What happens when something comes on a pallet?

Do they drop it on the drive and run away?

That's my experience. It might not even make it to the drive if access is remotely tricky.

Totally depends. Best case scenario is a friendly driver will help take it where you want it. Usually its dropped in the road or driveway, sometimes they don't even have the means to unload a pallet and expect you to have a forklift. I've never had them want the pallet back.

If their pallet truck can easily and quickly get to your garage, they will very probably put it in there for you, if you ask nicely.

They will not want the pallet back.

I had this with a shed last week delivered by PalletLine. The truck had a tail lift and the driver had an electric pump pallet truck and was happy to drop it at the top of the drive.

sometimes they don’t even have the means to unload a pallet and expect you to have a forklift.

This is very normal.
Delivery will most likely be kerb side though if they're able most drivers will happily trade a cup of tea/coffee for assistance.

Normally they have a tail lift and a pallet truck onboard to truck pallets around. However at 40kg - not that heavy, so it may even come in a van, not a lorry.

If your not there to see the delivery driver, yes, dropping in the driveway is likely
If you are there, and offer to to help the driver offload it (if he doesnt have a pallet truck), its likely he'll help you take it into the garage (its only 40kg)
No they wont want the pallet back.

If you have restricted access then its likely they'll be grumpy before you even start.

Larger lorries have a mini forklift strapped to the back eg this is how our insulation arrived:

[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/8344/8251283307_2738676f89_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/8344/8251283307_2738676f89_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/dz8Z4i ]Celotex GA4100 arriving[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/ ]Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr

Great, thanks everyone - it's easy access via a short flat driveway, so fingers crossed 🙂

Usually we put a note on the order along the lines of "delivery to customer site with no forklift, courier must have ramp/taillift and pallet truck".

Do they drop it on the drive and run away?

Yes if you don't have a better option for them.

Will they help me take it into the garage?

Probably, as long as he has a pallet truck and a tailift. This is far from guaranteed though.

Will they expect the pallet back?

Nope. Legally the supplier might own it but they probably won't want it back.

Delivery will most likely be kerb side though if they’re able most drivers will happily trade a cup of tea/coffee for assistance.

Seems to have gone downhill rapidly with the driver shortage. We had one last week, hired through a firm that specializes in touring bands/shows so you're hiring a lorry + driver/roadie. Had to be asked to help load, made it about 10 minutes before his shoulder apparently ached, and another 5 before he had a hypo*. Then spent the rest the time whilst we loaded plotting his schedule to maximize the number of taco breaks. Apparently he's got is medical next month so hopefully wont have to deal with him again 🤣

*we're 3 normally desk-bound TV people, knackered after 3 days of derigging, we weren't working him too hard.

Delivery will most likely be kerb side though if they’re able most drivers will happily trade a cup of tea/coffee for assistance.

Most I see have barely got time to grunt an hello - never mind wait for kettle to be boiled then hang around having a brew and a chat! 🙂

Do you have a gravel driveway and will you be there for the delivery?

If it's 40kg id just take it off the pallet on the truck if there's no tail lift / pallet truck - if there is happy days.

It seems wild to me that they'd send a delivery on a pallet to a domestic address and not have the means to unload it. Right you are then squire, I'll just get my fork-lift truck down from the spare bedroom then, shall I?

We had one about a year ago, I agreed to take in a delivery for The Girl while they were at work. The first I knew that it was their new conservatory floor was when the delivery driver arrived going "where do you want your pallet?" Uh, what? I don't have a driveway, the front door opens directly onto the street. They left it at the kerbside, I had to strip it and haul it all indoors in bits.

Also, it seems that no-one wants pallets. I left it propped up outside thinking it wouldn't last five minutes before someone had away with it. The next day it was still there and a second one had joined it... 🙄

I had a mini lathe delivered on a pallet, the driver put it in my garage using a pallet truck. Same for Wickes delivering a load of self levelling compound.

I'd ask the company.

Also, it seems that no-one wants pallets. I left it propped up outside thinking it wouldn’t last five minutes before someone had away with it. The next day it was still there and a second one had joined it… 🙄

Has the instagram fashion for making furniture from them finally died a death?

Or did the influencers just die of the resulting splinters and the fumes for burning the offcuts/growing their veg in truggs of treated wood?

Most I see have barely got time to grunt an hello – never mind wait for kettle to be boiled then hang around having a brew and a chat! 🙂

I guess it depends what/who they are - most long distance drivers would sell their granny and first born to be offered use of a clean loo and shower. Anyone in and out of a depot is likely trying to deliver hundreds of things and also work on job and jack so will want to be gone ASAP,especially if they risk a pesky taco making them take a break five minutes before they get back to base.

