Guides to gaylords, written for the dock
Guides to gaylords, written for the dock: what the box is, how its walls and bottom work, how it is graded, what the Massachusetts ban means and how to work out the space empties take.
Start with the box
What a gaylord box is, and why it is called a gaylord. Then the parts: wall count, full and partial bottoms and slip sheets.
Strength and condition
Weight and capacity and how much a gaylord holds set out the numbers makers publish. Grades explains new and used, and single trip boxes the cleanest used grade.
Rules and arithmetic
The Massachusetts cardboard ban is dated and cited. Gaylords in a dumpster does the volume arithmetic, and the calculator does it with your numbers.
How the guides fit together
The guides are written in the order a dock usually meets the questions. Someone new to the box starts with what a gaylord is and why it has that name. Someone choosing a box moves on to wall count, full and partial bottoms and slip sheets. Someone with empties to place reads grades, single trip boxes and the Massachusetts cardboard ban.
Each guide ends with the next step, usually a request. Each one lists the sources it used and the date they were read, so you can check any number against the place it came from.
Terms you will meet
A few words recur across the guides. A footprint is the length and width of the box where it meets the pallet. Wall count is the number of corrugated layers in the sides. A flap bottom closes the base of the box with folded panels, and a slip sheet is the thin board some boxes ride on instead of a pallet. OCC stands for old corrugated containers, the recycling grade for worn board. Single trip means a box used once. Knocked down means folded flat for storage or shipping.
None of these terms is complicated, but buyers and sellers use them loosely, and a request that uses them precisely is answered faster. Each guide defines the ones it needs in its first paragraph.
Keeping the guides current
Each guide carries the date its sources were read. Rules and ratings change, and a guide that was accurate in November 2026 may need a second look by the time you act on it. When a figure matters to a decision, follow the link in the sources list and read it again.
Beyond the guides
The FAQ answers the questions that come up most, the sizes table lists the numbers, and the dumpster space calculator does the arithmetic. Between them they cover most of what a dock needs to decide.
Bookmark the ones you use; they are short on purpose.
Reading time
Most guides take under three minutes, and the longest, on the Massachusetts ban, takes about five.
Each guide links onward to related pages, so you can follow a thread from definition to decision without returning here.
Suggestions for new guides are welcome through the contact page, alongside corrections, additions or questions left unanswered elsewhere.