Pallet jack
A pallet jack (pallet truck) is a hand or powered truck whose forks slide under a pallet and lift it slightly using wheels in the fork tips. Because the wheels must drop to the floor inside the pallet, the bottom deck needs wheel openings, and chamfered bottom lead boards help the wheels roll over.
Also called pallet truck, hand jack, hand pallet truck, pump truck
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What a pallet jack needs from the pallet
- An open entry between stringers or blocks for the forks
- Wheel openings in the bottom deck where the load wheels come down to the floor
- Chamfers on the bottom lead boards (and boards next to openings) so the wheels can roll over them
Which pallets work with jacks
| Pallet | Pallet jack entry |
|---|---|
| Skid or single-face | between runners, from the ends |
| Two-way or partial four-way stringer (GMA style) | ends only |
| Full four-way block | all four sides |
| Reversible, full bottom deck | usually none |
On a GMA-style 48x40, the bottom interior boards are grouped between the notches, leaving 9.5 in openings behind each bottom lead board for the wheels.
Why it matters
Jacks are everywhere: in trailers, at store docks and in back rooms. A pallet that forklifts handle well can still be unusable with a jack. palletdesign.ai warns when a stringer pallet with a bottom deck has no chamfer on its bottom lead boards. See pallet jack compatibility.
Questions
- Can a pallet jack go in the side of a GMA pallet?
- No. The notches admit forklift tines only; the bottom boards block jack wheels from the sides. Jacks enter a GMA-style pallet from the ends.
Related
- Pallet jack compatibility: which pallets work with a pallet jackPallet jack compatibility: stringer pallets take jacks from the ends only, even when notched; block pallets allow more faces, set by the bottom deck.
- Wheel openingA wheel opening is a gap in a pallet's bottom deck where pallet-jack wheels reach the floor. A GMA 48x40 has 9.5 in openings behind each bottom lead board.
- ChamferA chamfer is a bevel on a bottom deckboard edge that lets pallet-jack wheels roll over it. The Uniform Standard calls for 35-45 degrees and at least 12 in long.
- Full four-way entryFull four-way entry means forklifts and pallet jacks can both enter from all four sides. Block pallets with perimeter or cruciform bases are full four-way.
- Perimeter baseA perimeter base is a block-pallet bottom with boards around all four edges, like a picture frame. It gives full four-way forklift and pallet-jack entry.
- Plain-shank nailA plain-shank (smooth) nail has no threads and a withdrawal characteristic of 1.0, so pallets mainly use smooth nails as clinched deck-mat nails.
Sources
- Uniform Standard for Wood Pallets (NWPCA, now Woodpack Global), 2012 edition
- Guide to Understanding the PDS Specification and Analysis (stringer, inches)