SPLITTER van / UNIT VEHICLES
VIP TRANSPORT & BACKLINE RENTAL
Our Vehicles
WE ARE THE ONLY DEDICATED SPLITTER VAN FLEET & BACKLINE COMPANY UNDER ONE ROOF IN LONDON
Thats right - We have been providing backline, transport & tour management services since 2006
Our vehicles can be picked up and returned within walking distance of Liverpool St, Old St & Bethnal Green stations
We can pre-load our van with our backline, from our own stock - not from a different company warehouse. We know each item of backline as well as our vans, its what we do! A little about us here
Major rehaul in 2024! We do not stock any splitter van older than 2019, most of our fleet are less than a year old and under warranty, all with latest Euro 6 low emission zone complicant engines
Aside from vehicles we also rent: music equipment, walkie-talkies, in-ear monitor systems, portable wifi boxes, coffee machines, Square Terminal card machines, Jackery portable power station, PlayStation consoles, umbrellas, chairs - whatever you need for your project, drop us a line
Please note: we are temporarily not offering one-day self-drive vehicle hires until further notice.
You can rent for one day, but minimum charge is equivalent to two days rate. This is due to cost increases with our overheads such as cleaning fees and many other aspects.
FOR SALE! Mercedes Sprinter TOURING
​
MERC SPRINTER AUTO
MWB, 9 forward seats
£150 + VAT per day
Latest Sprinter with fuel efficient auto gearbox Perfect for budget tours, shoots & leisure trips
6 seat SPLITTER, automatic
FOR SALE!
Mercedes Vito CREW
£110 + VAT per day
Ideal for family trips, film recce, tours with less backline, DJs, small house moving & sport trips
MERCEDES SPRINTER
SWB, 6 seat AUTOMATIC
£120 + VAT Per day
New for 2024, larger than a Vito. AUTO. Medium boot space, power sockets & clothes rail
AUDI A6 AVANT
Automatic, Euro-6 diesel, 5 seats
£90 + VAT per day
Suitable for families, leisure trips, solo artists, film recce, DJ tours, airports and VIP
FOR SALE!
Mercedes sprinter
SWB, 6 seat MANUAL
£120 + VAT per day
Easy to park. Larger 6 seater than a Vito. Roof rack, power sockets & clothes rail
Prices include insurance for self-drive hire, or we can supply an experienced driver
Our splitter vans are designed & built specifically for touring musicians and film production use. They are also great for family holidays, sporting trips and airport pickups. Standard features on all of our vehicles are ULEZ compliant (saves £12.50 per day in London), air-conditioning, parking sensors and either USB or 230v standad UK power sockets.
All of our 9 seat vans are London Congestion Charge exempt. They feature various types of entertainment system (either Apple TV, DVD etc, and some can be supplied with optional games console – or bring your own!). 9 seat splitter type vans come with 230v power sockets for charging laptops, mobile phones & camera batteries. Our film vans usually have larger inverters to run clothes steamers & hair dryers - please sepcify if this is required. They also feature comfy reclining leather seats either forward facing or around a table. Splitter vans are unique in that they have a bulkhead (split wall) separating the passenger compartment from the large cargo storage area, enabling you to stack cargo up to the roof without danger to passengers. All cargo bays feature deadlocks on both 6 and 9 seat splitter vans.
We can also supply smaller production vehicles. These include 4×4 7-seat luxury SUV cars, estate cars, Mercedes Vito 6 seater mini splitters etc. We include unlimited mileage on splitter vans and cars, subject to fair use policy.
​
KEY FACTORS FOR CHOOSING BLACKLIGHT:
​
✔ All of our 9 seater splitter vans are London Congestion Charge exempt
✔ All of our vehicles are London ULEZ compliant (better on CO2 emissions than older fleet vehicles)
✔ Excellent van pickup / return locations in Bethnal Green (zone 2) + 24/7 key drop plus Forest Gate E7
✔ No additional mileage charges
✔ Unlimited extra drivers insured at no cost
✔ We can supply a full package for music tours with FOH, TM, drivers, crew and runners!
✔ Transparent backline prices here. Just download the PDF! Discounts if hiring gear & van
✔ Fully insured for music, film & entertainment use. EU travel included free of charge
✔ EU Breakdown cover included
✔ EU travel ready. Note: 3PMSF Winter tyres can be supplied at a small extra charge if you need them
✔ Our client list, Google & Facebook reviews along with over a decade of reliable service
​
We provide industry specific self-drive hire for the music, film & entertainment industry. You will not get this at your standard car hire companies and may be driving without valid insurance so rest assured, if you rent from us you are covered.
​
PLEASE NOTE: WE DO NOT SUPPLY ANY VEHICLES WITH MORE THAN 9 SEATS (INC DRIVER)
​
BACKGROUND & ETHOS:
Blacklight Tours began in 2006. Started by Ricky Haley after working as organiser of live music events in Nottingham, London and co-founding Dot To Dot Festival. Having established links with booking agents & artist management, then moved into tour management (Metronomy, The Phoenix Foundation & many more over a decade on the road). Slowly we migrated from Nottingham to East London full time.
It became clear that there was a niche for a splitter van rental company that knew how the music industry worked. One which was able to work with hirers rather than waiting to pounce when anything unfortunate happened. One that had spent enough time on tour to know what a van needs, or not. We believe that excess protection clauses offered by hire companies are over priced and to be avoided. We can help you with a cheap waiver you can buy online. We want to offer something different to avoid the faceless operation of high street hire companies. A booking process as simple as our insurers allow. Minimal small print and no crazy hurdles to jump through.
Judging by our loyal client base, we must be doing something right. However, if there's anything we can do to improve please let us know! If you are unsure of anything, we have the industry knowledge to try and help (don't ask us how you get signed though). Even our drivers have extensive music / film world knowledge! Now you know :)