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Nine capacities with every dimension.
Reference · Load planning
Dimensions
& weights
The numbers you need to plan a rack bay, a trailer, a forklift move or a freight quote — with the derating and clearance factors that turn a specification into a working plan.
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Send us the constraint
Beam opening, door height, forklift rating or product density — whichever number is boxing you in. We will tell you what fits before you commit to a load.
The short answer
A 275 gallon IBC tote is 48" × 40" × 46", 127 lb empty and 2,420 lb full of water. A 330 gallon shares the footprint at 53" tall, 136 lb empty and 2,890 lb full. Both stack two high filled and three high empty, both need about 58 inches of rack beam opening for the taller unit, and both load 26 to a 53-foot van single-stacked. Filled loads hit legal weight limits long before the trailer is full.
01Gross weight
What it weighs when it is full
Gross weight is tare plus (gallons × 8.34 lb × specific gravity). This table does that for the densities we see most often.
| Product SG | Example | 275 gal | 330 gal | 550 gal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.80 | Light oils, solvents | 1,962 | 2,338 | 3,916 |
| 0.90 | Vegetable oil, glycol | 2,191 | 2,613 | 4,373 |
| 1.00 | Water, most aqueous | 2,420 | 2,890 | 4,830 |
| 1.10 | Brines, mild solutions | 2,650 | 3,166 | 5,288 |
| 1.20 | Caustic soda 30% | 2,879 | 3,442 | 5,745 |
| 1.40 | Corn syrup, concentrates | 3,337 | 3,995 | 6,660 |
| 1.60 | Dense salt solutions | 3,795 | 4,547 | 7,574 |
| 1.84 | Sulphuric acid, concentrated | 4,345 | 5,207 | 8,671 |
Above about SG 1.4 you should be checking the container's maximum gross mass on the data plate rather than assuming, and above SG 1.6 you should be checking your racking too. Plenty of standard racking is not rated for 3,800 lb in a single position.
02Transport
Load counts by vehicle
| Vehicle | Interior length | Single stack | Double stack | Filled, practical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 53' dry van | 636" | 26 | 52 | 18–20 |
| 48' dry van | 576" | 24 | 48 | 18–20 |
| 40' shipping container | 474" | 20 | 40 | 18–20 |
| 20' shipping container | 232" | 10 | 20 | 10 |
| 26' box truck | 312" | 12 | 24 | 10–12 |
| 32' gooseneck | 384" | 14 | n/a | 12 |
| 16' flatbed trailer | 192" | 8 | n/a | 6 |
| 8' pickup bed | 96" | 2 | n/a | 1 |
Why the last column is smaller
Twenty-six water-filled 275 gallon totes weigh about 63,000 lb. Add a tractor and trailer and you are well over the 80,000 lb federal gross limit. Empty containers cube out; full containers weigh out. Every freight conversation in this trade is one of those two problems, never both.
- Pallet positions, 53' van
- 26
- Standard trailer interior width
- 100"
- Standard trailer door height
- 110"
- Double-stacked 275 height
- ≈ 92"
- Double-stacked 330 height
- ≈ 106"
- Empty tote weight, 26 units
- ≈ 3,300 lb
- Federal gross vehicle limit
- 80,000 lb
03Handling
Forklift capacity, honestly
Capacity plates are rated at a 24-inch load centre. Containers this deep push the centre of gravity outward, and the truck derates accordingly.
| Nominal capacity | At 24" centre | At 30" centre | Suitable for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3,000 lb | 3,000 lb | ≈ 2,400 lb | Empty totes only |
| 4,000 lb | 4,000 lb | ≈ 3,200 lb | 275 gal to SG 1.3 |
| 5,000 lb | 5,000 lb | ≈ 4,000 lb | 275 gal full, 330 gal to SG 1.3 |
| 6,000 lb | 6,000 lb | ≈ 4,800 lb | 330 gal full, most products |
| 8,000 lb | 8,000 lb | ≈ 6,400 lb | 550 gal, dense products |
These are indicative. Your truck’s own capacity plate is the authority, and it will list capacity at specific load centres and lift heights. If the plate is missing or unreadable, the truck should not be lifting a 2,400 lb container.
?Questions
Load planning questions
How many IBC totes fit in a 53-foot trailer?
26 single-stacked or 52 double-stacked, by volume. Filled with water you reach legal gross weight limits at around 18 to 20 units, so filled loads are always lighter than the trailer could physically hold. Totes cube out empty and weigh out full.
What rack beam opening does a 330 gallon tote need?
About 58 inches — 53 inches of container plus clearance for lifting in and out. A great deal of existing racking is set at 54 inches, which is the single most common reason a 330 order comes back to us.
Why does my forklift capacity not match the tote weight?
Because capacity plates are rated at a 24-inch load centre. A 48-inch-deep tote puts the centre of gravity around 24 inches out and a 62-inch container puts it around 31, which derates most trucks by 15 to 25 percent. Read the plate at your actual load centre, not the headline number.
How much does an empty IBC tote weigh?
About 127 lb for a 275 gallon composite-pallet unit and 136 lb for a 330. Steel pallets add roughly 20 lb. That tare matters when you are calculating a legal truckload — 26 empty totes is already about 3,300 lb before anything goes in them.
◆On the yard
»Keep reading
Freight and transport
Modes, pricing and backhaul discounts.
Safe handling guide
Stacking, forklifts, static and containment.