Collecting Your Machine From the Gold Coast Warehouse: A Brisbane Buyer's Guide

Rippa Australia ships machines all over the country, but Brisbane buyers have an option most do not: the warehouse at 1/14 Wheeler Crescent, Currumbin Waters is about an hour south of the Brisbane CBD on the M1. Many buyers collect their own machine, see the range in person and save the freight.

Before you drive down

• Book a time. The warehouse works by appointment. Call 1300 263 551 and confirm the machine is ready and someone is there to load it.
• Check the trailer. A 1.5 tonne excavator needs a trailer rated well above the machine plus attachments. Anything over 2,000 kg gross needs breakaway brakes. Bring rated chains or straps for four-point tie-down.
• Check the tow vehicle. Use the towing check against your ute's braked rating and the trailer's ATM. A 2 tonne machine on a 3.5 tonne trailer is close to the limit of most dual-cabs.
• Pay before you arrive so the paperwork is a signature, not a wait.

At the warehouse

Machines are loaded with warehouse equipment onto your trailer on level ground. Ask for the walk-through: controls, hydraulic lockout, daily checks, the location of grease points and the manuals. Photograph the serial plates for your insurance before you leave. Confirm any attachments are on the trailer and secured.

The drive back

Take the M1 north; the Gateway Motorway avoids the city if you are heading to the northside or Moreton Bay. Stop after the first ten kilometres and re-tension the chains. Allow extra braking distance; a loaded plant trailer changes the way a ute stops.

When delivery makes more sense

• You do not have a trailer and tow vehicle rated for the machine.
• The machine is a 3 tonne or bigger, which needs a heavy trailer or tilt tray.
• You want it dropped onto the job site rather than your driveway.

Rippa Australia arranges tilt-tray delivery to Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich, Moreton Bay and Redland, priced by distance. Ask for the delivery figure when you request a quote and compare it with the cost of hiring a trailer for the day.

First week

Whether you collect or take delivery, the first fifty hours set the machine up. Grease daily, vary the load and book the first service. The running cost estimator gives you a servicing budget; the machine's manual gives you the intervals.