Past twenty feet
R+L treats freight occupying more than 20 feet of a trailer's linear capacity as loaded to capacity. Pricing then moves to a per-mile minimum from origin to destination, which detaches the bill from class and weight entirely.
Freight
LTL weight limits, pallet by pallet
An LTL shipment runs into four separate ceilings: what the whole load weighs, what one skid weighs, how much trailer floor it occupies, and how heavy it is for the room it takes. Only the first one is what most people mean by a weight limit. Tariff figures below were read from R+L Carriers on 2026-07-29.
Tariff items citedEvery limit datedFreight priced by a person
Four ceilings, one trailer
Weight per shipment, weight per skid, linear feet of floor, and pounds per cubic foot. Crossing any of them changes the bill.
The four ceilings, and where each is published
Carriers file these numbers in a rules tariff, which is a public document. The figures below come from one carrier's tariff so that every line has a traceable home; other carriers file their own, and they differ enough that it is worth opening the tariff of whoever is actually hauling the freight.
| Ceiling | The figure | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
| Shipment weight where LTL rating stops | 20,000 lb | Definition of less than truckload; a shipment at or above it rates as truckload |
| Trailer floor before a capacity load charge | more than 20 linear feet | Item 390, Note A, paragraph 4 |
| Loadable envelope of a trailer | 27 ft 3 in long, 99 in wide, 101 in high | Item 390, Note D — one piece at that height, stacked pieces to 109 in |
| Handling unit counted lengthwise | over 93 in on length or width | Item 390, Note F — the greatest dimension is measured along the trailer |
| Density before the cubic rule bites | under 6 lb per cubic foot at 750 cu ft | Item 610, minimum charge for low density freight |
| Weight a truck tailgate will take | 2,000 lb per skid | Item 520, Note 1 — platform sized 60 in long by 48 in wide |
Where LTL stops and truckload begins
R+L defines less than truckload as a quantity of freight weighing under 20,000 lb, and applies truckload rating at 20,000 lb or more, or whenever the shipment counts as a capacity load or takes exclusive use of the trailer. That last clause matters: a shipment can be pushed onto truckload rating at any weight if it fills the trailer. Sixteen pallets of pillows will cross the line long before ten pallets of tile.
There is a second rule sitting behind it. Where a rate carries a stated maximum weight, the portion of the shipment above that maximum is rated as a separate shipment rather than being carried along at the same rate — so a load that grows on the dock does not simply extend its own pricing.
The skid limit that catches people first
Between two proper docks, a single pallet's weight is limited only by the forklift, and any dock forklift will take a heavy skid without comment. The trouble starts when one end has no dock. R+L's tailgate item sets a maximum of 2,000 lb for a pickup or delivery made off the truck's platform, and states that a skid heavier than that will be broken down for handling with the tailgate charge doubled. The platform also has a footprint: 60 inches long by 48 inches wide is the largest skid it publishes as fitting.
The same principle repeats wherever equipment is involved. R+L's cross-border restrictions list excess weight shipments as restricted on the basis that freight cannot exceed the capacity of the handling equipment, giving anything over 3,000 lb per handling unit as its example, and notes that a power tailgate cannot exceed its own rated capacity. Build to the weakest lift on the route, not to the strongest.
The linear foot rule, and the 93-inch trap inside it
Trailer floor is the scarce thing in LTL, not tonnage. A carrier that gives twenty feet of a trailer to one customer has lost the ability to sell that space to eight others, so the tariff converts floor space into a charge.
Or filled beyond loading
The same item catches freight that so fills a trailer that no further piece identical to the largest one could be loaded, either in the trailer or within any 27 foot 3 inch portion of it. Shape triggers this as readily as volume does.
Wide counts as long
Any single handling unit measuring over 93 inches on its length or its width is counted as lying with its greatest dimension along the trailer. A wide crate turned sideways still eats the same floor, and the tariff says so.
Two practical consequences. First, three pallets built tall are cheaper than five built low, because floor space is the metric and height up to the loadable ceiling is nearly free. Second, an eight-foot crate laid across the trailer takes the same linear feet as one standing along it, so there is no clever orientation that saves money.
