48 x 48 x 48 gaylord box

Very light, bulky loads such as film scrap or foam. It is a volume box; its rating is lower than the 48 x 40, so the weight limit bites early if the load is dense.

How it sits on a pallet

A 48 x 48 x 48 box on a 48 x 40 pallet overhangs by 8 in across. Virginia Tech research found that compression strength falls as overhang grows, so Stack Check takes 20% off whenever this size stands on a standard deck. The box covers 16 sq ft of floor and the deck covers 13.33.

What the rating means

The 1,400 lb figure is one maker's listed capacity for a new box. Spread across 64 cu ft, that is 21.9 lb for each cubic foot. A load denser than that reaches the rating before the box is full; a lighter load fills the box first. A used box is rated by grade and place, not by the new figure.

What to watch

A load that is dense enough to be near 1,400 lb will fill only part of this box; use a shorter size.

Handling

This is the big cube: 48 in on every side, 64 cu ft inside. It is a volume box. Check the dock door, the trailer roof and the forklift mast before ordering, because a pallet beneath it adds height, and a stack of two will not fit most trailers.

What fills it

Only very light, very bulky loads belong here: film scrap, foam, packaging. Its rated capacity is lower than the standard size, so a load dense enough to approach it would fill only part of the box. Using a box this big for a heavy load wastes its volume and its strength alike.

Three loads, worked through

Suppose the material is 20 lb a cubic foot. A brim-full box then weighs 1,310 lb counting the box. Heated bay, Grade A, a month: "do not use at this load" (857 lb allowed below). Dock, Grade B, a month: "do not use at this load" (464 lb allowed). At 35 lb a cubic foot the full box is 2,240 lb of load. Stack Check gives "do not use at this load" for Grade A in a warm bay and "do not use at this load" for Grade B on a cold dock; the bottom box is allowed 857 lb and 464 lb respectively. Fill the 48 x 48 x 48 to the brim with something that weighs 50 lb a cubic foot and it holds 3,200 lb, 3,230 lb with the box. As Grade A in a heated bay for 30 days that comes out as "do not use at this load", with 857 lb allowed on the bottom box; as Grade B on a dock it comes out as "do not use at this load", with 464 lb allowed.

How a used one stands

Below, 3‑wall boxes rated at 1,400 lb filled to the brim with material at 15, 25 and 35 lb a cubic foot, so the loads are 960 lb, 1,600 lb, 2,240 lb. Each is 30 days under load unless the column says 90 days. The 20% overhang cut is included.

What the bottom box is allowed to carry

Every stack height on this site comes from one comparison: what a bottom 48 x 48 x 48 box is allowed to carry, against what sits on it. The table gives the allowance for up to 30 days, with the overhang cut included. Divide by the weight of one loaded box, such as 1,630 lb, to see how many fit above.

Ordering this size

1. Say 48 x 48 x 48 in and the wall count; the same footprint is sold in more than one height.
2. Give the maker's mark if the box has one. The 1,400 lb figure is one maker's new-box listing, not a promise about a used one.
3. Name the pallet. The 48 x 48 footprint does not match a 48 x 40 deck, and the difference costs stack height.
4. Weigh one full box. Past 700 lb, the stack height drops quickly.
5. Say where the stack will stand and for how long: the dock or the heated bay changes the answer more than the grade does.

In a trailer

How many 48 x 48 x 48 boxes make a load? On a trailer floor of about 630 by 98 in, the better of the two layouts gives 26 positions, and the roof, at about 108 in, allows 2 tiers of this height. Those are planning figures only.

In the cold

The biggest cube is the most exposed to cold, because there is more wall, and more air inside to carry moisture.

New or used at this size

Used examples are uncommon, and a large box that has been through a damp season can look fine and be soft. Ask for photographs of the lower corners and a statement of where it was stored.

Who orders it

Film recyclers, foam fabricators, textile and packaging plants. It is a niche size: if you can use a shorter box, you will find more of them.

Against its neighbours

Where the 48 x 48 x 36 covers the same footprint at a lower height, this is the tall version for the lightest loads. If your load is heavier than a few hundred pounds a box, choose a shorter size.

This size is mostly used because a particular load is mostly air. The test is simple: fill one, weigh it, and divide by the cubic feet. If the answer is under about 15 lb a cubic foot, the cube earns its keep; if it is over 30, you are paying for volume you cannot fill. Between those, a shorter box with the same footprint usually costs less and stacks better.

Back to the size hub, or see the full and partial bottoms, the wall counts and how to compare sizes by load.

Questions, answered