Small wooden pallets
Small pallets carry what a full-size pallet would waste space on: store displays, boxed parts, samples and light loads moved by hand jack. They are built like full-size pallets, only shorter, and quoted to the size.
| No. | Member | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Top deck boards | Run across the stringers; count and width set the deck coverage. |
| 2 | Lead boards | The deck board on each outside edge, top and bottom; the first board a fork meets. |
| 3 | Stringers | The long supports under the deck; their length is the first number in the size. |
| 4 | Bottom deck boards | Spread the load on the floor or a conveyor and tie the stringers together. |
Used for
- Retail and club-store displays, often half a 48 x 40.
- Parts and components moved inside a plant.
- Light loads shipped less-than-truckload.
Half and quarter footprints
The retail trade lists 48 x 20, half the width of a 48 x 40, so two can stand side by side where one full pallet would. Displays built on half and quarter footprints roll straight onto a shop floor. Writing the size stringer first matters more than usual here: a 48 x 20 and a 20 x 48 are different pallets.
Common small sizes
Lighter, not flimsier
A small pallet carries less, so its boards can be thinner, but it still gets lifted, dropped and pushed by forks and jacks. Keep the lead boards sound and the deck tight enough for the cartons on it. If the pallets are moved by hand, say so, and the lumber is chosen to keep the empty weight down.
Matching your shelving and carts
Small pallets often have to fit something already in place: a gravity rack, a shelf, a cart, a store fixture. Measure the opening, not just the product, and we will draw the pallet to fit both.
Small pallets in a plant
Inside a factory small pallets carry work in progress between machines, sit on shelving and go through parts washers or ovens. Each of those sets a limit: the shelf depth, the washer’s door, the oven’s temperature. A small pallet in a dry, clean plant may be lighter and plainer than one shipping freight. Give the use as well as the size and weight.
Fewer boards, same rules
A small footprint doesn’t change the basics. Stringers carry the deck, lead boards take the knocks, and the deck must cover the cartons on it. What changes is the scale: shorter spans make stiff boards, so a small pallet can carry a surprising load on thin lumber. We size it to the load, not down from a full pallet.
Hand-carried pallets should stay under the lifting limit your site sets. Small displays sometimes carry printed skirts or wraps, and their bases should sit perfectly level on a store floor. Tell us about any of those details early.Where small pallets end up
Half and quarter pallets often finish on shop floors and in store aisles, moved by hand jacks and sometimes lifted by people. Keep the empty weight low, the edges smooth and the top flat for displays. If several ride together on a full pallet, size them to divide its footprint evenly. Rounded corners and chamfered edges spare ankles, shelving and shoppers’ carts when a small pallet goes on show. Branded or colored skirts, if wanted, attach afterward.
Quote small pallets
Give the size, stringer first, and what goes on each pallet.
- Construction
- Stringer, or not sure
- Pallet size
- For example 48 x 20 or 32 x 30
- Load weight
- Per pallet, in pounds
Not sure of a line? Leave it blank. Size, load weight and quantity are enough to start a quote.