Ute Tray Dimensions Australia 2026: Every Ute Measured

If you use your ute for work, the tray is the spec that pays the mortgage, engine, badge and bull bar don't matter if the tub is too narrow to fit a pallet flat or too short to take a 6-metre length of timber. This guide measures every ute on Australian sale in 2026: dual cab tubs, single cab pickups, cab-chassis options, American heavies, and the new PHEV utes. All dimensions are manufacturer-published in millimetres, cross-checked against ADR compliance plates where the brochure was ambiguous.

Last updated: July 2026, now including the class of 2026 newcomers (Kia Tasman, GWM Cannon Alpha, JAC T9, LDV Terron 9, Foton Tunland, MG U9). All figures are manufacturer-published from Ford Australia, Toyota Australia, Isuzu Ute Australia, Mitsubishi Motors Australia, Nissan Australia, Mazda Australia, Kia Australia, GWM Australia, BYD Australia, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, LDV Automotive, JAC Australia, RAM Trucks Australia, Ford Performance Vehicles and Chevrolet Special Vehicles.

Try It: Compare Any Ute's Tray Live

Don't just read the numbers, work them. Pick a ute below to see its real tray dimensions, a pallet-fit verdict, and its payload, GVM and towing headroom as you load the tray and hitch a trailer. The data is drawn straight from our database (the same manufacturer figures used throughout this article), and there's no sign-up. Want the full-screen version with every ute side by side? Open the Ute Cargo Space Simulator.

Quick Answer: The Headline Tray Numbers

Every ute on Australian sale with a published tray measurement, longest tub first. These figures are read live from our database on each rebuild, which is the same source the simulator above uses, so the two always agree.

Payload is the highest-carrying variant of each nameplate; body style changes it significantly, so check your exact build. Tray figures are the factory tub, not an aftermarket tray.

New utes for 2026

The mid-size ute class just had its biggest shake-up in years. The Kia Tasman arrived as the first all-new nameplate from a major brand in a decade, GWM's Cannon Alpha landed in both diesel and PHEV, and a wave of Chinese newcomers (JAC T9, LDV Terron 9, Foton Tunland, MG U9) undercut the establishment on price while matching it on tray size. Here is how the class of 2026 measures up, from our database.

Each row names the exact variant its price and payload belong to, because within a single nameplate they move together and quoting them from different variants flatters both. The Tasman is the clearest case: the $38,990 S 4x2 carries 1,124kg, while the 4x4 grades at $42,990 and up carry 1,025kg on a shorter 1,512mm tray.

Two of these deserve a closer look. The Kia Tasman (1,175mm between the arches) and the MG U9 (1,230mm) are the only newcomers wide enough to take a standard 1,165mm pallet flat, joining the Ranger and Amarok in a club that does not include the HiLux, D-Max or BT-50. The Tasman S 4x2 also carries a class-leading 1,124kg. The GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV is the first plug-in ute to keep the full 3,500kg braked tow rating where the BYD Shark 6 drops to 2,500kg, though the plug-in hardware trims its payload to 685kg. The three Chinese diesels (Foton, JAC, LDV) all out-carry a Ford Ranger dual cab on paper at a lower price, which is the real story of 2026: the payload crown left the establishment.

Dual Cab Pickup Tubs: The Full Comparison

Width Between Wheel Arches (the spec that matters most)

Width between the wheel arches is the narrowest usable point in the tray. Once you can't fit a pallet, a Gyprock sheet or a packed wheelbarrow flat between the arches, the rest of the tub geometry is academic. An Australian standard pallet is 1,165mm square, so that is the number every tray below is measured against.

Only 12 of the 27 utes with a published arch width can take a standard pallet flat between the arches: Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Ford F-150, Toyota LandCruiser 70, MG U9, RAM 2500, RAM 3500, RAM 1500, Volkswagen Amarok, Toyota Tundra, Ford Ranger, Kia Tasman. Everything else needs the pallet angled, broken down, or carried on top of the arches with the tailgate down. If pallets are a daily part of your business, that list is your shopping list, and it is shorter than most buyers expect.

