A trailer that is very flexible can carry a wide range of things, from food and drinks to household items and products for hotels. Dry van trailers move thousands of palletized items every day. Moving freight can be very cheap if it is packed correctly.
Planning is the key to getting the most out of your shipping costs, no matter how often you ship. The safer the way you move the goods is once you know how many pallets are being sent. Without knowing the load size, it’s hard to figure out what kind of cars you’ll need and how much money you’ll need to buy them. It is very important for the success of your business and supply chain to know how many boxes can fit in a truck load.
We’ll talk about 53-foot trailer pallet filling patterns, how they work, and how you can get the most out of them.
What are the Dimensions of a Typical 53 Foot Trailer?
These trailers come in different sizes, but the 53-foot trailer is the one that most people use. The width of these trucks is pretty standard, but you should know how long they are so you can follow the rules and figure out how much it costs to ship each load.
Because this is an enclosed trailer, let’s remember the inner dimensions that can be used for pallet arrangement:
- Width: A 53-foot trailer can hold up to 100 inches of cargo at its widest point, with 100 inches being the most usual.
- Length: A 53-foot trailer can hold up to 53 feet (636 inches) of goods.
- Height: The tallest thing that can fit on a 53-foot trailer is 108 to 110 inches, but 108 inches is the most common.
- Weight: Depending on the trailer and the number of boxes in a truck load, the most weight that can be loaded on a 53-foot trailer is between 42,000 and 45,000 pounds.
Because it is an enclosed trailer, any goods that are bigger than these measurements can’t be moved in any 53-foot trailer pallet loading patterns. Flexible trailers and other types of trucks can be used to haul those kinds of goods. But it’s important to know these numbers because they help figure out how to set up the boxes and how many can fit in a truck.
What is the standard size of a pallet?
So you don’t have to do the math, a 53-foot trailer can usually hold 26 normal 42″x48″ pallets. A skilled shipper can fit 30 40″x48″ items on a box. Pallets are usually 5.5″ tall, but the height and width can be changed because they are made to order.
What is the weight of a pallet?
It takes skill and planning to load boxes onto a trailer. Not only the size is important, but so is making sure the weight is spread out properly. The biggest size of a new pallet is 48″x48″, which means it can hold up to 2500 lbs. There are several things that affect a pallet’s load capacity, and it’s important to choose pallets that can hold the weight of the things you’re moving.
Of course, the pallet you need will depend on the goods you’re shipping and the business you work in. What your 53-foot trailer pallet loading diagram will look like, though, will depend on the size of the pallets and the weight of your goods and pallets.
How the Weight of the Pallets Changes the Maximum Weight
One of your overall delivery goals should be to make the most of the room in your trailer so that you can make the most money per shipment. If you know how much your pallets weigh, you can figure out how many of them can fit in a 53-foot trailer. You might lose money if you don’t do this important step and pack your trailer properly.
Also, it’s important to remember that each state has its own rules about protocol and weight, so boats should be careful when planning their shipping routes. You can find out how many boxes can fit into a truck without going over the trailer’s weight limit by adding up the total weight. As we talked about, a standard-sized pallet can hold up to 2500 pounds, but it is possible to put 4500 pounds onto a pallet load. When you load boxes, be careful not to go over the DOT weight limit and make sure the weight is spread out evenly. This is needed to keep the trailer stable and in line with DOT rules when it is being checked at inspection points.
If you need to handle a heavier load, you might want to buy custom-built pallets so that they are set up correctly and the trailer stays balanced.
Distributed Weight
The rules for commercial vehicles say that a semi-tractor, its trailer, and its load can’t weigh more than 80,000 pounds all together. This seems like a lot of weight, but keep in mind that 53-foot trucks usually weigh between 33,000 and 36,000 pounds each. That leaves you with 44,000 to 47,000 pounds to work with.
Don’t forget about the trailer’s rear wheels; you don’t want to make it hard for the truck to move. There are even government rules about how much weight each type of van can carry. But don’t think you’ll be able to move as many pallets with big freight on them as you would if there were no space limits. To keep your shipping costs low, it’s a good idea to know ahead of time how much your freight is and what pattern layout you need to use.
53 Foot Trailer Loading Patterns
As the need for goods has grown over the past few years, shippers and trucking companies have come up with ways to make the most of trailer space by loading pallets in a variety of ways. This is to deal with the current rise in demand in the trucking business. The number of pallets that can fit on a 53-foot trailer will depend on how the pallets are set up and how much they weigh.
To move your goods correctly, you need to load boxes onto a trailer in a certain way. Let us look at each pallet arrangement to see which one works best for your package.
Straight
When you load all of your items that go on normal-sized pallets, you’ll use the straight plan. This is the most common way to make the most of trailer room. You put the freight right into the van, making sure there is enough room to secure it.
Different from other methods, straight pattern loading has a fast load time. Problems include the possibility of movement during transport and not making good use of all the trailer’s room.
Turned
For pallets that aren’t all the same size, the turned design works best. By loading them so that the longest side is facing the driver, the most room can be used, which could mean more goods being loaded for delivery.
If you turn the pallets in this manner, the goods will stay safe because they won’t move around much. Making sure that the boxes can be safely handled from both sides is the only thing that could go wrong.
Pinwheeled
Whether you use the pinwheel design or not will probably affect how many pallets you can fit in a 53-foot trailer. With this pattern, you can fit six more pallets than with the straight design. You can use the space in a trailer in any way, both across and along its length. Also, the way the freight is interlocked in this pattern makes transportation more stable. You might not be able to use this type of plan, though, if you are pressed for time or need to make an urgent delivery.
How can I make the most of the space in my 53-foot trailer?
With different-sized pallets, there are different numbers of them that can fit in a van. Pallets may be different lengths and widths because trucks carry a wide range of goods. If your trailer is 53 feet long and your pallets are 48″x40,” you should be able to load 26 pallets across the floor of the trailer in a straight line.
This is possible because minimizing your shipping costs is important for the growth of your business and sending the last few pallets won’t save you money. If you choose the pinwheeling or turned pattern, you can store 28 to 30 pallets, which is more than the straight design.
Have your 53-foot trailer pallet loading plan ready to go before every shipment. This will help you keep track of your costs and see how efficient you are with your fleet and for your clients. We will build on what we already know works to make sure the delivery goes well and resources are used well.
Hale Trailer lets you ship goods with confidence.
As a shipper in the trucking business, you need to make sure your goods are ready to be transported so that they arrive safely. When you put the pallets out in the safest way, you can feel better about the security of your fleet. How well you ship things will say a lot about your business. When putting pallets onto a trailer, you won’t have to guess how many to put on each time if you plan your pattern diagram ahead of time.
Our group is committed to becoming the best in the trucking business. For a smooth delivery for your clients today, we can help you get your boxes in order. We have a lot of trailers that are ready to go that you can rent or buy. You can look through our collection online or come to one of our sites to learn more about how we can help you.
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