Tool 03
Yard math
How much yard your empty reels take up, how many fit on a truck, and whether you have a full load. Every number below shows its arithmetic.
Assumptions
Trailer: 53 ft dry van
Inside about 630 in long (52 ft 6 in), 98 in wide and 108 in high, with a payload of about 45,000 lb. Real trailers vary by a few inches, and payload depends on the tractor and the state.
Reels stood on flange
Each reel lies on one flange, so it takes a square as wide as its flange, and stacks in layers as tall as its overall width. Where a published reel matches your flange and traverse (within 1 in), its overall width and empty weight are used. Otherwise we add 4 in to the traverse for the two flanges, and weight isn't checked.
No nesting
The count is a plain grid. Loaders who overlap flanges get more on a truck. AFL quotes 38 nested against 28 un-nested for 58 in reels in a 53 ft van. Treat the result as a floor, and the published counts as a ceiling.
Mixed loads add up
Each row's trailer share is added to the next. That assumes the leftover space from one size can take the next.
What counts as a pickup
Programs set their own minimums, usually a full truckload. Prysmian publishes its minimum by size: 80 reels for 45 to 54 in flanges, 60 for 58 to 72 in, 40 for 78 to 84 in. For a pickup of mixed reels, send the counts and we'll tell you.