Sizes & specs · tool
Cube, payload and truck fit, in one place.
- Works in
- Inches, ft³, yd³, gallons
- Densities
- 7 presets plus your own
- Trailer basis
- 53′ dry van
Send us the result
Once the numbers look right, send the size and the quantity and we will price it from stock.
Capacity & truck-fit calculator
Will it fit, will it hold, and how many go on a trailer?
Almost nobody fills to the rim. 85–92% is realistic for hand-loaded boxes; 95%+ needs a fill head.
- Gross cube
- 40.0 ft³
- Usable at 90%
- 36.0 ft³
- As gallons
- 269 gal
- As cubic yards
- 1.33 yd³
Loaded weight
864 lb
Comfortably inside the 2,200 lb rating. You have 1,336 lb of headroom — worth a taller box if your dock clearance allows it.
On a 53′ dry van
26 boxes floor-loaded, or up to 52 double-stacked if the grade and payload allow — about 11.2 tons of product per floor-loaded trailer.
Legal freight weight, not cube, is usually the binding constraint above 45 lb/ft³. Ask us to check the lane before you commit to a stacking plan.
The calculator needs JavaScript to recalculate. If it is not running, every standard footprint is already worked out for you on the size chart, and the conversion factors are printed below so you can do it by hand in about thirty seconds.
By hand
The four calculations behind the tool.
- Gross cube (ft³) = L × W × H ÷ 1,728, in inches.
- Usable cube = gross cube × practical fill, normally 0.85 to 0.92.
- Loaded weight (lb) = usable cube × material density in lb/ft³.
- Max fill by weight = payload rating ÷ (gross cube × density), expressed as a percentage.
If the last figure comes out below your practical fill, weight is your constraint and you want a shallower box. If it comes out above 100%, cube is your constraint and you want a taller one — or a denser pack.
Reference
Material densities we see every week.
| Material | lb / ft³ | Fills a 40 ft³ box at | Constraint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loose OCC and paper | 6 – 10 | ≈ 320 lb | Cube, always |
| Textiles and apparel | 8 – 14 | ≈ 440 lb | Cube |
| Foam and packing material | 2 – 6 | ≈ 160 lb | Cube, overwhelmingly |
| Baled poly film | 15 – 22 | ≈ 740 lb | Cube |
| Plastic regrind and flake | 20 – 28 | ≈ 960 lb | Cube, usually |
| Resin pellets | 32 – 38 | ≈ 1,400 lb | Balanced — the classic gaylord load |
| Grain and seed | 40 – 50 | ≈ 1,800 lb | Weight, in a 4-wall |
| Glass cullet | 75 – 95 | ≈ 3,400 lb | Weight, badly — use a shallow box |
| Metal turnings and castings | 80 – 120 | ≈ 4,000 lb | Weight — 24 inch boxes exist for this |
Questions
Capacity, answered.
How do I calculate the cubic feet of a box?
What fill level should I assume?
Is cube or weight the limiting factor?
How many gaylords fit in a 53 foot trailer?
Worked examples
Five real load plans, start to finish.
Every one of these came from an actual customer question. The arithmetic is the same each time; the answer is different every time.
- 01
Resin pellets, 35 lb/ft³, 48 × 40 × 36 five-wall
40 ft³ gross, 35.2 ft³ at 88% fill, 1,232 lb loaded against a 2,200 lb rating. Cube binds, not weight. 26 floor positions, 32,032 lb per trailer — comfortably legal. Verdict: correct box, could go taller if dock clearance allowed.
- 02
Metal turnings, 95 lb/ft³, same box
35.2 ft³ × 95 = 3,344 lb, far over the 2,200 lb rating. Maximum fill by weight is 58%. Verdict: wrong box entirely. Move to a 48 × 40 × 24 shallow at 26.7 ft³, fill to 88% and you land at 2,232 lb — right at rating, with a full pallet underneath.
- 03
Baled poly film, 18 lb/ft³, tall box
48 × 40 × 48 gives 53.3 ft³, 46.9 ft³ at 88%, 844 lb loaded against a 2,500 lb rating. Weight is irrelevant; cube is everything. 26 positions, 21,944 lb — the trailer cubes out with 22,000 lb of capacity unused. Verdict: double stack if the grade allows, or accept that freight is the cost.
- 04
Seed, 45 lb/ft³, four-wall
40 ft³ box, 35.2 ft³ at 88%, 1,584 lb against a 1,500 lb four-wall rating. Marginally over. Verdict: either step to five-wall, or drop to a 30-inch box at 33.3 ft³ — 29.3 ft³ at 88% × 45 = 1,319 lb, inside rating with margin. The shallower box carries more safely.
- 05
Mixed regrind, 24 lb/ft³, octabin
44 in round × 36 gives 31.7 ft³, 27.9 ft³ at 88%, 670 lb against an 1,800 lb rating. Cube binds heavily. Verdict: the octabin is being bought for discharge cleanliness, not capacity — which is legitimate, but a taller 48 in round would carry 40% more for the same freight position.
Beyond the box
Six constraints the calculator does not know about.
The arithmetic is the easy part. These are the things that override it, and they are the reason our buyers ask about your building before quoting.
- Legal freight weight — above 45 lb/ft³ the scale house binds before the box does
- Axle distribution — 26 identical positions invite a load built badly front to back
- Dock clearance — a 48 in box plus a pallet will not always clear a low leveller
- Rack bay opening — usually about 52 in, which a tall box plus pallet can exceed
- Operator reach — anything above about 36 in gets loaded badly at the bottom
- Fill equipment — above 95% fill you need a fill head or a vibratory table, not optimism
Numbers add up? Let's check the floor.
Send the footprint and the count. We will confirm availability, grade and a delivered price on your lane.