2. The van
2.1 The van's job changed, and that changes the cost
The draft modelled a rescue vehicle: mostly idle, circulating, occasionally called.
The current product design has two quite different vehicles hiding under one line item:
| Region | Van's role | Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Clare / Riesling Trail | Rescue + wine collection. 12–15 cellar doors sit within 1 km of a 33 km car-free corridor, so riders reach them unaided. | Low km, low duty cycle. Van is genuinely a safety net. |
| Barossa Trail | Access vehicle. Only ~3 cellar doors are on the sealed path; the marquee names are 2–6 km off it on unshouldered rural roads. Riders use the spine, van hops them out and back. | Many short scheduled legs. High km, near-100% duty cycle, and the van is now load-bearing for the product, not a fallback. |
This is the single most under-appreciated finding in the region choice. Barossa has
the bigger market and the worse van economics. Sizing in §8.4.
2.2 Fuel — VERIFIED
AIP weekly reports, week ending 9 August 2026
(diesel):
| Market | Diesel c/L |
|---|---|
| SA regional | 248.3 |
| Adelaide metro | 247.3 |
| National 12-month average | 209.7 |
⚠️ Diesel rose 13.2 c/L in the week to 9 Aug 2026 and sits ~38 c/L above its
12-month average. Modelling off the spot price overstates fuel. Sensitivity band
210–250 c/L.
- HiAce LWB auto claimed consumption 7.9 L/100 km — VERIFIED
(CarExpert) - Loaded, rural, with bikes and a trailer: 10.0 L/100 km — ESTIMATED
- Barossa access model, ~300 km/day (spine transits + shuttle legs) = 30 L =
$74.49/day GST-incl, $67.72 ex-GST — ESTIMATED from verified inputs - Clare model, ~200 km/day = $49.66/day — ESTIMATED
⚠️ Fuel tax credits are NOT available — delete this line if anyone has added it.
The public-road credit requires GVM > 4.5 tonnes
(ATO) — VERIFIED.
No van drivable on a car licence qualifies.
2.3 Buy vs lease vs daily hire — all three, at real utilisation
Daily hire is structurally unavailable at the cheap rates, and this is the finding
that decides it. VERIFIED radius restrictions:
- Go With The Gecko: 100 km included, 50 km radius limit —
source. Unusable. - Rent A Bomb: "Metro" class restricted to ~55 km radius; "Out of Metro" class
carries a daily km cap with excess at 18 c/km —
terms.
Tanunda is ~70 km from Adelaide CBD; Clare is ~135 km. Both are outside every
metro-class product. You must buy the dearer Out-of-Metro class, and at 300 km/day
you pay excess km on top.
Two exclusions that survive even paid damage cover, both VERIFIED
(Turbofleet T&C cl.5):
- Underbody damage is excluded — on unsealed vineyard access tracks that is an
uncapped liability. - "Loss or damage to any goods carried in a Commercial Vehicle" is excluded, with
full indemnity back to the hirer. Your customers' wine is uninsured in a hire van.
Standard damage excess $3,600, or $2,800 on a commercial class, reducible to
$800 for an unpublished daily fee — VERIFIED (Rent A Bomb cl. 8.1).
Annual cost at 66 operating days / ~19,800 km:
| Option | Ex-fuel | Fuel | Total/yr | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. Daily hire × 66 — low ($80 + 18 c/km excess + $25 excess-reduction) | $8,118 | $4,916 | $13,034 | Not available in-region at this rate |
| A. Daily hire × 66 — central ($110 + 25 c/km + $30) | $12,540 | $4,916 | $17,456 | Realistic Out-of-Metro weekend rate — ESTIMATED |
| B. Operating lease (~$1,345/mo all-in) | $16,140 | $4,916 | $21,056 | ESTIMATED; no Australian lessor publishes a rate |
| C. Buy new Crew Van ~$60,500 driveaway | $12,288 | $4,916 | $17,204 | Depreciation $5,808, rego $900, motor ins. $4,500, service $730, tyres $350 |
| C2. Buy used 2021–23 HiAce ~$42,000 | $8,900 | $4,916 | $13,816 | ⚠️ price NOT VERIFIED — carsales/redbook/drive all block automated access |
Verdict. Lease is the worst of the three and should be dropped — you pay 12 months
of availability for 2.5 months of use, and the lessor's residual-risk premium buys
nothing at 19,800 km/yr. Daily hire and buying-new are line-ball on cost, crossing
over around 63–81 days/year depending on whether you charge for capital.
Buy anyway, and not for cost reasons. The radius limits make the cheap products
unavailable; underbody damage is uninsured on gravel; goods in a hire van are uninsured;
and a hire van cannot be liveried, racked, or fitted for bikes. The decision is
operational, not financial. Used is the right answer if the ~$42k price holds — verify it.
- New Toyota HiAce LWB list $51,880 manual / $53,880 auto; Crew Van (5 seats)
$56,880; driveaway from $57,393 — VERIFIED
(CarExpert) - Capped servicing $365 per service, every 6 months or 10,000 km → 2/yr = $730 — VERIFIED
- GST credit is available in full. A panel/crew van is not "designed for the
principal purpose of carrying passengers," so the 2026-27 car limit of $69,883
does not bite — VERIFIED
(ATO)
2.4 ⚠️ Seat count is the most consequential procurement decision in the business
It sets three costs at once.
| Seats (incl. driver) | SA regime | Award grade | Bail-out capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2–3 (standard LWB van) | Small passenger vehicle | MA000063 Gr 2, $27.97 base | Fails. Cannot carry a group of 4 |
| 5 (Crew Van) — recommended | Small passenger vehicle (SA: ≤12 seats) | MA000063 Gr 2 | 4 passengers + ~4 bikes |
| 12 (Commuter bus) | Still "small" in SA (SA ceiling is 12; Victoria's is 9) | MA000063 Gr 3, $29.55 base — ~$2,300/yr dearer | 11 passengers |
SA is the lighter jurisdiction and this is a real reason to have moved. SA treats
≤12 seats as a small passenger vehicle, driver accreditation is free, and the
point-to-point levy applies only to trips starting in metropolitan Adelaide — so
Barossa and Clare trips attract no levy
(sa.gov.au) — VERIFIED.
Victoria would have forced a ≤9-seat vehicle to avoid a $690.80 + $172.70/yr bus-operator
accreditation with a competency interview, plus a $1.25/trip CPV levy from
1 July 2026 (SRO Vic) — VERIFIED.
⚠️ UNPRICED RISK — SA operator accreditation. SA requires accreditation under the
Passenger Transport Act 1994 for "any person or company responsible for the operation
of a passenger transport service," submitted with a Plan of Operation (forms MR311/MR325).
Parks SA cross-references the same Act for commercial tour operators
(parks.sa.gov.au) — VERIFIED that it exists;
the fee schedule could not be retrieved (dit.sa.gov.au blocks automated access).
Because §6.5 makes the van bail-out effectively mandatory, this is not optional.
Budget $0 and flag it: call DIT before launch.
One thing that is verified and worth noting: accredited SA drivers must maintain
zero BAC. Your driver cannot have the tasting pour.