Month: September 2026

A corporate car hire account does one thing above all else: it takes the payment step out of every individual booking. Instead of an employee putting a hire on a personal card and chasing reimbursement, or an office manager entering card details for the fourth time this month, bookings go against the account and the business gets one invoice. Everything else a corporate account offers, agreed rates, nominated drivers, a named contact who knows your business, follows from that.

This guide is for whoever ends up owning vehicle bookings in a Perth business, which is usually an office manager, an executive assistant or a operations lead rather than anyone with fleet in their job title. It covers what an account actually changes, what to ask before setting one up, and how to work out whether hiring is the right structure at all.

What does a corporate account actually change?

Payment moves off the individual

This is the main thing. Without an account, someone in the business is fronting the cost of a hire and reclaiming it. That means expense claims, receipts, a delay before they get their money back, and a small amount of friction every single time. With an account, the booking is made and the business is invoiced.

The effect compounds. Once the payment step is gone, the person making the booking does not need approval to use their own card, which usually means bookings get made earlier and availability is better.

Booking gets faster

Repeat details stop being re-entered. The business name, the billing arrangement and the usual contacts are already known. For a business hiring several times a month, this is the difference between a two minute task and a ten minute one.

Records get cleaner

Consolidated invoicing gives your bookkeeper one document to reconcile rather than a scatter of individual receipts across several people’s expense claims. If your accountant needs to substantiate business vehicle use, having it in one place matters. Ask what invoicing format and frequency are available, and whether you can have a cost centre or purchase order reference on each booking, because that is what makes the reconciliation easy at the other end.

You get a person

A named contact who knows what your business usually books is worth more than it sounds when something goes wrong at 4pm on a Friday. With a local Perth operator this is a real advantage over booking through a national call centre.

When does hiring beat owning or leasing?

The honest answer is that it depends on how constant your need is, and it is worth being clear eyed about this rather than defaulting to whichever option you used last time.

Your situation	Usually the better structure
A vehicle in use most working days, same type, for years	Ownership or lease
Need that comes and goes, or peaks seasonally	Hire on demand
Vehicle type changes between jobs	Hire on demand
A defined project with an end date	Hire for the project term
Covering a vehicle that is off the road	Short term hire
Growing and not yet sure what the fleet should look like	Hire while you find out
Visitors, contractors or interstate staff needing a vehicle	Hire, every time

 

The test that cuts through it: if a vehicle you owned would sit idle for weeks at a time, you are paying for capacity you do not use. Registration, insurance, servicing and depreciation continue whether the vehicle moves or not.

The reverse is also true. If you would be hiring the same vehicle continuously for years, hire is not the efficient structure and nobody should pretend otherwise.

What businesses in Perth actually use corporate hire for

Fleet overflow

The most common reason by some distance. A business with its own vehicles hits a fortnight with one more job than there are vehicles. Hiring to cover the gap is faster and cheaper than buying an asset for three weeks of use a year.

Visiting staff and contractors

Interstate colleagues flying in, a specialist contractor on site for a month, an auditor for a week. None of them should be driving a vehicle the business owns without thinking about it, and none of them need one permanently.

Client and inbound groups

Moving a group between meetings, site visits or events. This is where a people mover matters more than a sedan, and where being able to book different vehicle types on the same account is genuinely useful.

Project and site work

A job with a defined duration in a defined location. Hire for the project term and hand it back. For work outside the metropolitan area this often means a ute rather than a car, which is again a case for an account that covers the whole fleet.

Replacing a vehicle that is off the road

Accident, breakdown, extended service. The need is immediate and temporary, which is exactly what hire is for.

Executive and client facing travel

Where the vehicle is part of the impression, a standard fleet sedan may not be the right choice. Being able to book a different class occasionally, without owning one, is one of the quieter benefits of an account.

Matching the vehicle to the job

One of the quieter advantages of an account is that it covers the whole fleet, so the vehicle can suit the task rather than the task having to suit the vehicle the business happens to own. Most businesses in Perth end up drawing on four or five classes.

• Compact and economy cars. Single person travel around the metropolitan area, short client visits, staff running errands. Easy to park in the CBD, which matters more than anything else on a two hour booking.
• Family sedans and SUVs. The default for longer drives, for carrying two or three people with bags, and for any trip out of the metropolitan area where comfort over distance matters.
• Site work, deliveries, equipment moves, trade use. If your business does any physical work at all, this is the class that gets booked at short notice and is hardest to find late.
• People movers. Client groups, visiting teams, airport collections where several people arrive together. Eight seats in one vehicle solves a coordination problem that two cars do not.
• Luxury vehicles. Client facing travel where the vehicle is part of the impression. Occasional need, which is precisely the case for hiring rather than owning.
• Electric vehicles. Increasingly relevant where a business has a sustainability commitment it reports against, and worth trialling through hire before committing to a purchase.

The trailer is worth a separate mention. For equipment moves, site clear outs and anything bulky, a vehicle plus trailer is usually cheaper and more practical than a larger vehicle, and it can go on the same booking.

When the need runs into months

There is a middle ground between a few days and a multi year lease, and it is the part of the market most businesses do not know exists.

Long term or monthly hire suits a defined period of extended need. A contractor engaged for six months. A project running through to the end of a financial year. A staged fleet replacement where vehicles are being retired faster than the new ones arrive. A new office opening where you do not yet know what the vehicle requirement will settle at.

