Delivery & cargo
Delivery and cargo van rental in Dubai
Dry panel vans from 3.0 to 3.4 metres of load space, on a normal car licence. For deliveries, moves, trade work and anything that just needs to get across the city in one piece.
From AED 180 per day
Up to 3.4 m load length
Car licence is enough
Free delivery in Dubai
The vans
Three sizes, one licence
All three are enclosed panel vans with a bulkhead, a side door and rear doors. What separates them is length, and length is what usually runs out first.
All three drawn to the same scale. The amber bar marks the load space behind the seats. Any of them can be driven on a normal UAE car licence.
| Van | Load length | Load volume | Payload | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nissan Urvan | 3.0 m | 9.5 m³ | 1,200 kg | AED 200 / day |
| Toyota Hiace | 3.1 m | 9.8 m³ | 1,200 kg | AED 180 / day |
| Ford Transit | 3.4 m | 11.5 m³ | 1,400 kg | AED 250 / day |
Each is drawn to scale on the fleet page, so you can hold your longest item against the right one before you book. Need more than 3.4 m? Step up to a truck.
Exact load length, width and height for all three panel vans are set out in van and truck dimensions in Dubai.
Who rents them
What cargo vans get used for in Dubai
Delivery and courier work
Last-mile rounds where a car is too small and a truck cannot park. Enclosed, lockable and out of the sun.
Small moves
A studio or one-bed flat in one or two runs. See the moving guide for sizing by bedrooms.
Trade and site work
Tools, materials and stock, secured behind a bulkhead rather than open to the road.
Events and exhibitions
Stand kit, furniture and equipment to the World Trade Centre and Expo City, where delivery slots are tight.
Retail replenishment
Stock between branches or from a warehouse, without paying for a truck you will not fill.
Need it refrigerated?
A cargo van is not insulated. For anything that has to stay cold, take a chiller van instead.
Choosing
Which of the three, and where the space costs least
They sit within 0.4 m and AED 70 a day of each other, so the choice comes down to the shape of what you carry and what you are paying per cubic metre.
The Hiace is the longest of the two cheaper vans at 3.1 m and the lowest inside at 1.6 m. The Urvan is 3.0 m long but 1.7 m tall, which suits upright furniture and stacked crates. The Transit is bigger in every direction, 3.4 m long and 1.8 m high, and carries 1,400 kg against 1,200 kg in the other two.
Measured by space for money, the Hiace wins. At AED 180 a day for 9.8 m³ it costs about AED 18 for each cubic metre a day. The Urvan works out at roughly AED 21 for 9.5 m³ at AED 200, and the Transit at nearly AED 22 for its 11.5 m³ at AED 250. The Transit is the best value only when you genuinely need the extra length or the extra 200 kg, which is exactly the case on longer furniture and heavier trade loads.
So the practical rule is simple. Take the Hiace unless something specific pushes you off it: height goes to the Urvan, length and weight go to the Transit. If the longest item is over 3.4 m, none of them is right and the job moves to a truck.
Delivery work
Renting a delivery van for a daily round
Most delivery van hires are not one-off jobs. They are rounds — the same route, five or six days a week, twenty or thirty drops a day. Three things decide whether the van suits that, and load length is not one of them.
Doors matter more than metres
On a multi-drop round you open the van forty or fifty times a day. A side sliding door plus rear doors saves far more time than an extra half metre of load space. All three of our vans have both, so choose the size for the load, not for the doors.
Watch the mileage, not the day rate
Daily hire includes 150 km. A round that runs Deira to Jebel Ali and back can pass that by mid-afternoon, and the excess is charged per kilometre. Weekly hire allows 1,000 km and monthly 3,500 km, which is why most delivery operators take the month rather than the day.
Salik is passed straight through
Every gate crossing is billed at cost, with no handling fee added on top. A route that crosses Al Garhoud and Al Safa twice a day is worth planning around before you commit to it.
Running more than one van, or replacing a vehicle that is off the road? Monthly van rental works out at roughly half the daily rate per day, and corporate fleet hire covers three vans or more on one contract.
Capacity
How much a panel van actually holds
Volume figures sound abstract. These are the same numbers in parcels, pallets and kilograms.
Parcels first, because that is what most delivery rounds carry. A common courier box of roughly 40 by 30 by 25 cm takes up 0.03 m³. A van is never packed solid, so working on about 60 per cent of the load space, the Hiace’s 9.8 m³ holds somewhere near 200 of them, the Urvan a little fewer and the Transit around 230. That is a full multi-drop day for one driver, and the limit is usually how fast they can be handed over, not how many fit.
On pallets the answer is smaller than people expect: three or four positions on the floor of any of these vans, depending on the pallet standard. With a 1,200 kg payload spread across four pallets, each one can weigh about 300 kg before the van is over its limit, and on the Transit’s 1,400 kg it is 350 kg.
