48x42 plastic pallets

Dimensions and fit for 48x42

This footprint is 48 in in the runner direction and 42 in across, or 1219 x 1067 mm. It adds 2 in of width to the grocery size, enough to carry a case pattern or a container base that would hang off a 40 in deck.

Chemical and beverage shippers

Industry size tables list 48x42 under chemicals and beverage. On the chemical side it carries pails, bagged resins and powders, and cased bottles of cleaners and solvents. On the beverage side it carries case patterns for bottled drinks that were laid out around a slightly wider deck.

Both trades value a deck that does not absorb what spills on it. A cracked jug of cleaner or a burst case of soda leaves wood stained and soaked. A molded HDPE or PP deck can be hosed off, and it has no fasteners to tear a bag of powder on the way down.

• Plastic pallets for chemicals and coatings →
• Plastic pallets for beverage bottlers →

Models molded in 48x42

The 48x42 catalog is modest. Most models are stackable or rackable, because chemical and beverage loads tend to be heavy and stored in stacks or racks rather than shipped one way.

Read each model's sheet for its dynamic, static and racked loads. A solid-deck 48x42 and an open-grid one in the same family can differ in both stiffness and rating.

• Stackable pallets on runners for loaded floor stacks of pails and cases
• Rackable models with three runners or a perimeter base
• Heavy-duty solid decks for bagged powders and resins
• Lipped decks that keep pails and bottles from sliding toward the edge
• Used 48x42s from chemical and bottling fleets, sold as Grade A, Grade B or a mixed lot

• Heavy duty plastic pallets →

Getting the most floor positions

In a 53-foot van, which is about 100 in wide and 630 in long inside, the turned load is the better one. With the 48 in sides across, two take 96 in and 15 rows of 42 in fit in the length, so about 30 positions against about 26 for the straight load. Beverage and chemical loads are often heavy enough to reach the trailer's weight limit first, so check gross weight as well as count.

Containers are 92.4 in wide inside, which is too narrow for two pallets turned (96 in). A mixed pattern helps: run one lane with the 42 in side across and one with the 48 in side across, which uses 90 in. That gives about 9 in a 20-foot box and about 20 in a 40-foot box.

• How many plastic pallets fit on a trailer →

Bottling lines, conveyors and bagged loads

Bottling plants move full pallets on roller and chain conveyors from the palletizer to the stretch wrapper and on to the dock. The runners have to run with the chain, and the bottom has to be flat enough to track without snagging. Ask which way a model's runners run before it goes on your line.

Robotic palletizers and slip-sheet systems want a deck that is flat and the same height every time, which a molded pallet gives and a repaired wood one may not. If a robot builds the load, ask for the deck height and flatness tolerance on the drawing.

In chemical warehouses, pallets of bagged powder are often double-stacked on the floor. Bags sag into wide gaps, so a solid top spreads the weight better than an open grid and keeps fines from sifting through to the floor.

Where the size is used

48x42 is a North American footprint. It runs alongside 48x40 in chemical plants and bottling operations here, and it is rarely the receiving size abroad. Chemical exports usually move to the receiver's standard footprint, such as 1200x1000 in Europe.

Plastic pallets fall outside ISPM 15, the wood packaging standard, and APHIS treats them as an alternative to wood packaging material, so a plastic 48x42 needs no heat treatment mark if a load does go overseas.

• 1200x1000 plastic pallets →
• ISPM 15 and plastic pallets →

Requesting a 48x42 quote

Tell us what goes on the pallet and how heavy it gets, whether loaded pallets are racked or stacked, the deck you want, the quantity and the delivery ZIP. We answer by email with the models or used grades that meet it and a delivered price; a full order goes on a 53-foot van and a smaller one by LTL.

• Request a 48x42 quote →