually travel on 1,200 x 1,000 mm UK pallets or 1,200 x 800 mm Euro pallets, which keeps loading predictable at both ends.
Whether the freight fills a few pallet spaces or the entire loading area, you book it as a partial load or a full truck load. Pallets, crates, cable drums or long items that can be handled by forklift are all standard. zipmend concentrates on business freight – household removals and temperature-controlled goods are not part of the service.
You choose the lorry yourself when booking. If it turns out not to suit the freight, zipmend adjusts the vehicle before collection, so the lorry that arrives is the one the job needs. Pallets travel one way, as there is no pallet exchange – plan your packaging accordingly.
The 3t partial load is suitable for up to 14 pallets. The tarpaulin truck can be loaded from the rear and the side but is not at dock height. A tail lift is available as an additional service.
The 3t partial load is suitable for up to 14 Europallets. The tarpaulin truck can be loaded from the rear and the side but is not at dock height. A tail lift is available as an additional service.
Fits inside
Max. shipment weight
up to 3,000 kg
The 5t partial load is suitable for up to 14 pallets. The tarpaulin truck can be loaded from the rear and the side and is at dock height. A tail lift is available as an additional service.
The 5t partial load is suitable for up to 14 Europallets. The tarpaulin truck can be loaded from the rear and the side and is at dock height. A tail lift is available as an additional service.
Fits inside
Max. shipment weight
up to 5,000 kg
The 12t partial load is suitable for up to 18 pallets. The tarpaulin truck can be loaded from the rear and the side and is at dock height. The vehicle does not have a tail lift.
The 12t partial load is suitable for up to 18 Europallets. The tarpaulin truck can be loaded from the rear and the side and is at dock height. The vehicle does not have a tail lift.
Fits inside
Max. shipment weight
up to 12,000 kg
Our standard truck can carry up to 33 pallets. The tarpaulin truck can be loaded from the rear and the side and is at dock height. The vehicle does not have a tail lift.
Our standard truck can carry up to 33 Europallets. The tarpaulin truck can be loaded from the rear and the side and is at dock height. The vehicle does not have a tail lift.
Max. shipment weight
up to 24,000 kg
| Vehicle | Price | Dimensions | Payload |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3t Partial load | from 159 € | 14 Europallets 600 x 240 x 230 cm |
Max. 3,000 kg |
| 5t Partial load | from 189 € |
14 Europallets 600 x 240 x 230 cm |
Max. 5,000kg |
| 12t Partial load | from 249 € |
18 Europallets 720 x 240 x 270 cm |
Max. 12,000 kg |
| Standard-Truck | from 279 € | 33 Europallets 1,360 x 245 x 270 cm |
Max. 24,000kg |
GB-registered lorries lifted 1.56 billion tonnes of goods in the 12 months to March 2026, according to Department for Transport figures. Industrial estates, ports along the east coast, distribution parks beside the motorways, quarries and farms far from any city – freight in the UK starts in very different places. zipmend's transport network of partners reaches all of these locations, so a lorry is usually available close to your collection address.
Short empty runs keep lead times down, even outside the major cities. That density also pays off at short notice: when a load becomes urgent, vehicles can be sourced nearby instead of being routed in from a depot. zipmend also arranges freight forwarding across the United Kingdom.
Road haulage in the UK rarely fails on the motorway. It fails at the planning stage: a delivery slot outside permitted hours, a yard the lorry cannot turn in, a run longer than one driver's shift. Three checks before booking prevent most of these delays.
Weigh and measure the freight including pallets and packaging – not the net weight from the delivery note. Then look at both ends of the journey. Is there a loading dock or a forklift? Is the yard wide enough for a lorry to turn, and is the access road free of weight limits or low bridges? Every restriction you note in the order lets zipmend plan the vehicle and the time slot around it instead of discovering it on arrival.
Many British towns limit lorry access by time and by weight. The best-known example is the London Lorry Control Scheme: heavy goods vehicles over 18 tonnes maximum gross weight need a permit to use restricted roads during controlled hours. Retail parks, hospitals and city-centre sites often add their own delivery windows. Enter these slots when booking – collection and delivery are scheduled accordingly. For freight that regularly goes into the capital, lorry transport in London covers the local details.
For goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, the UK's assimilated drivers' hours rules apply: a break of at least 45 minutes after no more than 4.5 hours of driving, and generally no more than 9 hours at the wheel per day. A run from one end of the country to the other can therefore take more than one working day with a single driver. Plan delivery dates on that basis, not on the shortest possible journey time.
Once these points are clear, booking takes minutes: the price calculator shows the fixed price for your route straight away, and zipmend keeps you informed until the freight is signed for.
