Inbound buys
Your empties to our yard on our equipment, usually free.
Service 05 — Freight
Transport & logistics
Totes are awkward freight: tall, top-heavy when full, and easy to crush when empty. We haul them for a living, which means fewer damaged cages and no surprise reconsignment fees.
- Sheet
- 04
- Revision
- 2026-10
- Scale
- 1:1
- Drawn at
- Peoria IL
48Empties per 53' flatbed
20Filled totes per van, max
4Straps per row, minimum
0.4%Damage rate, 2025
How many fit, honestly
The number everybody quotes is the number that fits on paper. These are the numbers that fit with straps, dunnage and a legal axle weight.
| Equipment | Empty 275 gal | Empty 330 gal | Filled 275 gal | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 53' dry van | 40 (single stack) / 80 (double) | 36 / 72 | 20 | Double stacking empties only, cage-to-cage |
| 53' flatbed | 48 | 44 | 20 | Tarped; best for mixed cage conditions |
| 26' box truck | 18 | 16 | 8 | Liftgate option for no-dock sites |
| 20' container | 18 | 16 | 10 | Export loads, blocked and braced |
| Hotshot trailer | 8 | 8 | 4 | Emergency and single-pallet moves |
- Securement
- 4 straps per row minimum, corner boards on galvanised cages
- Double stacking
- Empties only, cage posts aligned, never bottle-on-bottle
- Filled freight
- Single tier, bulkhead forward, load bars every two rows
- Placarding
- Handled when the product requires it; declarations reviewed before dispatch
- Insurance
- Cargo coverage on every load, certificate available on request
Four ways we move containers
Outbound sales
Reconditioned totes delivered on pallets, wrapped, with a count sheet.
Swap runs
Clean totes in, dirty totes out, same stop, one bill of lading.
Third-party hauls
You bought totes somewhere else and need them moved. We still haul them.
What slows a load down
- Missing or vague last-contents declarations — we will not dispatch a load we cannot describe.
- Sites with no forklift and no dock that were booked as dock-high.
- Totes stacked bottle-on-bottle for months; the lower bottles deform and cannot be strapped safely.
- Winter weather on the I-80 lane. We call it early rather than ditch a load.
What a lane run actually costs us
| Line | Cost | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel, 320 mi round trip | $168 | At 6.2 mpg loaded |
| Driver, 9 hours | $261 | Including pre-trip and load time |
| Tractor and trailer, allocated | $96 | Depreciation, maintenance, insurance |
| Consumables | $14 | Straps, corner boards, tarp wear |
| Yard labour both ends | $74 | Loading and intake |
| Total, two-way run | $613 | 48 out, 44 back |
| Per container moved | ≈ $6.70 | 92 containers across both legs |
| Same run, empty return | ≈ $12.80 | 48 containers, identical cost |
- Consolidate. One stop of 48 beats four stops of twelve for both of us.
- Ask for a swap run. If you are buying and disposing, one of the legs is already paid for.
- Be honest about access. A dry run is the most expensive thing that can happen to a load.
- Stage by height before the truck arrives. Mixed sizes in a stack halve what a trailer carries.
- Give a three-day window rather than a day, so we can fit you into a lane instead of building a trip around you.
What a correctly loaded trailer looks like
Lower tier on the deck, upper tier landing cage post on cage post, every container the same height, straps crossing the tube only where a corner board protects the galvanising. Nothing clever is happening in this photograph, which is the point — our 0.4% damage rate comes from doing this identically every time rather than from any equipment anybody else lacks.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many empty totes fit on one truck?
A 53-foot flatbed carries 48 empty 275-gallon totes. A 26-foot box truck carries 18. A 53-foot dry van carries 40 in a single stack, or 80 double stacked. Double stacking is for empties only, cage to cage.
How many filled totes can you haul at once?
A 53-foot van or flatbed takes up to 20 filled 275-gallon totes, single tier. A 26-foot box truck takes 8. Filled freight is loaded bulkhead forward with load bars every two rows.
Can you haul totes I bought from someone else?
Yes. Third-party hauls are one of the four ways we move containers. If you bought totes elsewhere and need them moved, we still haul them. Send the pickup location and count through the form on the contact page.
Is cargo insured while in transit?
Cargo coverage is carried on every load, and a certificate is available on request. Placarding is handled when the product requires it, and we review declarations before dispatch.
What can delay a transport booking?
The usual causes are a missing last-contents declaration, a site with no forklift or dock booked as dock-high, and totes stacked bottle-on-bottle for months. Winter weather on the I-80 lane can also delay loads.