Pallet and linear feet calculator: how many pallets fit, and how much floor they take

How many pallets fit on a truck is a floor-math question first and a weight question second. This calculator does the floor math on your own measurements: the inside length and width of your box or trailer and the size of your pallets. Pick an equipment preset to start, then replace the numbers with your own, because inside dimensions vary between body builders and trailer makers.

How it is calculated

• Straight: pallets loaded with their length along the truck. Pallets per row = inside width ÷ pallet width (rounded down). Rows = pallets ÷ pallets per row (rounded up). Linear feet = rows × pallet length ÷ 12.
• Turned: the same, with the pallet's width along the truck instead of its length.
• Pinwheel: each pair of pallets uses about the average of length and width, one straight and one turned, when the width allows it.
• Stackable: pallets two high take half the floor positions.

Capacity is the most pallets that fit on the floor at that size and pattern. If the linear feet needed are longer than the floor, it doesn't fit.

A worked example

How many pallets fit in a 26 ft box truck, really

The floor math is only part of the answer. A 26 ft box truck usually reaches its legal payload long before its floor is full of heavy pallets, and many boxes are a little narrower inside than 96 inches once you count the wall posts and rails. Measure your box with a tape, check the door sticker for the weight rating, and take the smaller of the two answers.

For trailers, our trailer load planner estimates how pallet weights spread across the axles, and the box truck cost per mile calculator helps you decide whether a partial at so many linear feet pays. Shippers can read how pallets and space affect price in freight shipping cost (coming soon), and how to build a pallet that rides well in our packaging and palletizing guidelines (coming soon).

Reading the floor diagram

The diagram draws your floor to scale from the top, with the nose of the truck on the left and the doors on the right. Each block is one pallet position, in the pattern you picked. Shaded positions are the pallets you entered; empty outlines are floor still open. The ruler under the floor marks every foot, so you can see at a glance how many feet a shipper's freight will take and how much room is left behind it.

Try switching between straight and turned with the same count. On a floor wide enough for two 48 inch sides, turning the pallets often frees a row or two, which can be the difference between taking one more partial or not.

Linear feet and partial loads

Linear feet are how many partial and volume loads get quoted: the shipper books so many feet of your deck or floor, not the whole truck. If a 24 ft shipment rides in your 26 ft box, there isn't room for much else. If it takes 12 ft of a 53 ft van, there may be room for a second partial going the same way. Knowing the feet before you agree to a rate is how you price the space you give up.

Common mistakes

• Using the outside length of the box instead of the inside.
• Forgetting overhang. A pallet with cartons sticking out takes the cartons' size, not the pallet's.
• Assuming everything stacks. Many loads are marked do not stack.
• Ignoring the door. Rear door openings can be narrower than the inside width.

Partial loads are where a 26 ft box or a van can earn well, if somebody checks the pallet count and weight before booking. Our dispatchers do, and you approve every load. See dry van dispatch or send an application.