Acreage moves in the Hills: gates, gravel and getting the truck to the house

The Hills Removals · 25 June 2026 · 7 min read

Moving on acreage in the Hills is its own kind of job. The homes around Dural, Glenhaven and out towards the Kenthurst country sit on blocks measured in acres, not square metres, and that changes almost everything about how a move runs. The challenge isn’t a tight street or a narrow hallway. It’s getting the truck to the house at all, and then dealing with how much more there is to move once you do.

If you’re moving to or from an acreage property, here’s what actually matters on the day, and what’s worth sorting before it.

Getting in: gates and intercoms

A suburban move starts at the kerb. An acreage move starts at the gate, and the gate is the first thing that can cost you time.

Acreage properties are usually gated, and the gate isn’t always simple. It might be a manual gate that needs a key, an intercom you have to call to be let in, or an automatic gate on a code. Each of those needs sorting before the truck arrives, because a crew sitting at a locked gate is a crew on the clock doing nothing. Automatic gates have their own catch: they need to be wide enough for a truck and to stay open long enough for one to clear, which isn’t always the case for a gate built around a car.

The fix is just information. Tell us when you book how we get in, the code, who to call on the intercom, where the key is, or who’ll be there to open up, and whether the gate is truck-width. That one detail saves a frustrating start.

The driveway: long, gravel, and weather-dependent

This is the heart of an acreage move. The driveway on an acreage block can run a hundred metres or more from the gate to the house, and it’s often gravel or unsealed rather than concrete.

A firm, well-maintained gravel driveway with decent drainage will usually carry a loaded removal truck without trouble. The problem is the ones that aren’t: soft, rutted, or sitting on clay that turns greasy when it’s wet. The Hills gets real rain, and a gravel driveway that’s perfectly fine in a dry week can bog a heavy truck after a few days of it. A truck stuck halfway down an acreage driveway is a bad afternoon for everyone, and it can chew up the driveway in the process.

So the honest question on every acreage move is: can the truck actually reach the house, today, in the weather we’ve got? Sometimes the answer is yes and we drive straight down. Sometimes the answer is no, and that’s fine too, we stage from firm ground near the road or in the yard and shuttle the load to the house with a smaller, lighter vehicle. It takes longer, but it means nothing gets bogged and nothing gets damaged. We work this out before move day rather than discovering it with a truck halfway down the drive.

If you know your driveway softens after rain, tell us. And if there’s been weather in the week before your move, expect us to ask about it.

The volume: it’s not just the house

The other thing that defines an acreage move is how much there is.

A suburban house has the house. An acreage property has the house plus sheds, outbuildings, a workshop, a garage that’s actually used as one, garden machinery, a ride-on mower or two, tools, firewood, water and feed gear, and all the things that come with looking after a few acres. People are often surprised at how much is out in the sheds when it all has to be loaded onto a truck.

None of it is a problem to move, ride-ons, machinery, workshop tools and shed contents are a normal part of the job, but it all adds volume, and some of it adds weight. The more we know in advance, the better we plan it: the right truck size, enough crew, and the gear to handle the heavy or awkward pieces. A quick walk through the sheds when you book, or even a few photos, tells us what we’re really moving rather than just what’s in the house.

Why it takes longer, and how we quote it

Put the distance and the volume together and an acreage move simply takes more hours than a standard suburban one. The carry from truck to door is longer, often much longer. There’s more to move. And if the driveway means staging and shuttling, that’s extra handling again.

We’d rather be straight about that than quote you a suburban timeframe and blow it. Our online-quote rates start at $200 an hour for two movers and a truck, $250 for three movers, and $400 for a four-mover, two-truck crew, billed hourly from arrival to finish. For an acreage move we’ll talk through the access, the driveway and what’s in the sheds when we quote, so the estimate reflects the real job, not a hopeful one. The clearer the picture you give us up front, the closer the quote will be to the day.

The short version

An acreage move in the Hills comes down to access and volume. Sort the gate and intercom so we can get in. Be honest about the driveway, its length, its surface and how it handles rain, so we know whether to drive to the house or stage and shuttle. Tell us what’s in the sheds as well as the house, so we bring the right crew and truck. Do that, and an acreage move out at Dural, Glenhaven or Kenthurst is a well-run day rather than a long, improvised one.

Moving to or from acreage in the Hills? Get a free, no-obligation quote and we’ll plan the gate, the driveway and the sheds with you.

Common questions

Can a removal truck get down a long gravel acreage driveway?

Often yes, but not always, and not always after rain. A firm, well-drained gravel driveway usually takes a loaded truck fine. A soft, rutted or steep one can bog a heavy vehicle, especially when it's wet. We assess this before move day and, if there's any doubt, we stage from firm ground near the road and shuttle the load to the house with a smaller vehicle rather than risk getting stuck.

How do you handle gates and intercoms on acreage?

We need to know how we get in before we arrive: a gate code, an intercom to call, a key, or someone to open it. Automatic gates also need to be wide enough and stay open long enough for a truck. Tell us the gate setup when you book and we'll plan around it so the crew isn't sitting at a locked gate on the clock.

Why does an acreage move take longer than a normal house move?

Two reasons: distance and volume. The carry from a truck to an acreage house is usually much longer than a suburban driveway, and acreage properties tend to hold far more, sheds, outbuildings, machinery, ride-on mowers, tools and garden gear on top of the house contents. More to move and further to carry it both add hours.

Can you move ride-on mowers, machinery and shed contents?

Yes. Ride-ons, workshop tools, garden machinery and the general contents of sheds and outbuildings are a normal part of an acreage move. They do add volume and sometimes weight, so it helps to tell us what's in the sheds when you book so we bring the right crew, gear and truck space.