Truck Loading Calculator — Lorries & Trailers

How many cartons or pallets fit in your lorry, 40ft trailer, 13.6m EU trailer or 53ft US van? Enter the carton size and get the answer instantly — free, no sign-up.

Free Container Load Calculator

Enter your carton size — get the exact count in seconds. No sign-up needed.

Units: cm / kg · switch to inches / lb

Loading several carton sizes or your own truck? The full calculator handles mixed cartons, pallets, custom vehicles and gives you a 3D load plan, PDF & Excel.

Try it free for 14 days →

Truck and trailer sizes in the calculator

Typical inside load space and payload. Body sizes differ between builders and countries — for your exact vehicle use Custom vehicle in the full calculator.

VehicleInside L × W × HVolumePayload
Lorry 10ft (small truck) 3 × 1.7 × 1.8 m ~9.2 m³ 1,500 kg
Lorry 14ft 4.3 × 2 × 2 m ~17.2 m³ 3,500 kg
Lorry 17ft 5.2 × 2.2 × 2.2 m ~25.2 m³ 5,000 kg
Lorry 20ft 6.1 × 2.4 × 2.4 m ~35.1 m³ 8,000 kg
40ft Flatbed / Trailer 12 × 2.4 × 2.5 m ~72.0 m³ 25,000 kg
13.6m EU Trailer (curtain-side) 13.6 × 2.5 × 2.7 m ~90.0 m³ 24,000 kg
53ft US Dry Van 16 × 2.5 × 2.7 m ~108.0 m³ 20,000 kg

How to plan a truck load

  1. Measure the load space — door to front wall, wall to wall, floor to roof (or the legal load height on a flatbed).
  2. Check the payload — heavy goods often hit the weight limit before the truck is full.
  3. Load heaviest first — heavy cartons at the bottom and over the axles, light cartons on top.
  4. Plan the unloading order — for multi-drop deliveries, the last drop goes in first.

Shipping by sea instead? Use the container loading calculator, compare FCL vs LCL costs, or check pallets with the pallet calculator.

Frequently asked questions

How many cartons fit in a truck?

Divide the inside length, width and height of the load space by the carton size (trying every orientation), multiply the results, then check the payload. The free calculator above does this instantly for lorries, 40ft trailers, 13.6m EU trailers and 53ft US vans.

How many pallets fit in a 13.6m trailer?

A 13.6m EU trailer takes 33 Euro pallets (120×80 cm) or 26 standard pallets (120×100 cm) in one layer. Choose the trailer and "On pallets" in the calculator to check your pallet and stack height.

What size is a 20ft lorry?

Body sizes vary by builder, but a typical 20ft lorry has an inside load space of about 6.1 × 2.4 × 2.4 m and carries roughly 8 tonnes. Use "Custom vehicle" in the full calculator to enter your exact truck.

Can I plan mixed cartons and print a load plan for a truck?

Yes. In the full calculator choose "Trucks & trailers", add several carton sizes, and download a 3D load plan as PDF or Excel — with your own logo on the Business plan.