Box truck sizes and dimensions chart

Box truck sizes are named by the length of the cargo box, not the whole truck. A "26 ft box truck" has a box about 26 feet long sitting on a chassis with a cab in front. Everything else, from cubic feet to pallet count to the freight you can haul, follows from the box length, width and height and from what the chassis can carry.

The numbers below come from published specs: rental fleets that list their trucks' inside dimensions, and a body maker's spec sheet. They are ranges because bodies differ by make, model year, door type and options. Use them for planning, then measure your own truck.

Box truck sizes chart

Box	Inside length	Inside width	Inside height	Cubic feet	48x40 pallets*	Payload	Source
10 ft	9 ft 11 in deck	not published	door 5 ft 7 in	not published	~2	up to 2,810 lb	U-Haul
12 ft	up to 12 ft	6 ft 6 in	6 ft 1 in	up to 450	3	up to 3,100 lb	Penske
14 ft	13 ft 11½ in	92⅜ in	79-103 in	710-920 (calc)	6	by chassis	Morgan
16 ft	up to 16 ft	7 ft 7 in	6 ft 6 in	up to 800	6-8	up to 4,300 lb	Penske
20 ft	19 ft 11½ in	92⅜ or 98⅜ in	85-103 in	1,090-1,410 (calc)	8-10	by chassis	Morgan
22 ft	up to 21 ft 11 in	8 ft 1 in	8 ft 1 in	up to 1,200	10	up to 10,000 lb	Penske
24 ft	23 ft 11½ in	92⅜ or 98⅜ in	97-103 in	1,490-1,690 (calc)	10-12	by chassis	Morgan
26 ft	up to 25 ft 11 in	8 ft 1 in	8 ft 7 in	up to 1,700	12-13	up to 10,000 lb	Penske

Two things this chart shows that people often miss.

First, inside width is less than the 8 ft you might expect. Morgan's 96 in wide body measures 92⅜ in inside; its 102 in body is 98⅜ in. That matters for pallets: two 48x40 pallets side by side need 80 in with the 40 in side across, which fits. Two pallets turned the other way need 96 in, which usually does not.

Second, payload is not printed on the box. A body maker can tell you the box dimensions, but how much weight you can carry depends on the chassis. Payload is the truck's GVWR minus its curb weight. The box alone is heavy: Morgan lists its 26 ft aluminum body at roughly 3,300 to 3,700 lb before the chassis is counted.

Small box truck sizes: 10, 12, 14 and 16 ft

A small box truck usually sits on a cutaway van chassis, the kind with a van-style cab and the box mounted behind it. These trucks are easy to drive and park, and they never need a CDL.

10 foot box truck

The smallest common size. U-Haul's 10 ft truck has a 9 ft 11 in deck, a door opening of 5 ft 11 in by 5 ft 7 in, a low deck height of 2 ft 5 in and a maximum load of 2,810 lb. For freight work it is tight: a couple of pallets or a small run of boxed goods.

12 foot box truck

Penske lists its 12 ft truck at up to 12 ft long, 6 ft 6 in wide and 6 ft 1 in high inside, with up to 450 cubic feet and a 3,100 lb payload. At 78 in wide, two pallets will not sit side by side, so plan on about three standard pallets in a line.

14 foot box truck

A common size for local delivery fleets. Morgan's 14 ft body is 13 ft 11½ in long inside with a 92⅜ in wide floor, enough for about six pallets two across.

16 foot box truck

The most popular small box truck. Penske's 16 ft truck is up to 16 ft long, 7 ft 7 in wide and 6 ft 6 in high inside, with up to 800 cubic feet and a 4,300 lb payload. It takes six to eight pallets by floor space, but on heavy freight you will hit the payload long before the floor is full. That is the main limit of a 16 ft box truck for freight: great for final mile and furniture, short on weight.

Mid-size: 20, 22 and 24 ft box trucks

Mid-size box trucks usually move to a medium-duty chassis with a conventional or cab-over cab. Payload jumps because the chassis is rated much heavier.