What it gives you that a lease does not is the ability to stop. If the project finishes early, or the requirement changes, or the business decides it needs a different vehicle type, you are not carrying an obligation for the remaining years. What a lease gives you that long term hire does not is a lower cost per day over a genuinely long horizon.

The practical test is the same as before. If you can say with confidence what vehicle you will need in three years, lease it. If you cannot, hiring buys you the option to change your mind, and for a business that is still working out its shape, that option has real value.

What to ask before setting up an account

Most of these questions never get asked until something goes wrong. Ask them at the start instead.

1. How are drivers nominated, and how quickly can we add one? This is the most important question on the list. A driver not on the agreement may not be covered.
2. What is the invoicing cycle and format? Weekly, monthly, per booking. Can it carry a purchase order or cost centre reference.
3. What are the payment terms?
4. Who is our contact, and who covers them when they are away?
5. How far ahead do we need to book for each vehicle class? People movers and utes are always the tightest.
6. What happens if we need to extend a hire mid-term?
7. What is the damage excess, and what are the options for reducing it? Ask for this in writing.
8. Is there a distance limit, and what is the policy on unsealed roads? This matters enormously for site work outside the metropolitan area.
9. Can vehicles be delivered and collected, and within what area?
10. What happens with fines and infringements incurred by our drivers?
11. What is the after hours process if a vehicle has a problem?
12. Can we book different vehicle types on the same account?

The one to write down. Damage excess and driver nomination are the two things that turn a small incident into a large problem. Get both in writing before the first booking rather than after the first incident, and make sure whoever actually makes the bookings has read them.

Getting the internal process right

The account is the easy part. What determines whether corporate hire runs smoothly is the process inside your own business, and it takes about twenty minutes to set up properly.

• Decide who can book. One or two named people, not everyone. This is the single biggest driver of clean records.
• Keep a current list of approved drivers with licence details, and have a standing way to add someone at short notice.
• Agree what gets booked for what. A simple rule such as sedan for client visits, ute for site work, people mover for groups removes most of the decision making.
• Set a booking lead time. Two or three days for a standard car, longer for utes and people movers.
• Standardise the handover. Photograph the vehicle at collection and at return, every time, and store the photographs somewhere the business can find them.
• Give the driver the details before they collect, including the booking reference, the return time and who to call if something is wrong.
• Reconcile monthly rather than at the end of the quarter, while anyone can still remember what a particular booking was for.

The mistakes that cost businesses money

The unlisted driver

Someone else drives the vehicle for a short leg because it was convenient. If anything happens, the business is exposed. This is the most common and most expensive mistake in corporate hire, and it is entirely avoidable.

Booking too late

Specialist vehicles are a small proportion of any fleet. A business that books a people mover the day before a client group arrives will sometimes find there is not one.

Not photographing the vehicle

Two minutes at collection and two minutes at return. Without it, a dispute about a mark on a panel is a matter of recollection, and recollection is not evidence.

Hiring the wrong class to save money

A sedan booked for a job that needed a ute results in a second vehicle, a second trip, or damage to the vehicle. The saving evaporates immediately.

Nobody owning the account

When bookings are made by whoever happens to be free, details drift, drivers go unlisted and invoices stop matching anything. Assign it to one person.

Common questions

Do we need a minimum volume to open an account?

Requirements vary between hire companies. Smaller local operators are frequently more flexible about this than the national chains, which is worth knowing if your business only hires occasionally.

Can we book a vehicle for a visitor who is not an employee?

Generally yes, provided they are properly nominated as a driver and meet the licence requirements. Confirm the process, because it is a common need and it is better sorted before the visitor lands.

What about long term hire?

Long term and monthly arrangements sit between short term hire and leasing, and are worth asking about if your need is measured in months rather than days. Burswood Car Rentals offers both short and long term hire.

Can the vehicle be delivered to us?

Burswood Car Rentals offers free delivery and collection to Perth city hotels and Crown within 20 kilometres of the depot, which is useful for businesses in and around the CBD and for visiting staff arriving at a hotel.

What if we need a vehicle at short notice?

This is precisely what an account is for. The details are already held, so the booking is a phone call rather than a form. Availability is still availability though, and a specialist vehicle at short notice will always depend on what is on the lot that day.

Setting up an account

If your business is hiring vehicles more than occasionally, an account is worth the twenty minutes it takes to set up. The saving is not only on rates, it is on the administrative time that currently goes into every individual booking and every individual expense claim.

Burswood Car Rentals is a Perth owned family business operating from a single depot at 16 Teddington Road, Burswood, on the airport to city route, and offers corporate accounts across its fleet. To discuss what an account would look like for your business, call (08) 9362 4777, email rentals@burswoodcarrentals.com.au or send a message on WhatsApp to 0438 757 909. For an individual booking in the meantime, the Instant Quote on the site will give you availability and a rate in a few steps.

If there are six to eight of you travelling together in Perth, one people mover is almost always better than two cars. One vehicle means one driver, one fuel stop, one parking bay, one set of directions and one conversation instead of two convoys trying to stay in sight of each other on the Mitchell Freeway. The exception is when the group splits up during the day, in which case two smaller cars genuinely are the better answer.

