What a refrigerated truck costs in Australia in 2026

New fridge trucks are listed from $88,800 for a car-licence freezer pantech to $259,900 for a 10-pallet Isuzu FSR, and $379,990 for an ex-demo 14-pallet FVL. Used fridge trucks run from $22,000 (284,334 km) to $155,900 for a 2021 Hino with 10 pallets. Pallet count, chassis class and the fridge unit drive the price more than the badge.

A refrigerated truck is a cab chassis with an insulated body and a fridge unit, and each part is priced before the three are sold as one. That is why a new car-licence freezer pantech asks $88,800 while a 14-pallet Isuzu FVL freezer asks $379,990. This guide sets out 21 listings from five states, what moves the price, what used fridge trucks hold by age and kilometres, the food safety temperature rule that decides which unit you need, and how a purchase is funded. Prices are asking prices, not Ventas offers.

What refrigerated trucks cost

A fridge truck is a cab chassis carrying an insulated body and a refrigeration unit. Prices are from the dealer listings in our sources, opened on 22 October 2026. Truck Dealers prices are inc GST. Suttons and Velocity quote drive away, which includes registration and government charges, and CMI Hino excludes them. To strip GST divide by 1.1: the $131,990 Hino 816 is about $119,991 ex GST (our arithmetic). These are asking prices, indicative market data and not Ventas offers. "Not disclosed" means the listing does not show the field. Queensland appears only in the used table because the Queensland listings we opened were used.

New and near-new fridge trucks.

Three things stand out. Pallet count sets the price more than the badge. Price per pallet space (our arithmetic) runs from about $22,000 on the 6-pallet Hino 816 to $26,000 on the 10-pallet Isuzu FSR, $27,100 on the 14-pallet FVL and $32,000 on the 3-pallet Hino 616, because the cab and chassis are paid for whatever the body holds. The same chassis varies by seller. The Hino 616 asks $95,990 in Victoria, $100,000 in South Australia and $106,888 in New South Wales, $10,898 between cheapest and dearest (our arithmetic), each with a different body and unit. Prestige Hino lists a 616 with a 6-pallet curtainsider at $86,990 (PH12081), so the insulated body and unit adds about $9,000 there (our arithmetic), though the bodies differ in size and type.

Price bases differ. The drive away $100,649 and $214,510 do not compare directly with the inc GST asks. Prestige Hino and Hartwigs call their Euro 5 trucks stock clearance, so ask whether the price will move.

What used fridge trucks sell for

Used fridge trucks in the survey are mostly light and medium trucks. Five of the nine come from one Western Australian dealer, Major Motors, and the cheapest are small Fuso Canters in Queensland. Prices are inc GST and kilometres are as listed.

Age and the unit move the price more than kilometres. A 2011 NPR400 freezer with 63,473 km asks $89,990, while a 2006 NPR400 chiller with 109,212 km asks $42,990 and a 2011 NNR200 with 561,161 km asks $29,999 as is. The 2021 Canter 515 with 143,610 km asks $44,000, 44 per cent of the $99,990 asked for a new 2026 Canter 515 Wide in the same state (our arithmetic). The 2021 Hino 500 asks $155,900, 60 per cent of the $259,900 asked for a new 10-pallet Isuzu FSR in the same 14 t class (our arithmetic). Ask for the fridge unit's service record and hours as well as the odometer reading, because a diesel unit wears on its own hours.

What moves the price

Six things explain most of the spread. For a refrigerated trailer behind a prime mover, read our semi trailer cost guide.

