Sizes & specs · tool
Cube, payload and truck fit, in one place.
- Works in
- Inches, ft³, yd³, gallons
- Densities
- Presets plus your own
- Trailer basis
- 53′ dry van
Send your request
Once the numbers look right, send the size and the quantity and a partner supplier follows up with a quote.
Capacity & truck-fit estimator
Will it fit, will it hold, and roughly how many fit on a trailer?
Boxes are rarely filled to the rim. Hand-loaded boxes usually sit below the top edge; a fill head can get closer.
- 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
Inside the 2,200 lb rating you entered. You have 1,336 lb of headroom by this estimate, so a taller box may be worth considering 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 an estimated 11.2 tons of product per floor-loaded trailer.
These are estimates from box geometry and the density you chose, not a quote or a promise. Legal freight weight, not cube, is often the limit for dense material. Confirm payload ratings, stacking and trailer loading with the supplier before you commit to a 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, a fraction below 1, since boxes are rarely filled to the rim.
- Loaded weight (lb) = usable cube × material density in lb/ft³.
- Max fill by weight = payload rating ÷ (gross cube × density), expressed as a fraction of the full box.
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 1 (a full box), cube is your constraint and you want a taller one — or a denser pack.
Reference
Typical material densities.
| 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 load plans, start to finish.
These are illustrative examples using typical figures and a practical fill of 0.88. 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 0.88 fill, 1,232 lb loaded against a typical 2,200 lb rating. Cube binds, not weight. Check the total against freight weight limits. Verdict: sensible 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 a typical 2,200 lb rating. Maximum fill by weight is about 0.58 of the box. Verdict: wrong box for this material. A 48 × 40 × 24 shallow at 26.7 ft³ filled to 0.88 lands at about 2,232 lb, right at a typical rating, so check the rating and consider less fill.
- 03
Baled poly film, 18 lb/ft³, tall box
48 × 40 × 48 gives 53.3 ft³, 46.9 ft³ at 0.88 fill, 844 lb loaded against a typical 2,500 lb rating. Weight is barely relevant; cube is everything. The trailer fills by volume long before it reaches weight limits. Verdict: double stack if the box allows, or accept that freight is the cost.
- 04
Seed, 45 lb/ft³, four-wall
40 ft³ box, 35.2 ft³ at 0.88 fill, 1,584 lb against a typical 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, where 29.3 ft³ × 45 = 1,319 lb, inside the 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 0.88 fill, 670 lb against a typical 1,800 lb rating. Cube binds heavily. Verdict: the octabin is chosen for clean discharge, not capacity, which is legitimate, but a taller 48 in round carries more for the same footprint.
Beyond the box
Six constraints the calculator does not know about.
The arithmetic is the easy part. These are the things that can override it, and they are worth raising with the supplier.
- Legal freight weight: for dense material the scale limit can bind before the box does
- Axle distribution: a full row of identical positions can still be built badly front to back
- Dock clearance: a 48 in box plus a pallet will not always clear a low leveller
- Rack bay opening: often about 52 in, which a tall box plus pallet can exceed
- Operator reach: tall boxes tend to get loaded badly at the bottom
- Fill equipment: close to a full fill generally needs a fill head or a vibratory table
Numbers add up? Send a quote request.
Send the footprint and the count, and a partner supplier follows up. Availability and pricing depend on partner suppliers.