The complication is luggage. An eight seat people mover with all eight seats in use has considerably less boot space than the same vehicle with the third row folded, and this is the single most common miscalculation people make when booking one. This guide covers how to work out what you actually need, what Western Australian law requires when children are travelling, and what to check before you book.

When does a people mover beat two cars?

The decision usually comes down to four questions.

Does the group stay together?

If everyone moves as one group all day, a people mover wins comfortably. If half the group wants Fremantle and half wants the Swan Valley, two cars are more useful even though they cost more to run.

How many drivers do you have?

Two cars need two licensed, insured, nominated drivers, available every day of the trip. If you only reliably have one confident driver, or if some of the group hold overseas licences that complicate things, one vehicle removes the problem entirely.

How far are you going?

On a long WA drive, one vehicle is meaningfully less work. Everyone stops at the same time, nobody gets separated, and route decisions are made once rather than negotiated by phone. On short hops around the Perth metropolitan area, the advantage is smaller.

How much luggage is there?

This is the one that decides it more often than anything else. Eight adults with eight suitcases will not fit in one eight seat vehicle. Six adults with six bags usually will. Work this out honestly before you book.

The luggage rule of thumb. With all seats in a people mover occupied, plan on roughly one carry on sized bag per person plus a couple of larger cases, not a full sized suitcase each. If your group is arriving on an international flight with checked luggage, either drop the passenger count or add a second vehicle.

What does Western Australian law require?

Two rules matter for group travel and both come from the Road Traffic Code 2000.

One person per seating position

The Code provides that there must not be more passengers in a motor vehicle than there are seating positions. An eight seat vehicle carries eight people, and that count includes the driver. Two children sharing a seat is not permitted and no exception applies because the journey is short.

This sounds obvious and it catches out groups constantly, usually at the point where a ninth person turns up expecting to squeeze in for a twenty minute drive.

Child restraints

The requirements are set by age and are more specific than most people remember:

Age of passenger	Required restraint
Under 6 months	Rearward facing child restraint, properly fastened and adjusted
6 months to under 4 years	Rearward or forward facing child restraint with an inbuilt harness
4 years to under 7 years	Forward facing restraint with an inbuilt harness, or a properly positioned booster seat with a lap and sash seatbelt, or a lap only belt with a child safety harness
7 years and over	A suitable restraint or a properly adjusted and fastened seatbelt

 

Restraints must comply with the Australian and New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 1754.

There are also rules about where children may sit. A passenger under four years of age must not travel in the front row of a vehicle with two or more rows of seats. A child aged four to under seven may only travel in the front row where all the other rows are already occupied by passengers under seven.

In a people mover this is rarely a constraint, because there are three rows and plenty of rear seating positions. It becomes relevant on the way back when the group has thinned out and someone assumes the front seat is now available.

Which seats take a child restraint?

Not every seating position in every vehicle is suitable for a child restraint. Anchor point locations vary between models and between rows, and a seat without a suitable anchor point is not a seat you can install a forward facing restraint in. If you are travelling with young children, this is the specific question to ask when you book, rather than assuming that eight seats means eight child seat positions.

Who hires a people mover in Perth?

Four groups account for most bookings, and each has a different set of concerns.

Families travelling together

Usually two households combining for a holiday, or a family with grandparents along. The pressure points are child restraints and luggage. The advantage is that everyone is in one vehicle, which on a long drive to Margaret River or Albany makes a real difference to how tired the driver is at the other end.

Groups arriving through Perth Airport

Interstate and international visitors landing together, often with a lot of checked luggage. This is the group most likely to underestimate boot space. It is also the group for whom collection logistics matter most, and the Burswood depot sits on the airport to city route, which makes the pick up straightforward on the way in.

Corporate and inbound groups

Conference attendees, site visits, client groups being moved between meetings. Here the value is not cost, it is that everyone arrives at the same time. A corporate account removes the payment step from each individual booking.

Sporting clubs and community groups

Weekend fixtures, tournaments, choir and club travel. Usually a lot of gear as well as people, which is the case where a people mover plus a trailer becomes the sensible combination.

How to work out what size vehicle you need

Do it in this order and it takes two minutes.

1. Count the people, including the driver. Not the adults. Everyone.
2. Count the child restraints needed and note which ages, because that determines which seating positions can be used.
3. Count the bags honestly. Full size cases, carry on, and anything awkward like a pram, golf clubs or sporting gear.
4. Decide whether the group splits during the trip. If it does, one vehicle may not be the answer regardless of how well everyone fits.
5. Check the parking at your destination. A people mover is taller and longer than a sedan. Some Perth hotel and apartment carparks have height restrictions that an eight seater will not clear.

If step three gives you a number that will not fit, you have three options: reduce the luggage, add a second small car, or add a trailer. For sporting groups and anyone travelling with bulky gear, the trailer is usually the least expensive of the three.

What if you need more than eight seats?

Once you go past eight, the options narrow quickly and it is worth understanding why before you spend an afternoon searching.

Vehicles built to carry more than twelve adults including the driver sit in a different category and generally require a light rigid licence rather than an ordinary C class. That puts them outside what most people can simply book and drive away. Between nine and twelve seats there are vehicles available, but they are specialist, they are held in small numbers, and availability in Perth is limited.

