Heavy Duty Pallets: 8,000 to 18,000 lb static
Between 8,000 and 18,000 lb static is the heavy-duty nestable and stackable band: 10,000 lb is where Rehrig Pacific's nestables sit, 15,000 lb where PHS Plastic's heaviest does.
The models on file
| Model | Static | Dynamic | Nests |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rehrig Pacific heavy-duty nestable | 10,000 lb | 3,500 lb | 2.55 in; 1,200 per trailer |
| Rehrig Pacific standard-duty nestable | 10,000 lb | 3,000 lb | 2.50 in; 1,260 per trailer |
| Nelson Company multi-use | 10,500 lb | 3,100 lb | 60 per stack; about 1,800 per trailer |
| PHS Plastic EXP 116 | 15,000 lb | not printed | 40 per stack; 1,260 per trailer |
Four makers' nestable lines meet in this band, and they trade rating for stack differently. At 10,000 lb static the three nestables differ by 500 lb dynamic and 60 pallets per trailer. At 15,000 lb PHS's model nests 40 per stack against 78 for its lighter one.
What the rating hides
Static is not racking. None of the Rehrig Pacific nestables in this band lists a racking rating, and Nelson's multi-use model lists 2,700 lb against its 10,500 lb static. A pallet that goes on a beam is rated by the beam figure.
| Pallets to return | Rehrig Pacific Heavy-duty nestable (1,200 per trailer) | Nelson Company Nestable, stackable, rackable (1,800 per trailer) | PHS Plastic EXP 116 nestable (1,260 per trailer) | Rackable (540 per trailer) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5,000 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| 9,500 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 18 |
When to go higher
If the stack is tall, the load is dense or the pallet waits a long time, step into the next band. Creep is the reason to leave room: a rating at rest is not a rating for a month.
A stack worked out
Take a stackable rated 8,000 lb static. The bottom pallet carries the pallets above it, so with each loaded pallet weighing 1,846 lb it can hold 4 above, a stack of 5. With 5,888 lb per pallet it can hold 1 above. This is a ceiling on a flat floor for a still stack, not a promise for a stack that moves or waits.
| Loaded pallet, lb | Pallets above the bottom | Stack height | Load on the bottom pallet, lb |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,846 | 4 | 5 | 7,384 |
| 2,353 | 3 | 4 | 7,059 |
| 2,860 | 2 | 3 | 5,720 |
| 3,367 | 2 | 3 | 6,734 |
| 3,874 | 2 | 3 | 7,748 |
| 4,881 | 1 | 2 | 4,881 |
| 5,888 | 1 | 2 | 5,888 |
How tall the empties stand
Stack height is the other half of the return leg. For the Rehrig Pacific heavy-duty nestable, a stack of 11 stands 32.00 in and a stack of 35 stands 93.20 in, against 227.5 in un-nested.
| Pallets in the stack | Nested height, in | Un-nested height, in | Saved, in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 32.00 | 71.5 | 39.50 |
| 15 | 42.20 | 97.5 | 55.30 |
| 19 | 52.40 | 123.5 | 71.10 |
| 23 | 62.60 | 149.5 | 86.90 |
| 27 | 72.80 | 175.5 | 102.70 |
| 31 | 83.00 | 201.5 | 118.50 |
| 35 | 93.20 | 227.5 | 134.30 |
Weight on the pallet itself
Pallets in this band are built stout, and the extra plastic shows up on the scale and on the freight bill. Compare the empty weight on each sheet along with the rating, because a pallet that is a few pounds heavier is a few pounds paid for on every trip, outbound and, if it comes back, home again.
Matching the band to the handling
A pallet at the upper end of this band can carry heavy goods at rest and still be limited by its dynamic figure on forks. Pick on the dynamic rating if the pallet moves often, and on the static rating only if it spends its life in a stack.
Words on this page
- Recycled content
- The share of a pallet moulded from reground plastic. Makers print it as a range, often by colour.
- Nest ratio
- How many empty pallets fit in the height of one: pallet height divided by nest increment.
- Static load
- The weight a pallet holds while standing still on a flat floor, spread evenly across the deck. It is the highest of the three ratings.
- Cube utilisation
- How well loaded freight fills the volume of a trailer or container. Taller or wider-than-floor pallets waste cube.
- GMA pallet
- The 48 by 40 inch North American standard, named for the Grocery Manufacturers Association that popularised it.
- Footprint
- The length and width of a pallet deck. It is chosen to fit the container, the drum, the bag or the receiving rack.
- HDPE
- High-density polyethylene, a tough resin used in many plastic pallets, valued for strength against its weight.
- Pallet pooling
- A rental model where a company owns the pallets and moves them between customers, instead of each customer buying its own.
Tell us the footprint and how many stacks you move.
We work out the empty trailer, then take the request for a load.