The density rule that behaves like a weight limit
A shipment can be well under every weight ceiling and still be repriced upward. R+L's cubic capacity item applies where the average density is below 6 lb per cubic foot and the freight needs 750 cubic feet or more of trailer space. Both conditions have to be true. The carrier then multiplies the cubic feet by 6 lb to build a constructed weight, rates that weight at class 125 whatever the classification agreement says, and the tariff's ordinary reductions do not apply to the result.
The measuring rules make it easier to trip than the headline numbers suggest. An article over 50 inches tall that nothing can be stacked on is cubed at 95 inches of height rather than its own; the carrier may apply that 95-inch height to any unit standing 70 inches or more, and a 95-inch width to anything 70 inches wide or more. A pyramided or topped-off pallet gets the same treatment. Furniture, empty containers, insulation, plastic housings and display fixtures are the usual candidates.
What happens when a shipment crosses a line mid-transit
Nothing dramatic happens on the road. It happens on the dock, at the first terminal, where the freight goes across a certified scale and through a dimensioner while it is being re-sorted.
The terminal records what it found, and the correction flows to the bill after the fact — often after delivery, which is why a freight bill can arrive weeks later carrying a charge nobody expected. A load that turns out to be denser gets reweighed and rerated. A load that turns out to be bulkier gets the cubic rule or the capacity load rule applied to it. A skid that turns out to be too heavy for the tailgate waiting at the far end is broken down at the curb, with the accessorial charged twice and an hour lost. A shipment past a stated maximum weight is split and rated as two.
The defense is boring and effective: weigh the finished pallets rather than adding up the contents, measure the tallest and widest point including any overhang, count handling units the way the driver will count them, and write on the bill of lading whether a pallet can be stacked. Say up front if either end lacks a dock. A carrier that knows the shipment is nine feet long and cannot be stacked prices it once; a carrier that finds out at the terminal prices it twice.
Pallets and LTL are quoted here by a person rather than by the parcel calculator. Give the dimensions, the real weights and the conditions at both ends through freight review, and the quote comes back with the rules above already applied. Boxes small enough for a parcel carrier go through the calculator instead.
Where these figures come from
- R+L Carriers, Rules Tariff — Item 390 capacity loads and the trailer loading envelope, Item 520 tailgate limits, Item 596 maximum weights, Item 610 cubic capacity, and the definition of less than truckload. Updated 07/09/2026, read 2026-07-29.
- R+L Carriers, prohibited and restricted articles for cross-border moves, in the same tariff — the handling equipment capacity example. Read 2026-07-29.
One tariff is cited throughout so that every figure has an address. Thresholds vary between carriers, particularly the linear foot trigger, and tariffs are reissued regularly. Confirm against the carrier moving your freight before you build to a number.
Common questions
What is the maximum weight for an LTL shipment?
Twenty thousand pounds is the usual dividing line. R+L Carriers defines less than truckload as freight weighing under 20,000 lb, and rates a shipment of 20,000 lb or more as truckload, along with anything treated as a capacity load or an exclusive use of the trailer.
How much can one pallet weigh?
Whatever the equipment at both ends can lift. A dock forklift handles a heavy skid comfortably, but a truck tailgate does not: R+L caps a tailgate pickup or delivery at 2,000 lb per skid, on a platform sized 60 inches by 48 inches.
What is the linear foot rule?
A ceiling on trailer floor space rather than on weight. R+L treats freight occupying more than 20 feet of a trailer's linear capacity as a capacity load, which is priced on a per-mile minimum instead of by class and weight.
What happens if a pallet is heavier than declared?
The terminal reweighs and remeasures it and reissues the bill against what it found. Weight above a stated maximum is rated as a separate shipment, and a skid too heavy for a tailgate is broken down at the curb with the accessorial charged twice.
Can light freight be charged as if it were heavy?
Yes, and this catches more shippers than any weight cap. Freight averaging under 6 lb per cubic foot that needs 750 cubic feet or more of trailer space is rebuilt at 6 lb per cubic foot and rated at class 125 under the cubic capacity rule.