For a group of nine to twelve, the practical answer is usually one people mover plus one car. It sounds like a compromise and it is, but it has two real advantages. You get a spare vehicle if the group needs to split, and you get somewhere to put the luggage that will not fit in the eight seater. It also means you are booking two common vehicle classes rather than chasing one rare one.

For larger groups again, a coach or charter operator is the right call rather than self drive hire, and that is a different service to vehicle rental.

Where a people mover earns its keep around Perth

Some journeys suit one vehicle far more than others, and it is worth thinking about the trip rather than just the headcount.

The airport run

A group landing together with luggage is the clearest case for one vehicle. Two cars means two sets of luggage decisions, two drivers finding the same address, and two lots of unfamiliar navigation straight after a flight. One vehicle makes the arrival considerably simpler, and collecting on the way in from Perth Airport rather than after checking in to a hotel saves a leg of the journey entirely.

The drive south

Margaret River, Busselton, Dunsborough and the wineries beyond are the classic group trip from Perth, and the drive is long enough that the difference between one vehicle and two is felt. Everyone stops together, nobody gets separated on the Forrest Highway, and the passengers can share the map reading.

Day trips around the metropolitan area

Fremantle, the Swan Valley, Kings Park, Hillarys. These are short enough that two cars are not much harder, but parking usually decides it. One vehicle needs one bay, and in Fremantle on a weekend that is not a small consideration.

Events, functions and weddings

Where the group is arriving somewhere together at a set time, one vehicle removes the coordination problem completely. It also means one nominated driver rather than two, which matters when the event involves a long lunch.

Driving a people mover if you normally drive a sedan

It is not difficult, but it is different, and the differences all show up in the first hour.

• It is taller. Watch for height restriction bars at shopping centre and hotel carparks. Perth CBD carparks in particular have low clearances in the older buildings.
• It is longer. Parallel parking takes more room and reversing takes more care. Use the cameras and sensors if fitted, but check over your shoulder as well.
• Blind spots are larger, particularly over the left shoulder with all three rows occupied and luggage stacked at the back. Mirror discipline matters more.
• It is heavier when loaded. Braking distance increases noticeably with eight people and luggage aboard. Leave more room than usual.
• Fuel use rises with the load. Plan fuel stops on longer regional drives rather than assuming the same range you would get in a car.
• Sliding doors need clearance. In a tight bay, passengers still need room to get out. Park accordingly.

Practical notes for booking a people mover in Perth

• Book earlier than you would a car. Eight seat vehicles are a small part of any fleet and they are the first category to run out during school holidays and over summer.
• Ask about child restraints when you book, not on the day. Burswood Car Rentals offers child and baby seat restraints on request, and requesting them at the time of booking is the only way to be certain they are fitted and ready.
• Nominate every driver who will actually drive. If the group intends to share the driving on a long trip, everyone driving needs to be on the agreement.
• Confirm the exact seat count of the vehicle class, because people mover is a loose term across the industry and covers everything from seven to twelve seats depending on the supplier.
• Ask about delivery. Delivery and collection to Perth city hotels and Crown within 20 kilometres is available, which is useful when a group is arriving with luggage and does not want to make its way to a depot first.
• Photograph the vehicle before you leave, including the interior with all rows in place.

Common questions

Does the driver count as one of the eight seats?

Yes. An eight seat vehicle carries seven passengers plus the driver.

Can we fold a row down for luggage?

In most people movers, yes, and this is the practical answer for a group of five or six with a lot of bags. You lose the seats you fold, so count your people first.

Do I need a special licence?

No. A standard C class licence covers a vehicle up to 4.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass, which includes eight seat people movers. Vehicles configured to carry more than twelve adults are a different matter and fall outside the ordinary hire fleet.

Can we tow with a people mover?

Where the vehicle is fitted for it and the hire agreement permits it. If you are travelling with sporting gear or camping equipment, ask about the vehicle and trailer together when you book. Note that in Western Australia any vehicle towing a trailer is limited to 100 km/h under the Road Traffic Code 2000, whatever the posted limit.

Can we take it on a long regional drive?

People movers are well suited to distance driving and it is one of the situations where one vehicle is clearly better than two. Check the hire agreement for any distance limits or restrictions on unsealed roads before you commit to a route.

Getting a people mover booked

Count the people, count the bags, then check availability. Because eight seat vehicles are always the tightest category in any fleet, booking early makes a bigger difference here than it does with a standard car.

The Instant Quote on the Burswood Car Rentals site will show you what is available for your dates. If you are travelling with young children, or you are not certain the luggage will fit, call (08) 9362 4777 or message on WhatsApp on 0438 757 909 and describe the group. It is a faster way to get the answer right than guessing from a photograph.

If you are towing a trailer anywhere in Western Australia, the single most important thing to know is that you are capped at 100 km/h, even on roads posted at 110. That limit comes from the Road Traffic Code 2000 and it is not signposted anywhere. It applies no matter how light the trailer is. Plenty of people who have towed for years in other states do not know this, and it is the most common way an otherwise careful driver picks up a fine on a WA highway.

The rest of the rules are less surprising but no less important. This guide covers what the law requires of you when you tow in WA, what to check before you leave, and how to load a trailer so it behaves itself at speed. It is written for people hiring a trailer rather than owning one, so it assumes you have not towed recently and are not familiar with the specific unit.

How fast can you tow in Western Australia?

100 km/h. That is the maximum, full stop.