Tray Length and Depth

Length matters for timber, ladders and anything long. Every mid-size dual cab tub in Australia now sits inside a 120mm band, from the BYD Shark 6 at 1,450mm to the Isuzu D-Max at 1,570mm, so there is no dual cab tub long enough to lay a 6m length of timber flat without an overhanging flag. Depth is the quieter spec: it decides how much loose material (sand, mulch, demolition waste) you can carry before it starts blowing out.

The American heavies sit noticeably deeper at the load floor than the Japanese mid-size utes. For older tradies that is the difference between throwing a heavy bag in and lifting it carefully over the rail.

Single Cab Tray Dimensions

Single cab pickups and cab-chassis variants are the workhorse end of the lineup. The tub is roughly 50% longer than a dual cab, payload is dramatically higher, and seating drops to 2.

All Japanese single cab pickups cluster at 2,300-2,330mm length, there's a notable convergence because they're all built to ISO standard pallet-pair length. Stack two 1,165mm pallets end-to-end and you need 2,330mm of tray length; that's exactly what most factory single cab tubs deliver.

Unlike every other table on this page, these seven rows are not drawn live from our database. Not one single-cab variant on sale in Australia has a tray length recorded against it, because the versions the makers actually list are cab-chassis, which leave the factory with no tray at all — the tub or tradie tray is fitted afterwards. The figures above are factory pickup-body dimensions and should be read as indicative of the body, not as a spec attached to a particular car you can order. If you are sizing a tray for a cab-chassis, the numbers that matter are your GVM and the weight of the tray itself, not these.

One vehicle sits so far outside this pattern it distorts the tables above: the Isuzu NLR 45-150 light truck, which is the same class of thing a tradie cross-shops but is built on a truck chassis. Its long-wheelbase TrayPack carries a 4,500mm tray, nearly double the longest ute here and enough for three pallets end-to-end, on a 4,500kg GVM. Isuzu publishes no payload for it, so what it can legally carry depends on the tray you fit and how the vehicle is registered.

Cab-Chassis: The Tradie Default

If you're fitting an aftermarket tradie tray, you start from a cab-chassis (CC). These have no factory tub, they end at the rear cab pillars, and you bolt your steel or alloy tray to the chassis rails. Common dimensions are independent of the chassis once you've fitted the tray, but each chassis has a maximum length the rego accepts.

The 2,400mm aftermarket alloy tray is a sweet spot: long enough for 8-foot Gyprock sheets, short enough that rego doesn't require special LV (Light Vehicle) modifications in most states.

Aftermarket Tradie Trays: Sizes That Actually Fit

The Australian alloy tradie tray market has standardised around three width / length combinations. If you're ordering a tray to fit a Ranger / HiLux / D-Max / BT-50 / Triton single cab chassis, these are the sizes you'll see at the dealer.

Standard Aftermarket Tray Sizes

Going past 2,400mm requires registering as a special vehicle with extended rear overhang in most states, and the rear-most overhang has to stay under 60% of the wheelbase. The 2,450mm factory cab-chassis trays from Ranger / D-Max / BT-50 sit just inside that limit.

The Subaru Sambar Question

The Sambar mini-truck is a 1980s-2000s kei truck imported under the 15-year personal import rule (now 25 years federally). Tray dimensions vary by year but the standard run is 1,920mm long, 1,400mm wide, with about 250-300mm sides. Payload is rated to 350kg by Subaru but most modified Sambars run heavier. Sambars are not factory-sold in Australia but appear in classifieds as bush utes and farm trucks.

Tray Length vs Pallet-Pair Maths

This is the simplest way to choose a single cab tray length if you handle pallets.

• One pallet (1,165mm): Any factory single cab CC tray works (2,310-2,450mm).
• Two pallets stacked end-to-end (2,330mm): Need 2,400mm tray. The 2,400 builders' tray on a single cab CC is the sweet spot.
• Two pallets stacked side-by-side (2,330mm wide): Impossible. No Australian factory or aftermarket tray is over 1,900mm wide.
• Two euro pallets end-to-end (2,400mm): Need 2,500mm tray. Only achievable with the long-bed wide aftermarket option on a Ranger or D-Max CC.

