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: May 2026. All figures are manufacturer-published 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, Ford Performance Vehicles and Chevrolet Special Vehicles.

Quick Answer: The Headline Tray Numbers

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. Here are the numbers ranked.

Half the dual cab market can't take a flat pallet. If pallets matter to your business, the shopping list shortens dramatically. The Ranger, D-Max, Amarok and HiLux are the four Japanese / European platforms that pass.

Tray Length Comparison

Length matters for timber, ladders, and anything long. Note that all dual cab tubs are within a 70mm band, there is no dual cab tub long enough for a 6m length of timber to sit flat without an overhanging flag.

Tray Depth and Width at the Top Rail

Depth matters for loose loads (mulch, sand, gravel, scrap). Top-rail width matters for sheet goods and for fitting a tonneau cover or canopy cleanly.

The American heavies sit 40-90mm taller at the load floor than Japanese mid-size utes. For older tradies, that's the difference between throwing a heavy bag in and lifting it carefully.

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.

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 (due 2026 H2), Ford Ranger PHEV (late 2026) and KGM Musso EV will all face the same payload trade-off. 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 or Isuzu D-Max. They're the only mainstream dual cabs that fit a 1,165mm pallet flat with margin.
• 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 today. Ford Ranger PHEV and GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV launch in 2026 H2.
• 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.