20' GP / 22G1
20ft standard
What a 20ft container measures inside and at the door, and why the tandems stop it near 38,000 lb of cargo on a Miami road, well short of the gross limit.
Outside, inside, and the door
What it looks like
Specification
| Measure | 20ft standard |
|---|---|
| Exterior length | 238.5″ 19′ 10.5″ |
| Exterior width | 96″ 8′ |
| Exterior height | 102″ 8′ 6″ |
| Interior length | 232″ 19′ 4″ |
| Interior width | 92″ 7′ 8″ |
| Interior height | 94″ 7′ 10″ |
| Door opening width | 92″ 7′ 8″ |
| Door opening height | 90″ 7′ 6″ |
| Tare weight | 4,850 lb |
| Max payload | 62,350 lb |
| Max legal cargo weight | 38,000 lb |
| Max gross | 67,200 lb |
| Capacity | 1,172 cu ft |
| Chassis | Standard, or tri-axle if it is overweight |
These are nominal figures for this equipment type. Real boxes vary by manufacturer, line and build year, and the tare is stencilled on the door of the unit you are actually getting. Send us the container number and we will confirm against the real one.
What a 20ft container is
A 20ft standard is the shorter of the two ordinary dry boxes: steel walls, a hard roof, and a pair of doors at one end. The outside is close to universal, because the box has to stack and lock like every other box, at about 19 ft 10.5 in long, 8 ft wide and 8 ft 6 in tall. Inside it opens out to roughly 19 ft 4 in by 7 ft 8 in by 7 ft 10 in, which is about 1,172 cu ft of usable space.
The door is the number worth writing down, because it is smaller than the interior: 7 ft 8 in wide by 7 ft 6 in tall. Four inches of height disappear at the header and the sill, and a crate that measured fine against the interior can still stop at the opening. These are nominal figures for the type. Tare on a typical 20 is around 4,850 lb, and the real one is stencilled on the door.
When a 20 beats a 40
Volume picks the 40, weight picks the 20. A 40ft standard gives you 2,389 cu ft against 1,172, so anything light and bulky costs less per cubic foot in the longer box, and two 20s rarely beat one 40 on a lane where both fit. Density flips the answer. Stone, tile, drums, castings, machinery, anything that hits a weight ceiling with the box half empty belongs in a 20, where the space you are not using is space you are not paying for.
Access is the other reason people choose the short box. A 20 on a chassis is a shorter combination and turns into places a 40 cannot: narrow yards, tight residential approaches, older South Florida industrial streets laid out before the 40 became the default. If what you are short of is height rather than weight, the 20ft high cube keeps the same footprint and adds about a foot inside.
The weight trap, and why a 20 stops near 38,000 lb
The commonest mistake on a 20 is arithmetic. Take 80,000 lb of legal highway gross, subtract the tractor, the chassis and the container, and you land somewhere near 50,000 lb of cargo. That number is wrong by about ten thousand pounds and it is how loads end up turned around at a scale. The published highway figure is roughly 38,000 lb of cargo on a standard chassis, and about 44,000 lb if the box rides on a tri-axle.
The reason is where the weight sits. A 20 is short and rides forward, so the whole load lands over one set of tandems instead of spreading down a 40 ft frame. The 34,000 lb tandem limit and the bridge formula, which ties allowable weight to how far the axles are spread, both bite long before the combination approaches 80,000 lb. That is why the 20 is the one size with a tri-axle figure published separately, and why a 38,500 lb box can need a permit for a delivery of a few miles.
What to send to get it booked
The container number and the steamship line come first. Those two decide the terminal, the gate requirement and the appointment, and they are worth more at the start than a description of the cargo. Add the delivery address, the last free day if you know it, and the weight as it reads on the bill of lading rather than an estimate, because 38,000 lb is the line between an ordinary move and a permitted one.
Say whether you want live unload or drop and pick, since it changes both the price and the day. Live means the driver waits while you strip the box. Drop means it is left with you and collected later, which is usually cheaper if you have room to hold a chassis. If the box is heavy enough to need a tri-axle, say so early, because that is equipment to plan around rather than a box to tick on the morning of the move.
