42 x 42 pallets

Why a square deck

A square footprint does not have a long side. Cases of drinks and cans of paint stack in rings or blocks, and a deck that is equal each way wastes less edge than a rectangle does. The load can also be turned a quarter without changing how it sits.

Full pallets arrive in the size their sender uses. A dock that mixes 42 x 42 with 48 x 40 has to keep the two apart, because the racks do not take both well.

In a trailer

Because the pallet is square, the two orientations give the same count: 30 on the floor. Two fit across the 98-inch width, with room left over, and fifteen rows fit the length. That equals the 30 a trailer takes of 48 x 40, even though the pallet is smaller, because 98 inches only fits two across either way.

Buying and selling it

• Name the size as 42 x 42 and add the load, such as beverage or paint.
• Say whether a four-way entry matters on your dock.
• Expect smaller piles than 48 x 40: this is a specialist size.
• A seller with a few dozen should say so, because the right buyer is one whose racks take this footprint.

If the pile is mixed with 48 x 40, count each separately. See mixed loads for how those are read.

Checking a 42 x 42 before it ships

Square pallets are easy to mistake for each other, so measure both directions and confirm each reads about 42 inches. Count the deck boards on top, since beverage and paint loads often need a closely spaced deck to support small round bases, and check that the bottom boards have not split from heavy stacking. If cartons will overhang slightly, tell the carrier.

Related loads

Besides drinks and paint, square pallets suit tiles, tubs and some kinds of paper bale, where the load is built in a symmetrical block. If your product ships in square layers, a square pallet wastes less deck.