The Road Traffic Code 2000 provides that a person must not drive a vehicle to which a trailer or other vehicle is attached at a speed exceeding 100 km/h. Main Roads Western Australia lists this among the statutory speed limits, which are the limits that apply by regulation rather than by sign. The Code expects you to know them as a condition of holding a licence.

Three consequences worth being clear about:

• It applies regardless of trailer weight. A small box trailer with a bicycle in it is subject to the same 100 km/h cap as a loaded tandem.
• It overrides the posted limit where the posted limit is higher. On a 110 zone heading north on the Brand Highway, you are still limited to 100.
• Where the posted limit is lower, the posted limit wins. The statutory limit is a ceiling, not a licence.

Your vehicle’s manufacturer may also specify a lower towing speed for that model, particularly at higher trailer weights. Where the manufacturer specifies a lower figure, that is the one to work to.

Why this catches people out. Most states set the towing speed at the posted limit, or apply a reduced limit only above a combined mass threshold. Western Australia applies a flat 100 km/h to every towing combination. If you have towed interstate and are applying that experience here, you are probably applying the wrong rule.

Does the trailer need brakes?

It depends on the gross trailer mass, and the thresholds are set out clearly in the Department of Transport’s safe towing guidance.

Gross trailer mass	Braking requirement
Single axle, not over 750 kg	Brakes not required
Over 750 kg	Brakes required
Over 750 kg and not over 2,000 kg	Braking on the wheels of at least one axle. Over-ride brakes are permitted
Over 2,000 kg	Braking on all wheels, operated from the driver’s seated position. Over-ride brakes are not permitted

 

There is a companion rule that matters just as much and is easier to miss. If a trailer is not fitted with brakes, its loaded mass must not exceed 750 kg. That is a limit on what you can put in it, not just on what the trailer weighs empty. A light unbraked trailer loaded with pavers can exceed 750 kg without looking full.

This is one reason a braked tandem trailer is a more forgiving thing to hire than an unbraked box trailer. Burswood Car Rentals hires braked tandem trailers, which removes the 750 kg loaded mass ceiling from the equation and gives you braking that works with the tow vehicle rather than relying on it entirely.

What about safety chains?

Safety chains are mandatory. Their job is to keep the trailer attached to the vehicle if the coupling releases, which is a rare event with an enormous consequence.

The Department of Transport’s Safe Towing Guide sets the requirement by aggregate trailer mass:

• Under 2,500 kg aggregate trailer mass: at least one safety chain.
• Between 2,500 kg and 3,500 kg: two safety chains.

Chains must meet the applicable Australian Standard. For trailers up to 3,500 kg aggregate trailer mass, Australian Design Rule 62/02 requires compliance with AS 4177, the standard covering caravan and light trailer towing components. Complying chain carries a marking repeated along its length, which is how an inspector tells rated chain from hardware store chain.

In practice, on a hire trailer, the chains will already be correct. What you need to get right is how you connect them. Cross the chains under the drawbar so that if the coupling lets go, the drawbar lands in the cradle the chains form rather than digging into the road. Leave enough slack to turn, but not so much that the drawbar can reach the ground.

Is the tow vehicle up to the job?

Two numbers matter and they are not the same number.

The towbar and coupling capacity must be at least equal to the loaded mass of the trailer. On a vehicle built after January 1992, the towbar must be marked with its load capacity along with either the vehicle model it was designed for or the manufacturer’s part number. If you are looking at an unmarked towbar on a modern vehicle, that is a problem.

The vehicle’s towing capacity is set by its manufacturer and is often quoted as two separate figures, one for a braked trailer and one for an unbraked trailer. The braked figure is usually much higher.

Where a vehicle was built before 1 January 1992 and the manufacturer never specified a maximum towing capacity, the fallback guidance is 1.5 times the unloaded mass of the vehicle for a trailer fitted with appropriate brakes, and a maximum of 750 kg for a trailer without brakes. This is rarely relevant to a hire vehicle but it comes up with older private tow vehicles.

The loaded mass of the trailer must never exceed the trailer’s aggregate trailer mass, which is the maximum the trailer itself is rated to weigh when loaded. If you are unsure what your combination actually weighs, a public weighbridge will tell you in a few minutes.

How do you load a trailer so it tows properly?

Trailer sway is almost always a loading problem rather than a driving problem. Get the loading right and most of the difficulty disappears.

Put weight forward of the axle

The heaviest items go slightly forward of the trailer’s axle, low down and centred. This puts a modest downward load on the towball, which is what keeps the trailer tracking behind you. A trailer loaded heavy at the back will lift the ball, unload the tow vehicle’s rear wheels and start to sway.

Balance side to side

A load stacked against one side pulls the trailer out of line and loads one tyre far more than the other. Spread it.

Restrain everything

In Western Australia, load restraint on all vehicles is governed by the Road Traffic (Vehicles) Regulations 2014, which reference the Load Restraint Guide 2004, Second Edition. This is a genuine difference from most of the country. Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and the ACT reference the 2018 light vehicle guide instead. The National Transport Commission has noted there is no material practical difference between the performance standards in the two editions, but the version with legal standing in WA is the 2004 guide.

The headline standard is that the restraint must withstand 0.8 times the mass of the load in the forward direction, which is what hard braking generates. Use rated straps and ratchet tie downs rather than rope, use a net or tarp over anything that could lift out, and check the load again after the first twenty minutes of driving.

