26 foot box truck dimensions

The 26 foot box truck is the biggest box truck most people can drive without a CDL, and the size brokers post the most freight for. Its dimensions decide almost everything about a load: how many pallets go on the floor, whether a crate clears the door, and whether you fit under the bridge on the way to the dock.

The 26 foot box truck dimensions below come from two published sources: a body maker's spec sheet (Morgan, one of the large dry freight body builders) and the spec pages for Penske's 26 ft rental trucks. Bodies vary by maker, height option and door type, so treat these as the normal range and check your own truck.

26 foot box truck dimensions table

Measurement	Morgan body, 96 in	Morgan body, 102 in	Penske 26 ft rental
Inside length	25 ft 11½ in	25 ft 11½ in	up to 25 ft 11 in
Inside width	92⅜ in (7 ft 8⅜ in)	98⅜ in (8 ft 2⅜ in)	up to 8 ft 1 in
Inside height	79⅛ to 109⅛ in by model	79⅛ to 109⅛ in by model	up to 8 ft 7 in
Outside body length	26 ft 5⅝ in	26 ft 5⅝ in	not listed
Outside body width	96 in	102 in	not listed
Outside body height	85⅜ to 115⅜ in	85⅜ to 115⅜ in	not listed
Rear roll-up door opening	88 in wide, 73¼ to 103¼ in tall	94 in wide, 73¼ to 103¼ in tall	not listed
Floor (deck) height	depends on chassis	depends on chassis	about 46 to 50 in
Cubic feet	about 1,320 to 1,820 (calc)	about 1,400 to 1,930 (calc)	up to 1,700
Body weight	3,341 to 3,735 lb	not listed	not listed

Inside dimensions

The inside of a 26 ft box is about 25 ft 11 in to 25 ft 11½ in long. Morgan's figure assumes a roll-up rear door and a thin plywood liner on the front wall; with swing doors you gain about 1½ inches. Width inside is 92⅜ in on a 96 in body and 98⅜ in on a 102 in body. Height is the number that varies most, because buyers order it: Morgan builds inside heights from 79⅛ in to 109⅛ in, and Penske's rental 26-footers are up to 8 ft 7 in.

Outside dimensions

The body itself is 26 ft 5⅝ in long outside on Morgan's sheet, and 96 or 102 inches wide. The truck is longer: the cab, hood and bumper sit in front of the body, so a 26 ft box truck is well over 30 ft bumper to bumper. The exact overall length depends on the chassis, so read it off the truck's spec sheet before you plan a tight dock or a city street.

Door opening

Morgan's rear roll-up door opening is 88 in wide on the 96 in body and 94 in on the 102 in body, and about 6 in shorter than the inside height. A standard 48x40 pallet clears either one easily. Wide crates, furniture and tall machinery are where the door, not the floor, becomes the limit.

Cubic feet and pallet count

Penske lists up to 1,700 cubic feet for its 26 ft trucks. From Morgan's dimensions, a 96 in body ranges from about 1,320 cubic feet with the lowest roof to about 1,820 with the tallest, and a 102 in body from about 1,400 to 1,930.

For freight, pallets matter more than cubic feet. With a 92 to 98 in floor, two 48x40 pallets fit side by side with the 40 in side across, and 25 ft 11 in of length gives six rows: 12 pallets single stacked. Some floors take a 13th pallet in a pinwheel layout. The layouts, double stacking and the weight check are in how many pallets fit in a 26 ft box truck.

Weight: GVWR, curb weight and payload

GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) is the most the loaded truck may weigh, set by the manufacturer and printed on the door-jamb label. Most 26 ft box trucks are built at 26,000 lb GVWR, which keeps them in Class 6 and lets them be driven without a CDL. Federal rules require a Class B CDL for a single vehicle rated, or actually weighing, 26,001 lb or more.

Curb weight is the empty truck with fluids. The body alone is heavy: Morgan lists its 26 ft aluminum body at about 3,300 to 3,700 lb before the chassis.

Payload is what is left:

Payload = GVWR − curb weight (with fuel, driver and gear)

Penske lists its non-CDL 26 ft trucks at up to 10,000 lb of payload and its CDL 26 ft trucks, rated up to 33,000 lb, at up to 17,000 lb. Your own number is on a scale ticket: weigh the truck fueled with you in it, then subtract that from the GVWR.

Clearance and low bridges

A 26 ft box truck stands roughly 12.5 to 13 ft tall. That is our estimate from Penske's published floor height of about 46 to 50 inches plus an 8 ft 7 in inside height and the roof structure, so your exact figure depends on your body and chassis. Most trucks have the overall height posted on a sticker in the cab; if yours does not, measure it once and stick it on the dash.

Low clearances are where 26-footers get hurt: older railroad underpasses, parkway bridges, parking garages, drive-thru canopies and some fuel station canopies. Three habits that save a roof:

• Use a GPS or app with truck routing and your real height entered.
• Treat posted clearance signs as exact. Snow, new pavement and a loaded truck sitting lower or higher change the margin.
• When a receiver gives directions, ask about clearance on the last mile in.

What loads fit a 26 ft box

The 26 ft box is the most flexible freight box truck. These are the loads we book most often for it:

• LTL and partials of 6 to 12 pallets, dock to dock
• Retail and store deliveries with a liftgate
• Expedited regional runs that need a whole box now
• Trade show freight, where the door opening matters as much as the floor
• Appliances and furniture, light for the space, often liftgate and inside delivery

Freight that is too heavy for your payload or too long for 25 ft 11 in is the only freight a 26-footer can't take. If you are comparing it with smaller trucks, the box truck sizes chart puts every size side by side. Running long regional routes? A box truck with a sleeper is usually a 26 ft truck.

Our dispatchers set up every 26 ft box truck with its inside length, pallet count, payload and door type, so we only bring you loads that fit. See 26 ft box truck dispatch, learn how our box truck dispatch works, or check a load with the box truck pallet calculator.