Metro half-day
Any movement inside the metro where the kilometres do not reach the half-day. Depot to site, escort, release, back.
from $520 per pilot
Oversize movements · escorting since 2009
Heavy vehicle pilots, anywhere in WA.
Send us the permit. We will tell you what it says you need — including when that is nothing.
HVPL-licensed pilots out of Kewdale. We quote the pilots only, never the haul.
What we charge
Rates, printed
Per pilot, ex GST, for a movement you have a permit for. No convoy loading, no after-hours loading, no fee for reading your operating conditions.
Regional and interstate
Charged on the kilometres actually travelled, both legs if you need us back. Wheatbelt, Goldfields, Mid West, Pilbara, Great Southern.
from $2.65/km per pilot
Night away
Added only when the run cannot get the pilot home. Covers the bed and the meal, not a second day of work.
$185 per pilot, per night
Permit-condition read
Email us the permit. We read the operating conditions back to you in plain words, including when the answer is that you do not need a pilot.
$0
Standby on site
For when the crane is late or the load is not ready. Billed by the hour from the time we agreed to be there.
from $95/h per pilot
Two and three-pilot movements
Front, rear and intersection work on the one movement. Each pilot is billed at exactly the rates above — there is no premium for a bigger job.
same rates, per pilot
The movement quote
Price the pilots
Pilots required, as stated on your permit
km
Return leg
Common runs from Kewdale (approximate road distance — type your own)
Rates are ex GST, per pilot. Kilometres are charged at $2.65 per kilometre travelled, with a half-day minimum of $520 per pilot and $185 per night away. Nothing here is a permit and nothing here changes one.
How a booking runs
Four steps, one of which is free
Most operators ring us with a date and a permit already issued. That is the easy version, and it takes about four minutes.
1
Send the permit
Email or photograph it. We read the operating conditions and tell you what they say about pilots, in plain words, at no charge.
2
We price the pilots
Kilometres travelled, number of pilots, nights away. One figure, itemised, before you commit to a date.
3
Pre-run the route
Low bridges, roundabouts, rail crossings, roadworks. On anything wide we drive it before the day and tell you what we found.
4
Escort and release
Signed and lit vehicles, radio to the driver, and a release at the destination. Directions a pilot gives on the road are lawful directions.
What operators say
Three movements, three operators
Two transportable frames, Kewdale to Northam, a 6am start because of the rail crossing. They pre-ran it the Thursday and moved our meeting point 400 metres so we did not have to reverse on Great Eastern. Invoice matched the quote.
Dean R. — house transport, Hazelmere
Process tank out to Kalgoorlie, 4.8 metres wide, so white lights on the front as well. Two pilots, one night each way. They quoted the nights up front instead of adding them after, which is not what we are used to.
Priya N. — fabrication, Bibra Lake
Rang about a dozer float to Bunbury and they read our permit and said we did not need them for it. No invoice, no hard sell. We called them back three weeks later for a job that actually did need two.
Marcus T. — plant hire, Forrestfield
These reviews are written as demonstration copy for a fictional business. They are not real customer reviews and are deliberately not marked up as review data.
Where we run
Service area
Out of Kewdale, daily in the metro and on the highway most weeks. Select a region for what that run usually looks like.
Perth metro
Kewdale, Welshpool, Hazelmere, Bibra Lake, Neerabup, Kwinana. Short runs almost always land on the half-day minimum, and we say so before you book.
Great Southern
Albany Highway and the South Western. Bunbury and Collie are day runs. Albany and Esperance usually carry a night.
Goldfields
Great Eastern Highway to Kalgoorlie and the mine roads beyond. Two pilots and a night each way is the usual shape.
Mid West
Brand Highway to Geraldton, Mullewa and the Murchison. Wind-farm components are most of what we escort up there.
Pilbara
Great Northern Highway to Newman, Port Hedland and Karratha. Planned weeks out, priced on kilometres travelled and nights away.
Asked most weeks
Questions
What does a pilot vehicle actually do?
It travels with an oversize movement and warns the traffic around it. Main Roads WA describes a pilot vehicle as being recognised by a large yellow reflective “Oversize Load Ahead” sign and amber flashing lights on the roof; pilot vehicles escorting loads in excess of 4.5 metres in width also display white flashing lights on the front.
On the road the pilot holds traffic at pinch points, calls the driver through roundabouts and rail crossings, and keeps oncoming vehicles off the load. Main Roads WA states that directions given by pilots are lawful directions and must be obeyed.
Who decides how many pilots my movement needs?
Your permit does. Main Roads WA states that the number of pilots accompanying an oversize vehicle varies depending on the complexity of the load, and that their positioning varies with where they are needed. Those requirements are set inside the operating conditions of the permit issued for your movement.
For that reason we do not publish a table of pilots by width. A table would be wrong for somebody. Send us the permit and we will read what yours says, at no charge — including when it says you do not need a pilot at all.
What is an HVPL?
A Western Australian Heavy Vehicle Pilot Licence. Main Roads WA states that all heavy vehicle pilots operating in Western Australia are required to hold one; it was introduced in 2016 and the requirements are detailed in the Road Traffic (Vehicles) Regulations 2014.
Every pilot who turns up to your movement holds a current HVPL. Ask us for the numbers and we will send them with the quote.
What is a Traffic Escort Warden, and why are you not one?
They are a different role with different powers. Main Roads WA states that Traffic Escort Wardens — not pilots — accompany oversize and over-mass vehicles whose dimensions exceed 5.5 metres in width and/or 40 metres in length.
If your movement is in that range, a pilot is not the service you are looking for and we will tell you so on the phone rather than after the invoice. We do not sell that work.
Do you arrange the permit?
No, and we will not imply otherwise. The permit is between the operator and Main Roads WA. We do not lodge one, we cannot vary one, and we are not the authority on what one means.
What we do is read the operating conditions on the permit you already hold, back to you in plain words, and price the pilots it calls for. That read costs nothing whether you book us or not.
How far ahead should I book, and what if the movement is postponed?
Metro work: two to three working days is comfortable, and we have taken same-day calls. Anything with a night away, or two and three-pilot movements: a week, more in the wind-farm and shutdown seasons.
Postponements happen, usually because the crane or the low-loader slipped. Tell us before 4pm the day before and there is no charge at all. After that we bill a half-day per pilot, because the vehicle and the person were already committed to your date.
Get it priced
Send us the movement
Six fields. If you have the permit, attach the number and we will read the conditions before we quote.
Movement received
We will call you back within one business day with the pilots priced, or with the reason you do not need any.
This is a demonstration page, so nothing was sent anywhere. On a live site this would land in the depot inbox and the run sheet at the same time.
Straight to the depot
(08) 9000 0465- Mon–Fri 5am–6pm, depot answered
- Weekends by arrangement, same rates
- Permit reads any time, no charge
- Kewdale, WA 6105
If the movement is tomorrow, ring rather than write. The depot phone gets answered before the inbox does.