One Facility vs Split Facilities (2025): How Tradies Structure Ute + Tools + Trailer Finance Without Crushing Cashflow
One facility vs split facilities for tradie ute + tools + trailer finance – Switchboard Finance
🛠️ Tradies · structure · Tradie Hub · 2025
If you’re funding a ute, tools and a trailer, the “simplest” structure is often the one that quietly pushes repayments higher.
This is the clean 2025 blueprint: keep the vehicle decision separate from the gear decision, then match each repayment to the way the setup earns.
- You’re buying more than “just a ute” (tools package + trailer is meaningful $).
- You want repayments that still feel fine in slower weeks, not just on busy weeks.
- You want lender paperwork to stay clean and itemised at settlement.
1) The real decision: one repayment vs matched repayments
“One facility” can be fast. The risk is you end up paying for everything like it’s one asset, even though the vehicle and gear behave differently on-site.
A clean baseline is to separate vehicle funding from gear funding, then keep the whole plan anchored to the right money pages: Low Doc Vehicle Finance and Low Doc Asset Finance. If you want the full tradie playbook first, start with Tradie Finance Australia and the Tradie Loan Pack.
| Structure | What it looks like | When it usually works | What can go wrong | Clean fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One repayment | Everything bundled into one approval + one repayment | Tools are genuinely small add-ons and supplier docs are simple | Repayment sized around the ute and the add-ons “inherit” the bigger payment | Split the gear into its own facility so the repayment stays matched |
| Split repayments | Vehicle separated from tools/trailer (cleaner terms per item) | Tools package is meaningful $ or trailer is a separate purchase | Done messily: too many applications, messy settlement sequencing | Submit as one structured plan with clean ordering and itemised invoices |
| Hybrid | Vehicle now, gear/trailer later (pre-mapped) | You need the ute immediately and want the rest once cashflow proves out | Added later without planning → rushed docs and avoidable delays | Pre-map the follow-on facility before you sign the first contract |
2) The clean split blueprint (ute + tools + trailer)
The goal isn’t “more loans”. The goal is a tidy structure where the vehicle repayment stays predictable and the gear repayment stays right-sized.
If the vehicle needs a lower weekly payment, the adjustment should sit in the vehicle structure (not hidden across the entire bundle). That’s where options like a Balloon Payment can be used (carefully) to protect weekly buffer.
- Ute: vehicle facility with a term and (optional) balloon sized to your buffer.
- Tools: separate gear facility so the term matches useful life (avoid “ute-length” tool repayments).
- Trailer: separate if it’s meaningful value, a different supplier, or you want a different deposit / LVR outcome.
3) Decision checklist: when to split (and when not to)
If the tools + trailer materially change your weekly payment, splitting is usually the cleaner structure.
If the add-ons are genuinely small, bundling can be fine—just don’t let “fast approval” turn into “permanent weekly squeeze”.
- The tools package is big enough to move the repayment needle.
- The trailer is a separate purchase with its own invoice and timing.
- You want different terms across items (vehicle longer, gear shorter).
- You want the vehicle residual strategy to stay vehicle-only (keep risk contained).
One repayment can be fine for small add-ons. It becomes risky when gear and trailer value quietly inflate the weekly payment.
The clean 2025 tradie move is to anchor vehicle funding through Low Doc Vehicle Finance, keep gear separate through Low Doc Asset Finance, then use the Tradie Loan Pack to map docs and timing without chaos.
FAQ
It can be, because it keeps the vehicle structure clean and simple. The main point is to avoid forcing tools and trailer into the same repayment if that pushes the weekly cost higher than your buffer.
When you want the vehicle and gear treated differently. The clean approach is to structure the vehicle how you want it, then fund gear separately so it doesn’t distort the vehicle repayment.
The risk is you’re mixing “vehicle end-value” logic with gear that doesn’t behave like a vehicle. Keeping the vehicle residual strategy vehicle-only is usually cleaner for repayment planning.
Itemised supplier paperwork. Separate invoices (or clearly separated line items) keep settlement clean and stop the lender from treating everything like one asset with one repayment profile.
Start by locking the vehicle plan first, then decide what must be funded day one vs what can be staged. If staging still delivers the same on-site capability, it often protects cashflow.
For PPSR info and searching, start at ppsr.gov.au.
Disclaimer: This content is general information only and isn’t financial, legal, or tax advice.
