Plain-English guides to backloading.
Real numbers, no fluff. Written by us, kept up-to-date as the lanes shift.
Pricing
What moves actually cost — every figure generated by the same engine that prices your quote.
Backloading rates in Australia: the 2026 rate card
Every per-cubic-metre rate we charge, on every lane, in both directions — published in full, straight from the same engine that prices your quote. Plus exactly how a backloading price is built: diesel, driver wages, fill rates, margin and GST.
The cheapest way to send boxes interstate (2026)
Boxes-only move? The honest crossover maths between parcel carriers and a backload: when 15 boxes should go as parcels, when the $350 minimum starts winning, and the mistake that doubles the cost either way.
How many cubic metres is my move? (m³ guide + item list)
Backloading is priced per cubic metre, so the m³ number is the whole quote. Here's how to work yours out in five minutes — average m³ by home size, a per-item list you can add up, and the three mistakes that make people under-estimate.
The cheapest time to move interstate in Australia
Moving costs swing by hundreds of dollars depending on when you go. The months, the weeks and the days that cost less — and the two levers on a Pea quote that are worth more than all the calendar timing combined.
Sydney to Melbourne backloading: 2026 price guide
What it actually costs to backload between Sydney and Melbourne — broken down by home size, with real numbers and the levers that move the price up or down.
The cheapest way to move interstate in Australia (2026)
The four real ways to move interstate ranked cheapest to dearest — DIY truck hire, container/rail, backloading, and dedicated removalist — with honest costs per route and why backloading is the cheapest move where someone else does the work.
Lanes
Corridor-by-corridor guides: real transit times, pickup windows and prices by home size.
Melbourne to Adelaide backloading: 2026 price guide
728 km overnight on the Dukes and Western Highways, trucks three times a week. What a Melbourne to Adelaide backload costs by home size on our newest corridor — and why it prices the same as the Hume in both directions.
Sydney to Adelaide backloading: 2026 price guide
1,376 km via the Hume and Sturt Highways, weekly trucks, two days on the road. What a Sydney to Adelaide backload costs by home size — and why the return direction prices higher, explained rather than hidden.
Sydney to Canberra backloading: 2026 price guide
286 km down the Hume, same-day transit, trucks three times a week. What a Sydney to Canberra backload costs by home size — on our cheapest interstate lane — and why the reverse direction prices the same.
Melbourne to Canberra backloading: 2026 price guide
660 km up the Hume and Barton Highway, one overnight, weekly trucks. What a Melbourne to Canberra backload costs by home size, and how to time a weekly lane so you never feel the schedule.
Brisbane to Canberra backloading: 2026 price guide
1,289 km down the Newell Highway, two days, weekly trucks. What a Brisbane to Canberra backload costs by home size, why the reverse direction prices higher, and how Defence and APS movers time it.
Moving to Perth from the east coast: 2026 options
Pea doesn't run Perth lanes yet — here's the honest guide anyway: what a 3,400 km move really costs, why backloading is scarce across the Nullarbor, why rail containers often win, and how to time the crossing.
Sydney to Brisbane backloading: 2026 price guide
925 km up the Pacific Highway, trucks every day, one to two days transit. Real costs by home size for a Sydney to Brisbane backload — plus Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast delivery, and the flooding question everyone asks.
Melbourne to Brisbane backloading: 2026 price guide
1,675 km, two days on the road, trucks three times a week. What a Melbourne to Brisbane backload actually costs by home size, why it's dearer per kilometre than Sydney–Melbourne, and how to get onto the cheaper trucks.
Adelaide backloading: SA's cheapest interstate moves
Why Adelaide is one of the best-value backloading destinations in Australia, what the real costs look like in 2026, and how to time it right.
How it works
The mechanics of backloading — shared trucks, insurance, timing, and what can't ride along.
How long does backloading take? Windows, explained
The honest timing of a backload: pickup windows of 2–7 business days, transit from same-day to two days depending on the lane, and why the window exists at all — plus the lever that shortens it for free.
Moving plants interstate in Australia: what's allowed
Why no removalist can put a potted plant on an interstate truck, which state borders are strict about plants even in your own car, and the four realistic options for the plants you can't leave behind.
Removalist marketplaces vs booking direct: the truth
Comparison sites and moving marketplaces don't own trucks — they sell your job to companies that do. How the lead-fee and commission model really works, when a marketplace genuinely helps, and what booking direct changes.
Backloading vs dedicated removalist: how to actually choose
When backloading saves you 25-30%, when a dedicated removalist is the right call, and what the trade-offs really feel like in practice.
How does backloading work — and is it safe?
A plain-English guide to how backloading works — sharing empty space on a truck that's already making the trip — and a straight answer to whether it's safe: $20k goods-in-transit insurance, driver-assisted loading, blanket-wrapped and strapped, with the driver's direct number on delivery day.
What you can't move interstate: biosecurity & hazmat
The full list of what can't ride on an interstate backload — live plants in soil, quarantine-restricted fruit and veg, gas bottles and flammables, firearms and ammo, perishables, cash and jewellery over the insured limit, and pets — plus why each rule exists and what to do instead.
Checklists
The moving admin, in the order it has to happen.
News
Coverage updates and launches, as they happen.
South Australia is live: Adelaide lanes now booking
SA joins the network: Melbourne↔Adelaide (3× weekly, overnight) and Sydney↔Adelaide (weekly) now price instantly with the same published per-m³ rates, $20,000 insurance and fixed quotes as every other lane. Here's what's live, what it costs, and which SA areas quote automatically.
Where Pea moves right now — 2026 coverage update
Our lane map as it stands in 2026: five states live including South Australia (new in August), which routes run daily versus weekly, and which states are still waitlist-only. Plus what has to be true before we open a new lane.