What Size Pallet Jack Do You Need? The 4 Measurements That Decide It (With Real Fork Sizes and Prices)

The standard manual pallet jack has forks 27 inches wide and 48 inches long with a 5,500 lb capacity, and it is the right buy for the 48 x 40 inch GMA pallet entered from its 40 inch end. A 20.5 inch narrow pallet jack is the one to buy when you handle Euro pallets from the 800 mm side, half pallets, or doorways under 30 inches, and the step up to a 6,600 or 7,700 lb jack is for loads of steel, stone, or machinery rather than cases of product. On Warehouse Gear Hub, the 27 x 48 EKKO A25 is $418.00, the 20.5 x 48 Eoslift M25N is $423.00, the 7,700 lb Apollolift A-1008 is $650.00, and the 304 stainless EKKO A25S is $1,936.10. The four measurements below take you from the pallet on your floor to the part number, with pallet dimensions from published industry specs, fork dimensions from the manufacturers' listings, and the OSHA scope rule quoted from 29 CFR 1910.178(a)(1).

What is the standard pallet jack size?

A pallet jack is sized by four numbers. Overall fork width is measured outside edge to outside edge, and 27 inches is the US standard. Apollolift's spec for its 48 x 27 trucks puts each fork at 6.3 inches wide with 14.4 inches between them, which adds up to that 27. Fork length is 48 inches on a standard truck. Lowered height is the top of the fork with the pump released, 2.95 to 3 inches on every manual truck we stock, and raised height is 6.5 to 7.5 inches. Capacity is 5,500 lb on a standard truck, 4,400 lb on the scale and four-way models, and 6,600 to 7,700 lb on heavy-duty models.

The first two numbers decide which pallets the jack will enter. The last two decide what it will lift. Take them in that order, because a jack that will not enter your pallet has no capacity at all.

Question 1: Which pallets will the forks enter?

Start with the pallet you move most. In the US that is the GMA pallet, which Repackify's GMA spec summary lists at 48 x 40 inches with three notched stringers, seven top deck boards, and five bottom boards. The notches make it a partial four-way pallet, and Repackify states the limit in four words: "Forklift any side; jack 2 sides." A pallet jack enters a stringer pallet from the 40 inch ends only, because its load wheels have to roll on the floor between the stringers, and the notches on the 48 inch sides are cut for forklift forks that never touch the floor. Both a 27 inch and a 20.5 inch truck enter that 40 inch end. The 27 inch truck is the default because it spreads the forks farther apart under the deck boards.

The Euro pallet is where width stops being a preference and becomes a fit problem. Per Mecalux's Euro pallet specification, the EPAL pallet is 800 x 1,200 mm and stands on nine blocks, each 145 x 100 x 78 mm, with the 145 mm dimension running along the 1,200 mm length. Three blocks sit along each face, so the arithmetic for the fork openings is short:

So a standard 27 inch jack handles a Euro pallet from its long side only. If your Euro pallets arrive in a trailer with the 800 mm face toward the door, or sit in racking with the short face out, the 27 inch truck cannot pick them without a repositioning step. That is the case for a 20.5 inch truck like the Eoslift M25N, which enters from either face. The same narrow truck is what fits a 30 to 32 inch doorway with room for your hands on the handle, and a liftgate platform.

Narrow, 20.5 x 48, Euro pallets either face

Eoslift M25N Manual Pallet Jack, 5,500 lb, 20.5 x 48 in

20.5 inch overall width enters an 800 x 1,200 Euro pallet from the short face and clears a 30 inch doorway, 5,500 lb capacity, German seal system pump, robot-welded steel, polyurethane wheels, 3 year warranty.

$423.00 View specs →

Question 2: How long should the forks be?

Match fork length to the depth you travel into the pallet. From the 40 inch end of a GMA pallet you travel 48 inches, and a 48 inch fork fills that depth so the load wheels land under the far deck boards and the pallet rides level. Enter a block pallet from its 48 inch face and you travel 40 inches; a 48 inch fork then protrudes 8 inches out the far side, where it hits the next pallet in a row or the trailer wall. A 45 inch fork trims that overhang, which is why Apollolift builds its scale truck on 45 x 27 forks.

Short forks exist for the pallets that are short themselves. Racklify's short-fork comparison puts short forks at 24 to 36 inches for half pallets, Euro pallets, and "pallets under 36 inches in length," and standard forks at 42 to 48 inches for 48 inch pallets and mixed operations. Every manual jack in our catalog runs 45, 47, or 48 inch forks, so if your work is half pallets on a 36 inch truck, call for a quote rather than forcing a 48 inch fork through a 24 inch pallet.

Fork length also sets the truck's footprint. The EKKO A25 is 63 inches long overall with 48 inch forks, the Apollolift 48 x 27 trucks are 63.1 to 63.5 inches, the 45 inch Apollolift scale truck is 61.7 inches, and the Eoslift M20TWO four-way truck is 65 inches with a 52.1 inch turning radius. Measure your tightest turn against that length plus the pallet, because 29 CFR 1910.176(a) requires that "sufficient safe clearances shall be allowed for aisles, at loading docks, through doorways and wherever turns or passage must be made."

Question 3: How heavy is the load, and how low is the pallet?