American Heavy-Duty Utes: The 6'4" vs 5'5" Bed Question

RAM, Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado all come in multiple bed lengths. Australia gets a subset.

The garage problem: every American heavy is over 5.8m long total. Most Australian garages built post-2000 are 5.4m deep, that means 400-800mm of vehicle hangs out. Older garages (4.8m) leave 1m+ overhanging. Width is the other issue. RAM 1500 is 2,084mm body-only, 2,400mm with mirrors out, which is too wide to walk past doors-open in a standard 2,400mm garage.

Tray Length vs Vehicle Length (and Why It Matters for Driveways)

Tray length only tells half the story. The other half is overhang behind the rear axle, which determines whether the rear of the tray hits a sloped driveway.

For steep driveway entry, departure angle is the spec that determines whether you scrape the tow bar (or the tray itself). Anything under 22° will scrape on aggressive driveways.

The PHEV Ute Tray Reality (BYD Shark 6 + Coming Soon)

The BYD Shark 6 is the first mass-market PHEV ute in Australia. The PHEV battery sits between the chassis rails under the tub floor, which has two consequences:

• Higher load floor. 875mm vs 833mm for Ranger. Loading heavy gear is harder.
• Lower payload. 790kg vs 1,003kg for Ranger XLT. The battery uses up 200kg+ of GVM.
• Reduced towing. 2,500kg vs 3,500kg standard mid-size. Caravan capacity is meaningfully lower.
• V2L bonus. 6kW vehicle-to-load output turns the tray into mobile jobsite power for tools and chargers.

The GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV is now on sale and shows both sides of the trade-off: it is the first plug-in ute to hold the full 3,500kg braked tow rating (where the Shark 6 drops to 2,500kg), but its payload falls to 685kg. The Ford Ranger PHEV and the fully-electric KGM Musso EV (tow limited to 1,800kg) face the same weight maths. For pure work utility, current diesel mid-sizes still win. For commute-and-jobsite hybrid use cases (drive home on battery, run tools on V2L), the PHEV utes are increasingly competitive.

Payload: The Spec Most Tradies Miss

Everyone obsesses over 3,500kg braked tow rating. Most utes have it. What actually limits day-to-day work is payload, how much you can put in and on the ute including passengers, fuel, tools, bull bar, canopy and tray load.

Payload Ranked (Dual Cab Pickup, Standard Spec)

The American heavies are towing-focused. Their payload is mid-pack despite massive GVMs because the kerb weight is so high. For everyday tradie payload, the Japanese mid-size dual cabs are still the smart pick. For tow-and-carry combined heavy use, the Ranger Wildtrak 2.0 or RAM 1500 win.

P-Plate and Learner Driver Ute Considerations

Most diesel utes are P-plate legal in every state because power-to-weight stays well under the 130kW/t threshold most states use. A Ranger Bi-turbo 154kW with a 2,330kg kerb works out to 66kW/t, easily inside any state limit. Even the RAM 1500 V8 (291kW, 2,580kg) at 113kW/t is P-plate legal in most states. The exceptions are high-tune petrol turbo utes:

• Ranger Raptor (292kW, 2,478kg = 118kW/t): Legal everywhere except NSW Stage 1 P (under 25 only).
• Volkswagen Amarok TDI600 (190kW, 2,395kg = 79kW/t): Legal nationwide.
• RAM 1500 TRX (523kW, 2,890kg = 181kW/t): Banned for P-plate in every state.

See our full P-plate cars by state guide for the kW/t limits in each jurisdiction.

Towing Capacity vs Tray Length: The Caravan Maths

If you tow a caravan AND carry tools in the tray, GCM (Gross Combination Mass) is the spec that bites. Most utes are rated 3,500kg braked, but you can't actually USE all 3,500kg of tow while also at GVM. The combined weight has a cap.

HiLux towing 3.5T is barely able to carry the tow ball download (350kg) plus a passenger in the cab. Many HiLux owners towing big caravans are technically over GCM. Ranger XLT and Amarok have meaningfully more combined headroom, that's the spec to check if you tow seriously.