20 foot box truck

A 20 ft body is 19 ft 11½ in long inside on Morgan's spec sheet, 92⅜ or 98⅜ in wide, and 85 to 103 in tall depending on the height option. That works out to roughly 1,100 to 1,400 cubic feet and eight to ten pallets.

22 foot box truck

Penske's 22 ft truck is up to 21 ft 11 in long, 8 ft 1 in wide and 8 ft 1 in high inside, with up to 1,200 cubic feet and up to 10,000 lb of payload. About ten pallets.

24 foot box truck

A 24 ft body is 23 ft 11½ in long inside. With a 97 to 103 in tall body you get roughly 1,500 to 1,700 cubic feet and ten pallets straight, or twelve if you pinwheel them. It is a good fit for regional partials when a 26-footer is more truck than you need.

The 26 ft box truck

The largest common size and the most common box truck in freight work. Penske lists its non-CDL 26 ft trucks at up to 25 ft 11 in long, 8 ft 1 in wide and 8 ft 7 in high inside, up to 1,700 cubic feet, up to 10,000 lb of payload, and up to 26,000 lb gross vehicle weight. Expect about 12 standard pallets single stacked. Every measurement, from the door opening to bridge clearance, is in our guide to 26 ft box truck dimensions, and the pallet layouts are worked out in how many pallets fit in a 26 ft box truck.

How box size affects which loads you can take

Brokers post box truck freight with three numbers you need to check against your truck: length or pallet count, weight, and whether a dock or liftgate is needed at each end. Box size decides the first, the chassis decides the second, and your equipment decides the third.

• Floor space sets the pallet count. A load of 10 pallets is not for a 16 ft box, no matter how light it is.
• Payload sets the weight. A 16 ft truck with 4,300 lb of payload cannot take six pallets of canned goods even though they fit on the floor.
• Height matters for tall freight like furniture, appliances and stacked cartons. An extra foot of box height adds hundreds of cubic feet.
• License follows weight rating, not length. A single truck with a GVWR of 26,001 lb or more needs a Class B CDL under 49 CFR 383.91, so most 26 ft trucks are built at 26,000 lb GVWR. Read the sticker on your door jamb.

When we dispatch a box truck, this is the first thing we set up: your inside length, pallet count, real cargo weight limit and door type. A load that does not fit all four never reaches you.

Dock height vs liftgate

Dock height means the cargo floor is about level with a loading dock, so a forklift or pallet jack can drive straight in. Penske lists its 26 ft trucks at roughly 46 to 50 inches of floor height. Most 20 to 26 ft trucks on medium-duty chassis are close to dock height; small cutaway trucks sit much lower and are loaded from the ground or a ramp.

A liftgate is a powered platform on the back of the truck that lowers freight to the ground. It lets you deliver where there is no dock: stores, job sites, homes and small businesses. Many brokers add a liftgate charge to the rate for this. If you run freight, a liftgate on a 20 to 26 ft truck widens the loads you can take more than almost any other option.

Door width matters too. Morgan lists rear roll-up door openings of 88 in on its 96 in body and 94 in on the 102 in body. Both clear a standard pallet with room to spare, but wide crates and furniture can be tighter than the floor suggests.

Which box truck size is best for a freight business?

It depends on the freight you want, but here is our honest view, and the reason we dispatch 26 ft box trucks only.

• 26 ft, non-CDL, with a liftgate is the most flexible freight truck. It takes full partials, LTL, store deliveries and expedited runs, and brokers post more loads for it than for any other box truck. If you are buying one truck for freight, start here.
• 20 to 24 ft is the compromise: lower purchase price, easier city driving, still enough floor for many partials. You will pass on the 12-pallet loads that make up a lot of box truck freight.
• 16 ft and smaller is a final mile and local delivery truck. Freight brokers do post loads for it, but the payload limits you. It shines on routes, furniture and appliance work.
• Running regional or long haul? Look at a box truck with a sleeper on a 24 or 26 ft chassis.

We built our box truck dispatch service around the 26-footer for that reason: one size means every broker contact, rate and load profile we keep fits your truck. If you run a smaller box, this chart still helps you plan; for a 26 ft, plan a load with the box truck pallet calculator first.