Layout
The best layout our engine found puts 11 with the 1000 mm side along the length and 9 turned with the 1200 mm side along the length. That covers 90.8% of the floor.
The same 20 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 40 ft high cube reefer container has 26.4 m² of floor (284 sq ft) inside. In the same box an EPAL 1 takes 23 positions against 20 for the EPAL 3, so the EPAL 3 pallets cover 24.0 m² against 22.1 m² for EPAL 1.
The door opening is 2,290 mm wide, so the EPAL 3, carried narrow side first, clears it by 1,290 mm.
Inputs
| Inside length × width | 11,588 × 2,280 mm |
|---|---|
| Inside height | 2,537 mm |
| Door opening, width × height | 2,290 × 2,502 mm |
| Guideline payload | 30,560 kg |
| EPAL 3 footprint | 1,000 × 1,200 mm |
| Equipment source | SeaCube Containers. lessor payload, approximate |
Height and weight
Empty EPAL 3 pallets are 144 mm high. The lower of the inside height (2,537 mm) and the door height (2,502 mm) is 2,502 mm, so 17 fit in one stack and 340 across the 20 clearance positions, weighing about 10,200 kg, which is within the 30,560 kg guideline payload.
For loaded pallets stacked two high, each unit including its pallet can be at most 1,251 mm tall, which leaves 1,107 mm for goods on each EPAL 3.
If all 20 clearance positions are filled in one layer, the guideline payload allows on average 1,498 kg of goods per pallet, after the pallet's own 30 kg.
Other pallets in the same 40' HC reefer
| Pallet | Floor positions | With clearance |
|---|---|---|
| EPAL 1 | 23 | 23 |
| EPAL 2 | 20 | 20 |
| EPAL 6 | 52 | 52 |
| EPAL 7 | 52 | 52 |
| CP3 | 20 | 10 |
| CP4 | 17 | 16 |
| CP5 | 30 | 25 |
| 48 × 40 | 20 | 18 |
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.