Tray Accessories Worth Fitting

1. Tub Liner ($300-600 fitted)

Plastic or spray-in. Protects the tub from scratches and corrosion. Spray-in is more durable and quieter (no clatter from cargo); drop-in plastic is cheaper and removable.

2. Tonneau Cover ($400-2,500 fitted)

Soft cover with snap or velcro from $400. Roll-top hard covers from $1,200. Lockable hard lid (one-piece) from $1,800. Worth it for security and weather protection.

3. Bed Divider / Headboard ($200-400)

Stops cargo sliding into the cab during hard braking. Most factory headboards are pressed steel; aftermarket alloy is lighter.

4. Ladder Rack / Roof Rack ($600-1,200)

If you carry ladders, lengths of timber or kayaks. Make sure roof-load rating fits the ute (most factory roofs are 80-100kg dynamic).

5. Under-Tray Toolboxes ($400-900 each)

Standard fitment on aftermarket alloy tradie trays. Adds 100-200L of secure storage without consuming tray bed space.

6. Canopy ($2,500-5,500 fitted)

Steel ute canopies (Norweld, MSA, ARB) from $2,500. Slide-out drawers and 12V kitchen fitouts push the price to $5,500+ but turn the tray into a touring/camping module.

7. V2L Adaptor (PHEV/EV utes only)

For BYD Shark 6, Ford Ranger PHEV, KGM Musso EV. Adaptor cables from $200. Lets you run an angle grinder, fridge, or small welder from the vehicle's battery.

How to Use CarSorted to Compare Tray Specs

Every ute page on CarSorted shows the manufacturer-published tray dimensions (length, width, depth, between-arches, payload, GVM, GCM) in the spec sheet. Use the comparison tool to stack 2-4 utes side by side:

• Compare Ford Ranger vs Toyota HiLux
• Compare Ford Ranger vs Isuzu D-Max
• Compare BYD Shark 6 vs Ford Ranger
• Browse every ute on Australian sale

Bottom Line: Choosing a Ute by Tray Specs

• Carrying pallets daily? Ford Ranger, VW Amarok (both 1,222mm) or Kia Tasman (1,175mm). They are the only mainstream mid-size dual cabs that take a 1,165mm pallet flat between the arches. The HiLux, D-Max and BT-50 do not, despite what a lot of buying advice still says.
• Building tradie / framer? Single cab chassis with a 2,400mm aftermarket alloy tray. Ranger, HiLux, D-Max or BT-50 cab-chassis all work.
• Family + occasional work? Dual cab Ranger XLT or HiLux SR5. Both fit the family in the back row, the tub takes a weekend job's worth of gear.
• Heavy towing (caravan over 2.5T)? Ford Ranger XLT or VW Amarok Style, biggest GCM headroom of the Japanese-class. RAM 1500 if you tow 3.5T+ regularly.
• Maximum tray length? RAM 1500 6'4" (1,938mm) or Ford F-150 6'5" (1,981mm). Both come with garage-fit penalties.
• Site-power user (V2L)? BYD Shark 6 or the new GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV, which is the only plug-in ute to keep the full 3,500kg tow. Ford Ranger PHEV arriving.
• Newcomer with the best payload? The 2026 Chinese diesels lead: LDV Terron 9 (1,100kg), Foton Tunland and JAC T9 (~1,050kg), all out-carrying a Ford Ranger for less money. The Kia Tasman is the newcomer that also fits a pallet.
• P-plate legal work ute? Any diesel mid-size, all under 70kW/t. Avoid Ranger Raptor and RAM TRX for P-plate.

Tray dimensions are sourced from Ford Australia, Toyota Australia, Isuzu Ute Australia, Mitsubishi Motors Australia, Nissan Australia, Mazda Australia, GWM Australia, BYD Australia, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, LDV Automotive, RAM Trucks Australia and Ford Performance Vehicles official specifications, current as of May 2026. Verify the exact dimensions on your build sheet before fitting accessories or planning loads.