Gaylord box sizes, footprint by footprint
Nine standard gaylord sizes are listed here, from the one-yard 36 x 36 x 36 to the four-foot cube, with cubic feet, cubic yards and the rating each maker publishes. The 48 x 40 x 36 is the most common.
How to read the table
Volume is length times width times height in inches over 1,728. Capacity is the figure one maker or seller lists for a new triple-wall box, attributed on each size page; a used box is rated lower. Typical gaylord footprints are 48 x 40, 48 x 48 and 48 x 45, with sidewalls usually 24 to 50 inches high.
| Size | Footprint | Cubic feet | Cubic yards | Listed capacity | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 48 x 40 x 36 | 48 x 40 pallet | 40 | 1.48 | 1,500 lb, triple wall, Uline listing | Specs and uses |
| 48 x 40 x 24 | 48 x 40 pallet | 26.7 | 0.99 | 1,500 lb, triple wall, Uline listing | Specs and uses |
| 48 x 40 x 48 | 48 x 40 pallet | 53.3 | 1.98 | 1,500 lb, triple wall, Uline listing | Specs and uses |
| 48 x 45 x 40 | 48 x 45 footprint | 50 | 1.85 | five-ply, used listing | Specs and uses |
| 48 x 48 x 36 | 48 x 48 pallet | 48 | 1.78 | 1,400 lb, triple wall, Uline listing | Specs and uses |
| 48 x 48 x 48 | 48 x 48 pallet | 64 | 2.37 | 1,400 lb, triple wall, Uline listing | Specs and uses |
| 40 x 40 x 40 | 40 x 40 footprint | 37 | 1.37 | 1,300 lb, triple wall, Uline listing | Specs and uses |
| 36 x 36 x 36 | 36 x 36 footprint | 27 | 1 | 1,200 lb, triple wall, Uline listing, 1,100# test | Specs and uses |
| 46 x 38 x 36 Octagon | 48 x 40 pallet, eight-sided | 36.4 | 1.35 | 2,200 lb, listed weight capacity, Uline listing | Specs and uses |
Picking a footprint
Start from your pallet: 48 x 40 for most freight, 48 x 48 for square-pallet industries, 40 x 40 for skids. Pick height from the load: short for dense, tall for light. Then pick the wall count: see wall count.
Reading volume against the dock
A box is only a certain size from the inside, and the inside is what the table lists. Divide cubic feet by 27 and you have cubic yards, the unit a dumpster or roll-off is sold in. A 48 x 40 x 36 comes to about 1.5 yards standing, which is why a handful of empties fills a small container faster than anyone expects. The dumpster space calculator does this arithmetic for your own count and container, and the gaylords in a dumpster guide explains what the arithmetic leaves out.
Capacity is a different number
The weight a box is rated for is not its volume. A tall box of feathers and a short box of castings can have the same rating and very different cubic feet. Every size page lists the maker's rating with its source, and the weight and capacity guide explains why the number for a used box is lower than the number on the new listing.
When the footprint is not on the list
The nine sizes here are the common ones, not the only ones. If your pallet is 42 x 42, 44 x 44 or something specific to your line, write the real dimensions in the request and we will say whether a close match exists. Do not round the numbers to make them look standard: a box that is two inches wide on a pallet is a box that jams at the dock door.
Using the table to plan a purchase
Work from the pallet backward. Find the pallet your line uses, choose the footprint that sits on it, and then choose a height that suits the weight and the stacking plan. Taller boxes carry more by volume and less by weight per inch, so a tall box suits a light load and a short box suits a dense one. If two sizes seem equally right, choose the one most commonly available used, which is almost always the 48 x 40 x 36.
Why so many sizes exist
Gaylords grew up around the pallets of different industries, so the sizes reflect them. The 48 x 40 is the pallet of general freight in North America. The 48 x 48 serves drum and keg lines, the 40 x 40 and 36 x 36 serve compact production lines, and the 48 x 45 sits between them as a compromise. Octagonal boxes follow the same footprints with cut corners. Heights vary with the load: a short box for dense product, a tall one for light or bulky product.
Choosing by the dock rather than the load
The box has to fit where it will be handled. Measure the door, the racking and the ceiling above the stacking area. A 48-inch-tall box stacked two high needs eight feet of clear height plus the pallets, which is more than some older buildings offer. If your dock is tight, a shorter box can be the practical choice even if its volume is lower than your ideal.
A note on tolerances
Makers' dimensions are nominal. A box listed at 48 x 40 may measure an eighth or a quarter inch either way, and board swells a little in damp air. When a fit is tight, such as a box in a rack bay, measure a sample instead of trusting the listing. Used boxes can also be slightly out of square from earlier loads, which matters most for the largest sizes and for any stack taller than two.
Octagonal boxes add a wrinkle. Their listed size is the overall footprint, and the usable interior is smaller because the corners are cut. Compare the cubic feet in the table with a rectangular box of the same footprint and you will see the difference.
Three quick examples
Take three imagined lines of work. A plant packs injection-molded caps into cartons and wants one carton layer per pallet layer: the 48 x 40 x 36 does it, and four boxes fill a small truck bed along its width. A foundry ships castings by the ton and chooses the 48 x 40 x 24 so no box tips over when a fork lifts it. A pumpkin grower fills octabins at the field edge and picks the 46 x 38 x 36 so a bin sits fully on a standard pallet. Three lines of work, three sizes, and each answer follows from the load.
Trailer geometry deserves a thought too: fifty-three-foot trailers swallow standard footprints easily, whereas box trucks and sprinter vans do not.
Sources
Each read on November 11, 2026.