Large item courier
for things too big to post
Porta matches your item with a vetted independent driver already heading that way, prices it postcode to postcode, and moves it door to door with nothing in the middle.
- If it fits in a van, it goes
- One driver, one van, no handovers
- Nationwide, seven days a week
- Fixed price before you book
Get a quote anywhere in the UK in 10 seconds
Fast, free, no obligation
We can’t place that one. Try another postcode, or just a town or city.
We can’t place that one. Try another postcode, or just a town or city.
Same-day available • No hidden fees
Built for the things that will not go in a box
Most delivery works by moving many small things through a sorting network. That is a good system, and it is the wrong one for a sofa. Large items need the opposite: as few hands as possible, one vehicle, and a driver who loads it themselves.
Porta is built around that. When a driver is already running London to Leeds with room in the back, your wardrobe can travel on that trip. You get a dedicated door-to-door service at a shared-journey price, and the van makes a run it was making anyway.
Drivers are experienced with heavy, oversized and fragile goods, and a two-person team can be added at the quote stage for anything that will not go up a staircase alone.
If it fits in a van, it goes
The limit is the vehicle, not a weight bracket. A single item a driver can load and secure in a van is a job Porta can quote for. Plant, machinery and anything needing a lorry, a tail lift or a crane is not.
Door to door, no depots
Collected from the room it is in and delivered to the door at the other end. One driver the whole way, so nothing changes hands.
Covered and tracked
Goods-in-transit cover and real-time SMS updates come with Standard and Premium bookings, so you are not guessing at the window.
A van that was going anyway
Matching your item to a driver already making the trip is what keeps the price down and the empty miles off the road.
What we move
Porta's drivers move thousands of large and heavy goods every month. These are the large courier services that come up most, each with its own page covering how that item is handled.
Furniture
Sofas, wardrobes, dining tables and sideboards, assembled or flat-packed. The most common thing our drivers move.
Appliances
Fridge freezers, cookers, washing machines and dishwashers, strapped and padded inside the van rather than stacked on a pallet.
Beds and mattresses
Divans, frames and mattresses, including the king and super-king sizes that will not go up a stairwell without two people.
Televisions
Screens carried upright and cushioned, boxed or unboxed. Large panels are more fragile in transit than their weight suggests.
Bikes and motorcycles
Kept upright where possible and secured for transit, boxed, padded or exactly as they are.
Car parts
Alloy wheels, loose bumpers and bundled spares, secured properly without the overpacking a network would demand.
Also moved every week
- Mobility scooters
- Wheelchairs
- Fish tanks and aquariums
- Pool tables
- Pianos
- Musical instruments
- Garden equipment
- Luggage
- Northern Ireland
Not on the list? UK couriers on the network carry all sorts of large goods that never make it onto a page like this, so put the postcodes in and see what comes back. Moving a whole load rather than one item is a man with a van job, and if you are weighing up which of the two you need, the guide on a man with a van versus a courier for a single item sets out the difference.
Nationwide, seven days a week
One driver, one van, and your item never changes hands.
Is my item a large item?
If a driver can load it into a van, it qualifies. It is usually one of these four things that makes an item awkward, and any one of them is enough.
Too heavy for one person
A washing machine, a cast-iron bath, a chest freezer. Weight alone is rarely the problem for a van; getting it out of a first-floor flat is. That is what the two-person option is for, and it is worth adding at the quote stage rather than discovering on the day.
Longer or wider than it is heavy
Ladders, worktops, mirrors, a rolled rug. These weigh very little and still get refused, because length is what makes an item awkward to load, not mass. A van handles them without a second thought.
Fragile in a way packing will not solve
A television panel, a glass tabletop, a framed print. The risk is handling and vibration rather than a drop. Fewer handovers is the real protection, which is why one driver door to door beats a chain of depots.
Assembled, and staying that way
A built wardrobe, a corner sofa, a piano. Dismantling is sometimes possible and often not worth it. Say so at the quote stage so the right vehicle and the right number of hands turn up.
Bought something online and need it collected?
Marketplace pickups are one of the most common reasons people need a large item courier. The seller will not deliver, the item will not fit in a car, and it needs collecting from a stranger's address at a workable time. Porta handles the collection so you do not have to drive across the country for a dining table.
How large item delivery is priced
Distance and size, shown in full before you book. No survey, no call-back, no revised figure on the day.
Distance and size, nothing hidden
The quote comes from the postcode-to-postcode distance and the size of what you are sending. A longer route costs more because it takes a driver longer, which is also why sharing a trip someone is already making comes in below hiring a van and a crew.
Three levels of cover
Essential is the lowest price for straightforward jobs. Standard adds goods-in-transit cover and real-time SMS updates. Premium suits higher-value or fragile goods. A two-person team can be added to any of them where the lift needs it.
Large item courier questions
What counts as a large item courier job?
Anything too big, heavy or awkward for one person and a car, but still within what a van can take. In practice that means furniture, white goods, screens, bikes, instruments and garden machinery. Couriers on the network handle large item shipping every day, so an awkward shape is rarely a reason to say no. What Porta does not cover is plant, industrial machinery, skips or anything needing a lorry, a tail lift or a crane.
How much does a large item courier cost?
The price is worked out on the postcode-to-postcode distance and the size of what you are sending, and it is shown in full before you book. Sharing a route a driver is already running is what keeps it below the cost of hiring a van and a crew for the day.
What is the cheapest way to send a heavy or bulky item?
Being flexible on dates moves the price most, because it widens the pool of drivers already making your journey. Booking a single item rather than a part-load helps, as does having it dismantled and ready at ground level. Porta will not always be the cheapest quote you find, but for heavy goods it is usually well under hiring a van, and the figure you see is the figure you pay.
How do I arrange collection of a large item?
Put both postcodes into the quote form, describe the item, and pick your level of cover. That is the booking made. Couriers on the network pick up jobs that suit routes they are already running, so you are matched rather than left waiting for a slot.
Can you collect and deliver heavy items upstairs?
Yes, with a two-person team booked at the quote stage. A single driver will always help where it is safe to, but stairs, tight landings and anything genuinely two-handed need the second person arranged in advance rather than asked for on the doorstep.
Do you cover the whole UK?
Yes, including Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, seven days a week. Longer routes cost more because the price follows the distance, but no part of the country is off the map.
Is my item covered in transit?
Goods-in-transit cover is included on Standard and Premium bookings, along with real-time SMS updates. Essential is the stripped-back option for when you want the lowest price and need neither.
How quickly can a large item be collected?
It depends on a driver already heading that way, which is usually days rather than weeks. If it genuinely has to move today, book it as a same-day courier job instead, where the timing is guaranteed once a driver is confirmed.