Do not fill it just because it is empty

Volume is not the constraint. Mass is. A tandem trailer will physically hold more sand than you are allowed to carry in it.

The pre-departure check

Five minutes before you leave, every time. Most towing incidents trace back to something on this list.

1. Coupling seated and locked. Latch fully engaged, locking pin or clip in place. Lift the drawbar to confirm it will not come off the ball.
2. Safety chains crossed and connected to rated attachment points, with enough slack to turn and not enough to touch the road.
3. Lights working. Indicators, brake lights, tail lights and number plate light. Have someone stand behind while you cycle through them. Trailer lights must operate in unison with the vehicle’s.
4. Electrical plug seated and the lead routed so it cannot drag or stretch on a tight turn.
5. Pressure and condition on the trailer and the tow vehicle. Trailer tyres often sit for long periods and lose pressure. Do not forget the spare.
6. Jockey wheel raised and locked clear of the road.
7. Load restrained and, if applicable, the tarp or net secured at every edge.
8. If the trailer is wider than the tow vehicle, you need to be able to see past it. Extension mirrors may be required.
9. Brake controller set if the trailer has electric brakes.

Driving with a trailer behind you

The vehicle you are driving is now considerably longer and heavier, and it responds differently to everything.

• Braking distance increases. Leave much more room than feels necessary, particularly on a wet Kwinana Freeway.
• Keep back from heavy vehicles. When towing in WA you must stay at least 60 metres behind a heavy vehicle or another towing vehicle, unless you are overtaking.
• Take corners wider. The trailer cuts inside your line. Roundabouts and kerbside turns in the older inner suburbs are where trailers meet kerbs.
• Overtake with far more room than you would normally use, and think carefully about whether you need to at all.
• Avoid sudden steering inputs. Sway is usually triggered by a quick correction. If it starts, ease off the accelerator, keep the steering straight and let it settle rather than braking hard.
• Reversing takes practice. Small steering inputs, and an observer outside the vehicle is genuinely helpful. Find an empty carpark and try it once before you need to do it in a driveway.

What are people usually hiring a trailer for in Perth?

Four jobs account for most trailer hires, and each one has a different answer to the question of what else you need.

Moving house

The most common reason and the one where a trailer changes the day most. A trailer behind an SUV or a ute turns a repeated shuttle into one or two runs. If you are moving a full household, hiring the tow vehicle and the trailer together from the same supplier means the combination is matched and approved, and you are not trying to fit a hired trailer to a car that was never set up to tow.

Tip and green waste runs

Perth’s transfer stations are built for trailers. Watch the loaded mass rather than the volume, particularly with soil, sand and wet green waste, which are all much heavier than they look.

Renovation and garden projects

Pavers, sleepers, mulch, demolition waste. This is the category where the 750 kg unbraked limit bites hardest, and where a braked tandem is worth the difference.

Taking gear away for a trip

Camping equipment, bikes, boards, fishing gear. Bulky rather than heavy, so mass is rarely the constraint. What matters here is that everything is covered and restrained, because this is the load type most likely to lift out at speed.

Practical notes for hiring a trailer in Perth

• Check your vehicle is actually set up to tow before you book the trailer. A towbar is not standard on every vehicle and an electrical connection is not always fitted even where a towbar is.
• If you are hiring the tow vehicle too, book both together. It removes the question of whether the combination is approved.
• Photograph the trailer before you leave. Chassis, tyres, lights, coupling, and the interior of the tray.
• Practise the reverse once. Five minutes in an empty carpark is worth an hour of frustration later.
• Plan your parking. A tow vehicle and trailer will not fit in a standard bay, and many Perth shopping centre carparks have height and length restrictions.
• The Burswood depot is at 16 Teddington Road, on the airport to city route, which makes collection straightforward from most directions.

Common questions

Can a learner driver tow a trailer in WA?

Under WA licensing rules, a learner may tow while accompanied by an experienced driver. This differs from several other states, where learner drivers cannot tow at all. Hire agreements set their own driver requirements though, and these are usually stricter than the licensing rules, so confirm before booking.

Do I need a special licence to tow?

For a light trailer behind a standard vehicle, no. A C class licence covers it, provided the combination stays within the rated limits of the vehicle, the towbar and the trailer.

Can anyone ride in the trailer?

No. Never, under any circumstances.

What if a light stops working on the way?

You cannot legally continue with a trailer whose lights are not operating. Most failures are the plug working loose rather than a bulb, so check the connection first.

Booking a trailer

Work out the mass of what you are moving before you choose the trailer, not after. If the load is heavy, a braked tandem is the right unit. If you also need the tow vehicle, book both on the same reservation so the combination is matched.

The Instant Quote on the Burswood Car Rentals site will show availability for trailers and tow vehicles together. If you are not sure whether your own vehicle is suitable, call (08) 9362 4777 or send a message on WhatsApp to 0438 757 909 and describe the vehicle and the load.

If you are moving a fridge, taking green waste to the tip, picking up flat pack furniture or running tools to a job site, a ute is the right vehicle. If you are moving a whole household, a ute on its own will cost you more trips than it saves, and a ute towing a trailer is usually the better answer. That is the short version, and for most Perth jobs it is the whole answer.

