The easiest way to search, compare and rent utes, vans & trucks in Australia

Generally speaking, a commercial vehicle is a 4WD, truck, ute, van or other specialty vehicle whose primary purpose is the transportation of goods or people. They can range in size and purpose from a small flatbed ute useful for moving that little bit too much to fit in your car, through to larger trucks and buses designed for moving all manner of goods — or people.

When it comes to hiring a commercial vehicle it is important to get the right tool for the job, as there’s no point hiring a ten tonne refrigerated truck when all you want to do is move three lawn mowers to your new residence.

The first question is to consider what your licence will allow you to hire.

Secondly, consider how much capacity you need in your commercial vehicle. For small jobs, often a ute is more than sufficient, but if you’re perhaps moving residence, then a tray or tautliner (which come in a variety of sizes) may be a better choice. If you have specialised needs, say refrigeration, then you’ll need a commercial vehicle that can deliver that — a refrigerated van for example.

Another consideration is if you are not needing to transport goods a vast distance, and are comfortable making multiple trips, then a smaller commercial vehicle might be just as good a fit — and will most likely be more affordable to hire. On the other hand, if you are driving longer distances, then it is prudent to make sure your goods are protected from the elements, in which case a covered ute, enclosed van, or tautliner truck might be a better option.

There are two criteria to keep in mind when hiring a larger moving, delivery and cargo vehicle — the number of people the vehicle can carry and its weight.

Any vehicle that can carry more than 12 people (including the driver) requires a Light Rigid (LR) Licence, while a vehicle that can carry 21 or more people requires a Medium Rigid (MR) Licence.

Weight-wise, any vehicle weighing more than three tonnes of cargo requires a MR licence, while anything weighing more than eight tonnes requires a Heavy Rigid (HR) licence.

Any commercial vehicle which weighs less than three tonnes and can carry a maximum of 12 people (including the driver) can be hired with a regular full driving licence that is valid for driving in Australia.

While this depends on the size and capacity of the vehicle, at a minimum, drivers need to be aged 21 or over, possess a licence valid for driving in Australia, a credit card, and proof of their address.

It really depends on what sort of material you want to move, and particularly how bulky it is. Utes are well suited to large boxes of mixed sizes — typical when one is moving residence. Vans, thanks to their enclosed roof, have a very strict limit on the height of goods that you wish to load into them, and their storage area also typically has a narrower width than that of a ute. In summary, when you are comparing a similar-sized van and ute, you will almost certainly fit more into a ute.

It depends, and in some cases there can be. For example, if you require equipment to load your vehicle — something as simple as a trolley or ramp, or as complex as a hydraulic lift — then these may well attract additional charges to the baseline vehicle hire charge.

Most trucks and vans are bigger than a regular passenger car, and in some cases the vehicle’s additional height means you might not be able to drive the same route you would in a regular car.

Height restrictions are particularly important when it comes to trucks and bridges, and it is important to be aware of the height of your vehicle and to watch out for lower bridges and parking areas that you may not fit under or into.

Aside from bridges and low roofs, trucks and vans are bigger and will not perform as well on tight corners, hair-pin bends, and other narrow roads. So you will need to be aware of these factors when driving around.