Have had deliveries good and bad but the rule is you keep the pallet, they are now £6 a pallet for a real treated international euro pallet so that might change?

Worst was a guy in a Transit van delivering tiles for our bathroom. 250kg in total no ramp, pump truck or forklift. I started unloading it by hand, he wouldn't help because of health and safety or company policy, then started heckling because I was taking too long and he had other places to be all while sat on our wall playing on his phone.

Best was a guy who helped me get a pallet onto a couple of little dolly trolly things and push it into my garage, gave him a £20 note to say thanks for helping out!

With Palletline you're at the mercy of the driver! Most will just drop it at the kerb and leave but if you're lucky you might get one who will help you get it somewhere at least convenient. You will be expected to take the pallet too, despite there being a shortage of them but they're just not set up to deal with empties at the depots.

Last delivery was from Wickes, of 5 sheets of 8'x4'x18mm ply, which two blokes(Dad and Son) took from their van and put it in my hall.

It was the wrong stuff and one bloke turned up a bit later to uplift it himself. I was expecting them to lean it against the hedge and I'd have to manhandle it in myself.

But looking at the Wickes site on deliveries it states that they deliver 'Across the threshold'. Same for 3 different Axminster deliveries, 2@90kg, 1@50 kg, they brought it right into the house. The first two were on pallets and they used a truck.

So check on their site and see what exactly they mean by delivery. It might mean to your drive, to the door or across the threshold.

the pallet I had some stuff delivered on the other day is a weird pressed OSB type thing a bit like this. can't quite work out a use for a yet but I'm loath to chuck it.

Pallet delivery is quite often tailboard.

They barely manage this at my parents as the lane is on a slight slope so the smaller drivers can't even drag the pallet up the length of the truck. When they do get it to the tail lift, the lane is just compacted stone, so not really pallet truck stuff.

At work I often get asked to hang around the yard when we have a delivery coming that needs lifting off with the tractor. Messes up my day, but not as much as it mucks up there's when they haven't noticed that the big red tractor isn't in the yard 😄

If it's blue, they'd love to have it back! Pallet recovery

Ordered a water feature, I had to tick a load of boxes re access before they confirmed my order . Basically if a refuse lorry can't get down the road they won't attempt delivery. Driver turned up and kindly wheeled it in my garage, same with a garden bench though with that he said if I wanted the pallet removed I would have to ring a different department 🤔

I had 5 tonnes of bagged grit delivered at work last year. No forklift, no pallet truck, one irate driver. That was fun

To answer the question - you're left with a pallet to either use or dispose of.

Generally I find the driver will park half on the pavement and half on the road. Which inevitably means the tail lift is not flat on the floor and the pallet gets grounded and wedged halfway off, they try and fix it by moving the tail lift slightly, give up and drive the vehicle forwards a bit at which point the pallet truck drops off the 10mm dropped kerb, then it takes me and the driver to push the pallet truck back up the dropped kerb, a small run up and we get it about 1.5 metres up my very steep drive and leave it there.

The last guy went through the above process but the bonus was he had an electric pallet truck which was able to push an oversize pallet and metal mesh up the drive which is about 25% grade and 15 metres long (once I helped him push it over a slippy bit)

The silly thing is I live on a quiet road with exits both ends, so I'm not sure why the drivers don't block the road for a few minutes so the pallet can just run straight off the side of the tail lift onto the pavement! They'd be gone much quicker!

Last time I had a bulk load of rock in 10 builders bags I paid almost double to ensure it turned up with a Moffet that was able to run it up the drive!

Thread title gave me a flashback to a friend who lived next door to one of my professors when I was an undergraduate. The professor had regular delivery of a pallet of cardboard cartons of cheap wine. Smart guy but absolutely had the look of a committed boozehound.

Once had 5 pallets of Quietex delivered to a conversion job. Driver claimed he couldn't get it down the back lane so dropped the entire consignment in the street. 40 bags to a pallet, 2 of us had to carry it in and down 2 flights of stairs to the jobsite.

Bags weigh 25kg each.

I was 6'5' when i started and 6'3" when we finished 😆

Another fun job was the boss of the cabinet shop i worked in had a dozen big cast iron radiators delivered to his home. It took 4 of us to lift one and even then there were heavy as ****. Boss's driveway was a steep hill, too steep really for even a car to go up.

In a reverse of the above, I had Palletline attempt to collect a gearbox from my house. No tail lift, no fork truck, no pallet truck. That was fun.