The longer version matters because hiring the wrong vehicle is expensive in a way that does not show up on the invoice. It shows up in the third trip back to Osborne Park, in the couch that did not fit, and in the load that shifted on the Graham Farmer Freeway. This guide covers what a ute is genuinely good for in Perth, what Western Australian law requires of you once something is in the tray, and how to work out whether you need the ute, the trailer, or both.

What is a hire ute actually good for?

A ute earns its keep when the load is heavy, dirty, awkwardly shaped or all three. The open tray is the point. You are not trying to angle a wardrobe through a door aperture or worrying about what a bag of garden soil is doing to the boot carpet.

The jobs a ute handles better than anything else in a hire fleet:

• Tip runs. Green waste, renovation offcuts, an old mattress. Perth’s transfer stations are set up for utes and trailers, and an open tray is far quicker to unload than a boot.
• Building and landscaping supplies. Bagged soil, pavers, timber lengths, plasterboard sheets. Bunnings and the trade suppliers along Great Eastern Highway load straight into a tray.
• Single large items. A fridge, a washing machine, a bed base, a ride on mower. One item, one trip, no disassembly.
• Tools and trade gear. If you are working across sites for a week and need everything with you, a dual cab gives you a locked cabin for the valuable gear and a tray for the rest.
• Anything wet, sandy or muddy. Boat gear after a morning at Hillarys, camping equipment coming back from Lancelin, surfboards and wetsuits. A tray hoses out.

The jobs a ute handles badly are the ones people most often hire one for. A full house move is the main offender. A tray holds a lot less than it looks like it does once boxes are stacked to a height that can actually be strapped down, and every load is exposed to weather and to the road.

Do you need a ute, a trailer, or both?

This is the question that decides the booking, and it is worth two minutes of thought before you book anything.

A ute on its own

Right when the load is heavy for its size and you want to load and unload quickly. Soil, sand, pavers, appliances, tools. A ute is also easier to park and reverse than any towing combination, which matters if the job is in Northbridge or somewhere in the western suburbs with a narrow verge.

A car or SUV towing a trailer

Right when the load is bulky rather than dense, and when you also need to carry passengers in comfort. A trailer gives you volume. It is also the better answer for a single awkward item that will not fit in a tray, like a long ladder or a canoe.

A ute towing a trailer

Right for a genuine house move or a big clean out. This is the combination that turns a three trip job into a one trip job. Burswood Car Rentals hires braked tandem trailers alongside its Toyota Hilux utes, so both halves of the combination can come from the same booking and you are not coordinating two suppliers on the same morning.

Worth knowing before you commit to towing. In Western Australia the Road Traffic Code 2000 sets a statutory maximum of 100 km/h for any vehicle towing a trailer, regardless of what the trailer weighs and regardless of the posted limit on the road. It is not signposted. If your run includes a stretch of highway zoned at 110, you are still capped at 100 the moment a trailer is on the back.

What licence do you need for a hire ute in WA?

A standard C class licence is enough. It covers vehicles up to 4.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass, which takes in the single cab and dual cab utes that make up a hire fleet. You do not need a light rigid licence or any endorsement.

Towing does not change the licence class either, provided the combination stays within the limits of the tow vehicle and the trailer. What it does change is how the vehicle behaves, which is a separate problem and one that catches out drivers who have never towed.

If you hold an overseas licence, the licence itself is generally not the obstacle. The hire company’s own requirements are. Confirm those when you book rather than at the counter.

How do WA load restraint rules work?

This is the part most guides get wrong, and it is worth getting right because Western Australia is genuinely different from the eastern states.

The Road Traffic (Vehicles) Regulations 2014 reference the Load Restraint Guide 2004, Second Edition. Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and the ACT moved to the Load Restraint Guide for Light Vehicles 2018. Western Australia and the Northern Territory did not. The National Transport Commission has said there is no material practical difference between the performance standards in the two editions, but the version with legal standing in WA is the 2004 guide.

What that means for you in the tray of a ute is straightforward. Your restraint has to be strong enough that the load does not move under the forces of normal driving. The headline performance standard is that the restraint must withstand 0.8 times the mass of the load in the forward direction, which is the force generated by hard braking. The guide sets lower standards for rearward, sideways and vertical movement. In plain terms, the forward direction is the one that will catch you out, because braking is where a load wants to go through the back of the cab.

The guide is guidance, not prescription. You can restrain a load any way you like as long as you can demonstrate it meets those performance standards.

What that looks like in practice

• Use rated straps and ratchet tie downs, not rope. The Department of Transport is explicit about this. Rope stretches, loosens and is almost impossible to tension properly.
• Use the rated anchor points. Check them for damage before you load. An anchor point that has been bent is not rated any more.
• Cover loose material with a net or tarp. Anything that can lift out in airflow needs to be contained, not just held down. Bagged mulch at 100 km/h behaves differently to bagged mulch in a driveway.
• Load heavy items forward and low, over or ahead of the rear axle, and spread the weight evenly across the tray rather than to one side.
• Tie down at an angle, not straight across a tall load. A strap running flat over the top of a high load does very little to stop it sliding forward.
• Check the load during the trip. Anything that can settle will settle, and a strap that was tight in the driveway can be slack twenty minutes later.