• Chassis class and licence. In NSW a car licence covers up to 4.5 t GVM, light rigid more than 4.5 t up to 8 t, medium rigid two-axle rigid trucks over 8 t and heavy rigid three or more axles over 8 t (NSW Government). Most light fridge trucks here are built at 4,495 or 4,500 kg to suit a car licence. The Hino 616 listings note a 5,500 kg option and the Mighty can be uprated to 6,500 kg, which buys payload and costs the car licence.
• Body size and insulation. Bodies run from 2 to 14 pallets. The CMI Hino 616 lists 70 mm walls and a 100 mm floor, and the FVL a 100 mm forklift-rated floor.
• Fridge unit and power. Listings name Thermo King, Carrier, Supra, Thermal Master, Trans Air and Supersnow units, and nine of the 21 name none. Some describe the unit as off-engine and others as a diesel unit, and eight state electric standby. Ask how the unit is powered and whether it keeps cooling with the engine off.
• Tail lift. Only the FVL (3,000 kg) and the 2015 FSD850 (2 t) state one. A lift matters if you deliver to sites with no dock.
• New or used. A light used fridge truck can cost roughly a quarter to a half of a new one (our arithmetic), traded against kilometres, unit age and warranty. Warranties in the new listings run from three years or 150,000 km (Isuzu FSR) to six years (Isuzu NMR and NNR).
• What the price includes. Ask for a drive-away figure with stamp duty, registration and compulsory third party insurance, and the fridge unit named.

We found no published Australian price for an insulated body or fridge unit alone, so we give none. Ask any builder to price chassis, body and unit as separate lines. For vans, see can I finance a refrigerated van.

Temperature rules and what they mean for the spec

The food safety reference is Standard 3.2.2 of the Food Standards Code. Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) says food businesses must transport food so it stays safe and suitable. Cold potentially hazardous food should be kept at 5 degrees C or colder, hot at 60 degrees C or hotter, and frozen food should stay frozen hard. FSANZ advises checking temperatures with a clean, sanitised thermometer.

In our reading that means three things for the spec:

• Match the unit to the load. A unit that holds 8 to 10 degrees, as the 2006 NPR400 listing says, will not keep cold potentially hazardous food at 5 degrees or colder. The freezer listings quote minus 18 or minus 20, while the two Hyundai pantechs quote 0 to minus 17, so check that against what your customers require.
• Prove the temperature. Only some listings give a temperature, and none we opened gives a pull-down time. Ask for the rated range, the last service and a temperature logger.
• Ask about electric standby. It lets a unit run from a power point so the body can be cooled at the depot before loading. Eight listings state it.

Financing a refrigerated truck purchase

A fridge truck is usually written as a chattel mortgage over three to seven years. You own the truck from settlement, the lender registers its interest on the PPSR, and the cab chassis, insulated body and fridge unit can be funded on one facility when invoiced together. If a builder fits the body after you buy the chassis, tell the lender at the start.

Be realistic about lender appetite. Lenders fund new and near-new Isuzu, Hino and Fuso trucks with a standard body routinely, because the resale market is strong. They get cautious about age and kilometres (the 498,442 km FSD850 or the 561,161 km NNR200 sold as is can mean a shorter term, a deposit, or a no), a fridge unit that is old or has no service history, and a business with no customer lined up. Age limits are usually counted at the end of the term. A property-backed loan can cover a deposit because the lender relies on the property, at the cost of putting that property at risk. Ventas is a broker, not a lender, so we do not quote rates here.

Illustrative only, subject to lender assessment. A new 6-pallet medium-duty fridge truck, near the $131,990 Hino 816:

And how it is typically funded across lender types:

If you are GST registered, the GST in an inc GST price is normally claimed back on your next BAS, about $12,000 on a $132,000 truck (our arithmetic: $132,000 divided by 11). Confirm with your accountant. A strong file may be funded at close to the full invoice, while a thinner one will need the deposit shown.

To get a number from Ventas, send the truck (make, model, year, GVM, km), the body builder and fridge unit, the price and whether it includes on-road costs, the seller, your ABN age, the work lined up and whether you own property. Start at truck finance or refrigeration finance, or test a figure on the truck finance calculator. Finance is subject to lender assessment and approval.

This is general information only and not financial, credit, or tax advice. Figures are indicative market data from the sources listed, not Ventas offers, and move with the market. Consider your own circumstances and speak to a professional. All finance is subject to lender assessment and approval.

This article is general information only and not financial, credit, or tax advice. Ventas Asset Lending is a finance broker, not a lender. Approvals are subject to lender assessment. Consider your own circumstances and speak to a qualified professional, including your accountant for any tax questions.