Size library
The 48″ × 48″ pallet: built for drums and everything else that is too wide.
Price 48" × 48" stock
Give us the quantity, the size and the ZIP. You'll get a written quote with the grade, the freight and the pickup window — not a sales call.
- Written quotes, usually inside one business day
- Loads from 100 pallets to full 53' trailers
- We buy as readily as we sell — tell us which way it flows
Loaded
About 330 units, two high, roughly 15,000 lb in a trailer rated for three times that. Pallet loads cube out long before they gross out.
Drawn to scale
48" × 48" — 1219 × 1219 mm
7,000 lb
Static load
3,500 lb
Dynamic load
2,400 lb
Racked load
56 lb
Unit weight
5.75″
Overall height
7/3
Deck boards, top / bottom
48" × 48" · 7 top boards · 3 stringers
The load case
Four drums is a harder problem than it looks
A 55-gallon drum of solvent weighs about 480 lb loaded, and it puts almost all of that weight onto a chime ring roughly 22 inches across. Four of them on a pallet is not a distributed load; it is four rings pressing into a deck.
That is why 48×48 units are built heavier than the footprint alone would suggest — thicker deck boards, tighter board spacing under the drum positions, and often four stringers instead of three on new builds. A standard-build 48×48 will carry the weight statically and then fail in a rack.
If you are racking drums, tell us. It changes which units we pull off the stack.
Questions
48 × 48 questions
Is a 48×48 always four-way?
Most are notched four-way, but not all. Confirm before ordering if you run a pallet jack from the 48-inch side — a two-way unit will not accept it.
How many fit on a trailer?
About 24 on the floor of a 53-foot van, or 240 stacked two high in stacks of 10. The stacks are shorter because the units are heavier and taller.
Can I use a GMA for drums instead?
Two drums, comfortably. Four, no — they overhang the 40-inch dimension and overhanging drums are how drums fall off pallets.
Construction
Why a drum pallet is built differently
| Element | Standard GMA | Drum-spec 48×48 | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top deck thickness | 9/16″ | 9/16″ – ¾″ | Concentrated chime-ring loads |
| Deck gap | up to 3½″ | tighter under drum positions | Prevents deck deflection under the ring |
| Stringers | 3 | 3 or 4 | Four spreads a 2,000 lb load far better |
| Bottom deck coverage | ≈ 40% | ≈ 45 – 50% | Racked capacity depends on beam contact |
| Fastener count | 78 – 90 | 90 – 110 | More members, more joints |
| Unit weight | 45 – 55 lb | 52 – 68 lb | The construction, not the footprint |
The load case
Four drums is not a distributed load
A 55-gallon drum of water-density product weighs around 480 lb full, and almost all of that lands on a chime ring roughly 22 inches across. Four of them is four rings pressing into a deck, with the area between them doing very little work.
Published capacities assume uniform distribution. This is not that, and the gap between the two is where standard-build 48×48 units fail — usually not on a floor, where they are fine, but in a rack, where the deck between the rings deflects and the load starts to walk.
A working rule: halve the published racked capacity for a four-drum load. If you are racking drums, say so when you order. It changes which units come off the stack and the difference is about a dollar fifty against the cost of a drum leaving a beam.
Questions
More 48 × 48 questions
Is every 48×48 four-way?
Most are notched four-way but not all. Confirm before ordering if you run a pallet jack from the side — a two-way unit will not accept it and finding out on the dock is expensive.
How many fit on a trailer?
About 24 on the floor of a 53-foot van, or 240 stacked two high in stacks of ten. Stacks are shorter because the units are heavier and slightly taller.
Can I put four drums on a GMA instead?
No. They overhang the 40-inch dimension, and overhanging drums are how drums come off pallets. Two drums on a GMA is fine and common.
Are 48×48 pallets available recycled?
Yes, in Grade A and B, usually within one to three days. Heavy-deck variants come in batches and may take longer — say if you need them.
Trailer maths
How many of these fit where.
53′ dry van
26
on the floor
≈ 52 stacked two high
48′ dry van
22
on the floor
≈ 44 stacked two high
40′ container
9
on the floor
≈ 18 stacked two high
20′ container
4
on the floor
≈ 8 stacked two high
Questions
48" × 48" pallets, answered.
What are the exact dimensions of a 48" × 48" pallet?
48" × 48" (1219 × 1219 mm), standing about 5.75″ tall. A recycled unit weighs roughly 56 lb, built on 3 stringers with 7 top and 3 bottom deck boards.
How much weight can a 48" × 48" pallet carry?
Around 7,000 lb static, 3,500 lb dynamic and 2,400 lb racked. Racked capacity is the number that matters if the pallet is going into beam storage unsupported, and it is always the lowest of the three.
What is a 48" × 48" pallet typically used for?
Four-drum loads, chemicals, wide industrial parts. The default for a 2×2 array of 55-gallon drums. Heavier build, usually four-way notched.
Do you stock 48" × 48" in recycled as well as new?
Yes. We hold graded recycled stock in this footprint and build new to order when the specification calls for it. Recycled Grade A typically runs about half the price of new — see pallet grades for what the letters mean before you order.
Can you deliver 48" × 48" pallets outside Ohio?
Yes. We run our own trailers across Ohio and the neighbouring states and use contract freight beyond that. Because freight is the largest variable in the delivered price, we quote delivered rather than FOB — see our service area.