If you are putting a ladder or long timber on a roof rack rather than in the tray, the same principle applies and there is a weight limit on the rack itself. The Department of Transport publishes a bulletin specifically on tradespeople’s roof racks.

What can go wrong, and how to avoid it

Overhanging loads

Timber, pipe and ladders routinely overhang the back of a tray. There are limits on how far a load may project and requirements for marking an overhanging load so it is visible to other drivers. If your load is going to hang out the back, plan for it before you load rather than improvising at the supplier.

The load that fits but should not travel

A load can be within the tray and still be unsafe. Loose bricks stacked without restraint, an unsecured toolbox, a gas bottle rolling around. If it can move, it will, and a hard stop on Orrong Road is enough to prove it.

Passengers in the tray

Not permitted, in any circumstances, and prohibited by any hire agreement you will sign. Everyone travels in a seat with a restraint.

Assuming a dual cab has the same tray as a single cab

It does not. A dual cab trades tray length for a second row of seats. If your load is long and you also need to carry three passengers, that is the trade off to think about before you book, and it is often the point at which a trailer starts to make sense.

Single cab or dual cab?

The choice comes down to whether you are moving people or moving things.

A single cab gives you the longer tray. If the job is genuinely a load carrying job and there are one or two of you, this is the more useful vehicle. Long items sit inside the tray rather than hanging over the tailgate.

A dual cab gives you a back seat and a shorter tray. It is the right call when the crew travels together, when you want a lockable cabin for tools and laptops, or when the ute is doing double duty as a work vehicle during the week and a family vehicle on the weekend. Most people hiring a ute for a few days want the dual cab, and most people hiring one for a specific heavy job want the single cab.

Hiring a ute for trade use

Trade hire is a different problem to a weekend tip run, and it is worth treating it as one.

The usual driver is capacity rather than replacement. A business with its own vehicles hits a fortnight where there is one more job than there are utes, or a vehicle goes in for repair in the middle of a run. Hiring to cover that gap is cheaper and faster than buying, and it does not commit the business to an asset it only needs for three weeks a year.

Three things make trade hire work better than ad hoc hire:

• Set up an account rather than booking each time. A corporate or trade account removes the payment step from every individual hire and puts the invoicing on terms your bookkeeper can work with. Burswood Car Rentals offers corporate accounts.
• Book the vehicle class, not the exact model. Availability is easier to secure and you are unlikely to care whether the tray sits on one badge or another as long as it does the job.
• Nominate your drivers properly. Everyone who will drive the vehicle needs to be on the agreement. An unlisted driver is the fastest way to turn a small incident into an uninsured one.

If the vehicle is going to be branded, carrying signage or fitted with anything, ask before you book. Adhesive signage and drilled fittings are almost always outside a standard hire agreement, and it is much easier to find that out beforehand than to explain it at the return.

How long should you book a ute for?

Longer than you think, and this is not upselling. Two patterns account for most of the stress people report on a ute hire.

The first is the half day booking for a job that turns out to need a second trip. Tip runs are the classic case. What looked like one load in the backyard becomes two once it is actually stacked and strapped.

The second is the weekend move that runs into Monday morning. Loading takes longer than expected, the new place is not ready, someone is late. A booking with a day of margin in it costs less than a rushed return and a job half finished.

For trade use across multiple sites, weekly and longer hires generally work out better per day than repeated short hires, and they remove the daily pick up and drop off from your schedule entirely.

Practical notes for hiring a ute in Perth

• The depot sits on the airport to city route. Burswood Car Rentals operates from 16 Teddington Road, Burswood, which is convenient if you are collecting on the way in from Perth Airport or heading out towards the eastern suburbs.
• Delivery is available to Perth city hotels and Crown within 20 kilometres, which is useful if you are working in the CBD and do not want to make the trip to the depot to collect.
• Take photographs before you drive off. Tray, tailgate, anchor points, tyres, and any existing marks. It takes two minutes and it settles any question later.
• Bring your own straps if you have preferred gear. Check what the vehicle comes with when you book rather than assuming.
• Think about where you will park it. A ute is longer than the sedan you normally drive, and a tandem trailer behind it is considerably longer again. Residential streets in the older inner suburbs are tight.

Common questions

Can I take a hire ute on unsealed roads?

This depends entirely on the hire agreement, and the answer varies between companies and between vehicle types. It is one of the most common causes of a dispute after a hire, so confirm it before you book if your plans involve gravel.

Do I need to return it clean?

Return conditions vary. If you have been carrying soil, sand or green waste, a quick hose out of the tray before you return it is sensible regardless of what the agreement says.

Can I tow with a hire ute?

Where the vehicle is set up for it and the hire agreement permits it, yes. Booking the ute and the trailer together from the same supplier is the simplest way to make sure the combination is matched and approved.

What if the load will not fit?

Ring before you book rather than after. Describing the actual load to someone who knows the fleet is faster than guessing from a website, and it is the difference between one trip and three.

Getting a ute booked

Work out the load first, then the vehicle. If it is heavy and compact, a ute. If it is bulky and light, a trailer. If it is a house, both. Once you know which, the Instant Quote on the Burswood Car Rentals site will give you availability and a rate in a few steps, and you can add a trailer to the same booking.

If you are not sure which combination suits the job, describe the load over the phone on (08) 9362 4777 or by WhatsApp on 0438 757 909. It is a two minute conversation that saves an afternoon.