Comes off
Goes to
Questions
Straight answers
Can a 20ft container be overweight on the highway?
Easily, and it is the commonest surprise on this box. About 38,000 lb of cargo is the published legal figure on a standard chassis, and roughly 44,000 lb on a tri-axle. Past that the load is perfectly legal at sea and overweight on the road, so it needs the right chassis and a permit, and the ports apply limits of their own on top of the state's. Send the weight off the bill of lading before the truck is booked rather than after.
Why does a 20ft container carry less on the road than a 40ft?
Because the load lands in one place. A short box rides forward and concentrates everything over a single set of tandems, and the 34,000 lb tandem cap and the bridge formula stop it there. A 40 spreads the same weight down a longer frame, so it gets much closer to the 80,000 lb gross limit before anything binds. The structural rating does not change: a 20 is built to hold far more than it can ever legally weigh on a Florida road.
How much does an empty 20ft container weigh?
Around 4,850 lb for a typical dry 20, though tare moves by a few hundred pounds with the maker and the build year, and the real figure is stencilled on the door of the box you are given. It matters because tare comes straight out of what you can load: every pound of steel is a pound of cargo you do not get. Work from the stencil and the published road figure rather than from a number you derived yourself.
How many pallets fit in a 20ft container?
Ten standard 40 by 48 in pallets on the floor is the usual plan: two across with the 40 in edge facing out, four rows deep, and a couple more turned in what is left. Two 48 in edges will not sit side by side, because the interior is about 7 ft 8 in wide and that would need a full 8 ft. Whether anything stacks on top is decided by your freight and by the 7 ft 10 in of interior height.
Do I need a tri-axle chassis for a 20ft container?
Only if it is heavy. A standard chassis handles a 20 up to roughly 38,000 lb of cargo, and a tri-axle spreads the load over an extra axle to take it to about 44,000 lb. That extra axle is neither free nor always available at short notice, which is why the weight is worth confirming when the move is booked rather than at the gate. Below 38,000 lb the standard chassis is the simpler and cheaper answer.
What are the inside dimensions of a 20ft standard?
Interior length, width and height are listed in the specification table on this page, alongside the exterior dimensions and the door opening. The door opening is the one that decides whether a machine fits, and it is smaller than the interior.
What chassis does a 20ft standard need?
Standard, or tri-axle if it is overweight. We carry the chassis, so a booking does not depend on what the terminal has available that morning.
Can you handle it overweight?
Yes, on the right chassis and with the right permit. Overweight is a separate conversation from the container size, and the ports have their own limits on top of the state's.
Where do you pull 20ft standards from?
Port of Miami, Port Everglades, Port of Palm Beach, POMTOC, South Florida Container Terminal, Seaboard Marine, Florida International Terminal, Port Everglades Terminal, Crowley, King Ocean, MSC, Tropical Shipping, Antillean Marine, FEC Port Everglades ICTF, FEC Hialeah rail ramp and CSX ramp.
What is the last free day?
The last day your container can sit inside the terminal before storage charges start. Miss it and demurrage begins accruing daily, which is why a pre-pull is almost always cheaper than waiting.
What is a pre-pull?
We collect the container from the terminal before you are ready for it and hold it on a yard. It stops demurrage running at terminal rates and it takes the pressure off your receiving schedule.
What is the difference between demurrage, per diem and detention?
Three different charges from different parties. Demurrage is the terminal charging you for cargo sitting inside the gate past free time. Per diem is the shipping line charging you for keeping their container out past free time. Detention is the trucker's time, charged when a driver waits at your dock beyond the free window. They can run at the same time, which is how a bill gets ugly fast.
How do I get a rate?
Send the lane, the equipment, the container size and the port, and we come back with a number. Quotes and dispatch run 24 hours a day at quotes@dariaslogistics.com.
What does a drayage quote actually include?
The move itself, plus the accessorials people get surprised by later: chassis, pre-pull, per diem, demurrage, detention and storage. We would rather name them up front than add them to an invoice.