For trades and small fleets running diesel utes between jobs, the right portable tank is the difference between two stops at a servo a week and zero. Tray-mounted, locked, with a 12V pump that runs off the ute's own battery — set up properly, you fill up at depot rates, refuel anywhere, and stop losing 20 minutes per stop to the cardlock queue. Here's the practical setup guide for trade ute fleets.
Tray fit and payload — the boring stuff that matters
Most 1-tonne dual-cab utes have a tray payload around 900–1,200 kg depending on canopy, tools and tow ball weight. A full 210L tank is ~210 kg; a full 400L tank is ~388 kg.
210L fits behind a headboard on every common dual-cab tray (1,100 × 800 × 450 mm). Leaves room for a toolbox and racks.
400L needs a full tray or a long-bed tray (1,150 × 800 × 680 mm). Best for trades running a tray-only ute without a canopy.
Check your ute's payload sticker before you load up. A 388 kg tank plus tools, racks and two passengers eats into payload fast.
Mounting it down properly
A loose 200+ kg tank in a tray is a serious crash hazard. Bolt or strap it down to engineered tie-down points — most trade ute trays have rated rings rated for the load.
Ratchet straps over the tank into rated tie-downs is the minimum. For permanent installations, bolt-through-tray mounting with backing plates is the right answer.
Position the tank forward in the tray over the rear axle, not at the tailgate — keeps the ute's handling predictable when full.
The 12V pump setup that just works
Joey tanks ship with a 4 m alligator-clip cable that reaches the ute battery from the tray on every common dual-cab. No hard-wiring needed for occasional users.
For daily-use fleet utes, hard-wire the pump to a switched accessory circuit with a 40 A fuse within 30 cm of the battery. Auto-electrician job, 1 hour, around $250–$350.
Run the engine when transferring more than 100 L — the pump pulls 20–25 A under load and a tired battery struggles.
Theft prevention on the road
A locked filling cap is the first line. The second is making the pump nozzle hard to access — many fleet operators run a simple lockable steel pump cover or chain the nozzle to the tank.
Park strategically: at site, near the office or under CCTV. Overnight, in the depot or a locked compound.
If you're seeing unexplained fuel loss, the digital flow-read bowser logs every transfer. A weekly review against your job sheets catches discrepancies early.
Fleet economics
Trade fleets typically save $0.10–$0.25 per litre running off a bulk-filled portable vs cardlock or retail. For a ute doing 40,000 km/year at 10 L/100km, that's 4,000 L — $400–$1,000 a year per ute.
Add the time saving: 10 minutes per refuel × 2 refuels per week × 50 weeks = 17 hours of paid trade time per ute, per year. On any chargeable trade rate, that's the tank paid off inside year one.
Larger fleets (5+ utes) usually centralise on a 1,000 L depot tank and run smaller portables in field vehicles. The 1000L gets filled by a bulk supplier on contract; field utes top up from it before heading out.
Frequently asked questions
Spec a tray tank that fits your fleet
Tell us your ute model and weekly fuel burn — we'll match the tank, freight it to you, and get you off the cardlock queue. Call 0468 462 047.