Weight is the limit that catches trade users out. Tiles, paint, bottled drinks, printed paper and anything with liquid in it reach 1,200 kg while the van still looks half empty, and the dimensions guide shows the density at which each vehicle in the fleet crosses from running out of space to running out of weight.
One measurement people forget is the opening rather than the space. A rear door aperture is always smaller than the body behind it, so a wardrobe or a machine that would sit happily inside can still refuse to go through the doors. Measure the widest and tallest point of the item, and if it is close, send us the figures and we will check the van before you drive to the collection.
For a business
Running vans for a business: the numbers and the paperwork
A round that repeats every week is a different purchase from a one-day hire, and it comes with its own admin.
The rate that fits a daily round
Take a courier round using the full 150 km a day, six days a week. Over 26 working days that is 3,900 km. Paid by the day on a Hiace it costs AED 4,680. On the monthly rate it is AED 3,000 for the vehicle and 3,500 km included, with the extra 400 km charged at AED 0.50, so about AED 3,200 in total. The monthly rate saves roughly AED 1,480 a month and stops you counting days.
The weekly rate sits between the two, at AED 1,050 with 1,000 km. It suits a project of two or three weeks, or cover while your own van is in the workshop, rather than a permanent round.
One bigger van, or two smaller ones
Two Hiaces cost AED 360 a day against AED 250 for a Transit, and they carry 19.6 m³ against 11.5 m³. The real difference is time: two vans cover two parts of the city at once and finish a 40-drop round in half the hours, while one Transit does it in sequence. For a fixed daily round, count the hours the round takes before comparing the day rates, because a second van often pays for itself in overtime that never happens.
Branding the van
Putting your logo on a rented van is not just a sticker. In Dubai any commercial branding on a vehicle counts as advertising and needs a permit from the RTA, and when the vehicle is leased the application also needs a no-objection certificate from its owner. So ask us before you book the signwriter: we can tell you whether the vehicle can be branded for the length of your contract, and what we need to issue for the permit.
Documents for a company hire
A company booking runs on the trade licence and a letter authorising each driver by name, with a copy of that driver’s licence and Emirates ID. It is worth getting this right at the start of a contract rather than per booking, because fines and Salik follow the plate, and the authorisation letter is what connects a charge to the person who was actually driving.
Rates
Cargo van rates
In AED, including comprehensive insurance, registration and maintenance. Fuel, Salik, fines and 5% VAT are charged separately.
| Van | Per day | Mileage included | Deposit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toyota Hiace | AED 180 | 150 km per day | AED 1,000 |
| Nissan Urvan | AED 200 | 150 km per day | AED 1,000 |
| Ford Transit | AED 250 | 150 km per day | AED 1,500 |
Weekly and monthly rates are lower per day — the weekly overtakes the daily at about six days. Full pricing on the rate card, and a breakdown of everything on the invoice in this guide.
How it works
From message to van, usually the same day
Tell us the load
What you are moving and roughly how much. A photo of the room works better than a description.
We name the size
And the all-in price, not just the day rate. If a smaller van does the job we will say so.
Send the documents
Licence and Emirates ID for individuals; trade licence and a driver authorisation letter for companies.
We deliver it
Free anywhere in Dubai. Other emirates are quoted before you commit.
Cargo van questions
Can I drive a cargo van on a normal licence?
Yes. All three panel vans sit inside the standard UAE light vehicle category. Trucks are a different matter — see the licence guide.
Which van fits a one-bedroom flat?
A Hiace or Urvan usually does it in one or two runs. If you have long furniture, take the Transit for the extra 0.3 m.
Is the load space enclosed and lockable?
Yes, all three are enclosed panel vans with a bulkhead behind the cab. Your load is out of sight, out of the sun and locked.
Can I take it to Sharjah or Abu Dhabi?
Yes, the vehicles are registered and insured for use across the UAE. Watch the mileage on long runs — 150 km a day goes quickly on an Abu Dhabi round trip.
Do you deliver the van?
Free across Dubai. For other emirates, send the address and any delivery charge is in your quote before you commit.
Can I hire a driver as well?
Yes, AED 250 a day for up to nine hours. See van with driver.
Do you have a delivery van for rent, or is this only cargo?
Both words describe the same vehicle. Delivery van rental and cargo van rental are the same hire here — an enclosed panel van you load through the back or side. Which size you need depends on the round, not on the word.
Can I fit shelving or racking in the van?
Ask first. Anything fitted to the van, from shelving and floor rails to a roof rack, is a modification to a vehicle that is not yours, so it needs our agreement in writing. On a long contract it is usually workable if the fittings can be removed without damage; for a short hire, crates and straps are the practical answer.
Book a cargo van
Tell us what you are moving and when. We will name the size, the price and the paperwork — usually within a few minutes.