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A truck load calculator answers one question: which limit hits first?
Volume, weight or floor length — one of the three stops you, and which one it is decides whether the fix is a different stacking plan, a second truck or a partial shipment. These are the inner dimensions Tiercube calculates against, and the limits of the calculation.
Inner dimensions and payload
Inner (usable) dimensions, not nominal outside length. Payload figures are typical and must be checked against the unit you were actually given — equipment varies, and so does the legal gross weight on your lane.
| Equipment | Inner L × W × H (in) | Door (H × W, in) | Typical payload (lb) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 53' dry van | 630 × 100 × 108 | 104 × 98 | 42,000 |
| 48' dry van | 570 × 100 × 108 | 104 × 98 | 42,000 |
| 20' dry container | 232.1 × 92.5 × 94.2 | 89.8 × 92.1 | 57,300 |
| 40' dry container | 473.7 × 92.5 × 94.2 | 89.8 × 92.1 | 58,900 |
| 40' high cube | 473.7 × 92.5 × 106.2 | 101.8 × 92.1 | 58,600 |
Door height is the number that surprises people: a 40' high cube is 106.2 in tall inside but only 101.8 in at the opening, so a pallet that fits the box may not fit through the door.
Weight, volume, floor: which one binds
- Weight-bound. Dense freight fills the payload long before the box. Stacking higher does not help; the answer is fewer pallets per truck or a lighter mix.
- Volume-bound. Light, bulky freight fills the box with payload left over. Here stacking strategy and pallet height pay for themselves.
- Floor-bound (LDM). European road freight is often quoted in loading metres: floor area divided by a 2.40 m trailer width, against a 13.6 LDM trailer. Non-stackable pallets are floor-bound by definition — a 120 × 80 cm pallet that cannot be stacked is 0.40 LDM whether it weighs 200 kg or 800 kg.
What the calculator checks beyond “does it fit”
- Capacity against the whole list. How many of the order’s pallets go in one unit, and which ones are left — named, not silently dropped.
- Stack support. A pallet may be stacked only if at least 75% of the upper pallet’s base is carried by the one below.
- Centre-of-gravity drift. A warning when the load’s longitudinal centre of gravity is more than 10% of the vehicle length from the middle — and only when the load is above 30% of payload, because a light load does not stress an axle limit.
This is not an axle-load calculation. Centre-of-gravity drift is a warning about distribution, not a steer/drive/trailer axle weight. If your lane is enforced on axle weights, compute them with your carrier; the engine says so in its own code comments, and we are not going to imply otherwise on a marketing page.