Packing a Semi Trailer
Some people stand in wonder at how a truck loader can get so much stuff into a semi trailer. Its pretty much an art form, but there is a knack to packing a trailer the right way so that not only does all the stuff fit in, the cargo fits in tight so that it doesn’t move once the truck is on the road and rolling.
What does it take to fill a large semi truck trailer?
Well, an experienced driver and loader together can expertly pack a huge load into the trailer. They generally start with the stuff that is pretty square, so all wooden crates that will stack on top of each other should slide in tight side by side to fill the entire width of the trailer ad as high as they can go all the way at the end farthest from the loading doors. Then any large items of furniture and other similar square shapes that can stack go in front and as high as is safe to do so. Same with pallet loads that have been packed and wrapped correctly. On top of those go cardboard boxes and things like beds, mattresses and whatever you can get on top. if there is room at the top of all of that, stuff like pillows, cushions, smaller boxes, soft bags and suitcases etc. Mirrors and the like can slide down the sides of boxes or crates suitably covered to protect them.
The entire load that goes into a semi trailer always looks twice as big as the trailer itself and this is often why people stand in amazement at just how it all goes in and often with a big space left empty near the rear doors!
Brittany on 29 Jul 2009 at 1:11 pm #
I couldn’t imagine loading a semi, but I moved recently and learned that loading a box truck is kind of like a real life game of Tetris. Very difficult if you don’t know what your doing, which I didn’t! Oh well, you live and you learn. Next time I will be much better (I hope!)