Quote:
Originally Posted by aepstein
So, we're constructing our crate using a commercial wooden shipping pallet as the base. Although not exactly in the rules ("...crate must sit on two 4" x 4" lumber spaced 28" apart..."), will this pass FedEx muster?
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There are different kinds of shipping pallets.
Some have 4x4 (or greater) skids with appropriate 28+ inch spacing between them.
Others do not - most commonly you see pallets that are made of thinner slats, top and bottom, with 3 or more rails running front to back.
While a fork truck can get into the spaces between the rails, other types of lifts cannot. At the competition venues I have been, they use hand carts to move the crates around. These carts have a long tongue that goes into the open edge of the pallet between the skids, and then is lifted hydraulically. These carts cannot handle the center rail in a slat construction pallet.