Layout
The best layout our engine found puts 1 with the 1000 mm side along the length and 8 turned with the 1200 mm side along the length. That covers 77.9% of the floor.
The same 9 pallets still fit after leaving 100 mm of length and 50 mm of width free for handling, so this layout has room to spare.
Floor and door
The 20 ft dry container has 13.9 m² of floor (149 sq ft) inside. In the same box an EPAL 1 takes 11 positions against 9 for the EPAL 3, so the EPAL 3 pallets cover 10.8 m² against 10.6 m² for EPAL 1.
The door opening is 2,340 mm wide, so the EPAL 3, carried narrow side first, clears it by 1,340 mm.
Inputs
| Inside length × width | 5,898 × 2,352 mm |
|---|---|
| Inside height | 2,391 mm |
| Door opening, width × height | 2,340 × 2,280 mm |
| Guideline payload | 21,720 kg |
| EPAL 3 footprint | 1,000 × 1,200 mm |
| Equipment source | Leman USA Inc.. US road/rail-limited guideline payload |
Height and weight
Empty EPAL 3 pallets are 144 mm high. The lower of the inside height (2,391 mm) and the door height (2,280 mm) is 2,280 mm, so 15 fit in one stack and 135 across the 9 clearance positions, weighing about 4,050 kg, which is within the 21,720 kg guideline payload.
For loaded pallets stacked two high, each unit including its pallet can be at most 1,140 mm tall, which leaves 996 mm for goods on each EPAL 3.
If all 9 clearance positions are filled in one layer, the guideline payload allows on average 2,383 kg of goods per pallet, after the pallet's own 30 kg.
Other pallets in the same 20' dry
| Pallet | Floor positions | With clearance |
|---|---|---|
| EPAL 1 | 11 | 11 |
| EPAL 2 | 9 | 9 |
| EPAL 6 | 25 | 25 |
| EPAL 7 | 25 | 25 |
| CP3 | 10 | 10 |
| CP4 | 8 | 8 |
| CP5 | 15 | 15 |
| 48 × 40 | 9 | 9 |
How this is computed
The engine tries every split of the deck into rows of pallets placed one way and rows placed the other way, along the length and across the width, and keeps the arrangement with the most pallets. It does not overhang, mix in other pallet sizes or allow for bulging goods. The methodology page explains each step, and the load planner runs the same code on your own dimensions.