Truckload calculator
Add what you're shipping, from a pallet to a steel coil to an excavator. See which trailers can carry it, how many trucks it takes, and how each one loads, in 3D.
What trailer do you need?
Not sure? Leave it on best fit and we'll check every trailer for you.
Off: the fewest trucks, with any over-height permit flagged and the legal option shown.
Rather just describe it?
Tell Allison what you're shipping, or paste the request you got. She'll work out the trailers and trucks, and the plan loads right here.
What are you shipping?
Pick the closest thing. Every size is a starting point: stretch any side or type your own.
Not on the list? Start from a shape
Your load
Nothing yet. Add a piece from the list, or start from a shape.
Add a piece and it loads here.
You'll see which trailers can carry it and the one we'd pick, how many trucks it takes and what fills each one, the height and weight against the legal limits, the axle weights, and every truck loaded in 3D.
How the truckload calculator works
It loads each trailer the way a dock does, nose to tail and across before back, trying every way each piece may ride. It stacks only what you mark stackable, keeps every truck under its legal weight, checks its axle groups against their limits, and compares the trailers to find the fewest trucks on the most common equipment.
Pick a trailer, or don't
Choose the equipment you have in mind, or leave it on best fit and every trailer gets checked.
Add what you're shipping
Start from a preset (pallets, drums, coils, lumber, beams, machines) or a blank box, cylinder or machine, and set its size, weight and count.
Get the plan
The trailers that work and the one we'd pick, how many trucks, each one loaded in 3D, and its height, weight and axle loads against the limits.
The trailers it plans on
Typical equipment. Each payload is the freight weight a carrier's truck and trailer almost always carry under the 80,000 lb gross limit; the trailer guide has the ranges behind them.
| Trailer | Space | Freight it carries |
|---|---|---|
| 53′ dry van | Enclosed, 52′6″ × 99″ × 110″ inside | 45,000 lb |
| 48′ dry van | Enclosed, 47′6″ × 99″ × 110″ inside | 45,000 lb |
| 53′ reefer | Refrigerated, 51′7″ × 97″ × 104″ inside | 43,500 lb |
| 26′ box truck | Straight truck, 26′ × 96″ × 96″ box | 10,000 lb |
| 48′ flatbed | Open deck, 5′ off the road | 48,000 lb |
| 53′ flatbed | Open deck, 5′ off the road | 48,000 lb |
| 53′ step deck | Lower deck 36–42″ off the road, for taller freight | 46,000 lb |
| Double drop | 29′ well 18–24″ off the road, for the tallest freight | 40,000 lb |
| RGN (removable gooseneck) | Low well, the front comes off so machines drive on | 40,000 lb |
Space, height, weight and axles
A load fills a truck four ways. Light, bulky freight runs out of floor. Tall freight runs out of height: inside a van that's the ceiling and the door, and on an open deck it's the 13′6″ legal height measured from the road, which is why a step deck or a lowboy carries taller freight than a flatbed. Dense freight like steel runs out of weight long before it fills the deck.
And a load that's legal in total can still be over on one axle group if it sits in the wrong place. The plan shows each truck's steer, drive and trailer axle estimate so you can see where the weight goes. Once you know the trucks, see what they cost in the truckload cost guide, or, for less than a full trailer, compare partial truckload and LTL.
Truckload calculator FAQs
Trailers, limits, and how the plan is worked out.
Related freight tools
Pallet calculator
Turn loose boxes into pallets first
Linear feet calculator
Deck space for LTL and partial loads
Trailer types and dimensions
Every trailer's specs, in 3D
State size and weight limits
Legal height, width and weight by state
Shipping time calculator
Transit time once you know the trucks
Freight class calculator
Density-based class for LTL
Truckload shipping
Dedicated trucks, quoted and booked online
Truckload shipping cost
What a full truckload typically costs
Ready to move it?
Quote truckload, partial and LTL online, or call Allison any time at (877) 345-3838.