Capacity is the number buyers fixate on, and for most loads the standard 5,500 lb truck already has margin. Interlake Mecalux puts the dynamic rating of a standard wood GMA pallet at 2,000 to 2,800 lb, so a 5,500 lb truck lifts about twice what the pallet itself is rated to carry while moving. The 6,600 lb Apollolift A-1031 and the 7,700 lb A-1008 are for loads where the pallet is not the limit: steel plate and coil on skids, stone and tile, castings, and machinery on hardwood or steel pallets. Every rating assumes a centered, evenly distributed load; a point load on the fork tips or a load pushed to one side reduces what the truck will lift and steer.

Lowered height decides whether the forks slide under the deck at all. Every manual truck we stock lowers to 2.95 or 3 inches. Mecalux lists a GMA pallet at 5.5 to 6 inches tall, and Repackify lists 6.5 inches new and about 5 inches recycled with roughly 0.625 inch deck boards, which leaves a 3 inch fork clearance to spare on a sound pallet. A recycled pallet with sagging bottom boards, or a display pallet built low, needs a low-profile truck; Apollolift lists those at 2,200 to 3,300 lb, and we quote them on request.

One more line from the Apollolift listing matters if your dock is a freezer: "Hydraulic fluid may not function properly below minus 13 F." Ask about low-temperature fluid before you put a standard truck in cold storage.

Heavy duty, 7,700 lb, 48 x 27

Apollolift A-1008 Heavy Duty Manual Pallet Jack, 7,700 lb, 48 x 27 in

7,700 lb capacity for steel, stone, and machinery skids, 3 inch lowered and 7.5 inch raised height, 6.3 inch forks with 14.4 inches between them, overload valve, entry and exit rollers, 210 degree steering arc, 7 inch polyurethane steer wheels and 3 inch fork wheels, 63.1 inches overall.

$650.00 View specs →

Question 4: Does the job need stainless, four-way travel, a scale, or a brake?

Four jobs justify paying more than the standard truck's price.

Washdown and corrosives. The EKKO A25S is the A25 built entirely in 304 stainless steel, which is the truck for food plants, pharmaceutical floors, and any dock where the equipment is hosed down or sits in brine, acid, or bleach. The painted A25 is $418.00 and the stainless A25S is $1,936.10; the difference buys a truck that does not rust into a maintenance problem.

Lanes too tight to turn in. The Eoslift M20TWO is a four-way truck: 27 x 47 inch forks, 4,400 lb capacity, 2.95 inch lowered height, and a 52.1 inch turning radius per Eoslift's listing, with load wheels that let the loaded pallet travel sideways down a lane a standard truck cannot turn in. It is $613.00.

Weighing at the dock. A scale truck weighs the pallet the moment you lift it, which catches a short shipment before you sign for it and prices an outbound order without a trip to a floor scale. The Apollolift A-1032 is 4,400 lb on 45 x 27 forks at $1,260.00, reads in pounds or kilograms with a keypad and automatic tare, runs on a rechargeable battery or 86 to 264 V AC, and Apollolift lists its maximum deviation at 0.1 percent. The Eoslift E20V is 4,400 lb at $1,414.00. Neither listing claims legal-for-trade certification, so treat them as receiving and check-weigh tools, not as the scale you invoice from.

Ramps, trailers, and sloped docks. The Apollolift A-1011 adds a hand brake to a 5,500 lb, 48 x 27 truck for $450.00, $32.00 more than the EKKO A25. If a loaded truck has ever rolled on you at a dock plate, that is the cheapest fix in this guide.

Four-way travel, 27 x 47, 4,400 lb

Eoslift M20TWO Four-Way Manual Pallet Jack, 4,400 lb

Sideways travel for lanes too tight to turn in, 27 x 47 inch forks, 4,400 lb capacity, 2.95 inch lowered height, 52.1 inch turning radius, 7 inch wheels, entry rollers, 65 inches overall, 155 lb, 3 year limited warranty.

$613.00 View specs →

Does OSHA regulate a manual pallet jack?

Not under the forklift standard. The scope sentence of 29 CFR 1910.178(a)(1) reads: "This section contains safety requirements relating to fire protection, design, maintenance, and use of fork trucks, tractors, platform lift trucks, motorized hand trucks, and other specialized industrial trucks powered by electric motors or internal combustion engines." A hand-pumped jack has no motor and no engine, so it sits outside that section, and the formal operator training and three-year evaluation in 1910.178(l) attach to powered trucks. An electric pallet jack is a motorized hand truck and is inside the scope; our electric vs manual pallet jack guide covers what that training involves.

What applies to every pallet jack is the materials handling rule in the same subpart. 1910.176(a) requires sufficient safe clearances for aisles, docks, doorways, and turns, that "aisles and passageways shall be kept clear and in good repair, with no obstruction across or in aisles that could create a hazard," and that "permanent aisles and passageways shall be appropriately marked." Buy the truck that fits the aisle you have, and keep the aisle.

Which pallet jack should you buy?

Match your pallet and your load to the line that describes it.

• GMA 48 x 40 pallets, cases and cartons, dry floor: EKKO A25 ($418.00) or Eoslift M25 ($388.00 to $423.00). 48 x 27 forks, 5,500 lb. We are an authorized EKKO dealer, so the A25 carries EKKO's 3 year limited warranty.
• Euro pallets from the 800 mm face, half pallets, 30 inch doors, liftgates: Eoslift M25N ($423.00). 48 x 20.5 forks, 5,500 lb, same pump and warranty as the M25.
• Steel, stone, castings, machinery skids: Apollolift A-1031 at 6,600 lb ($560.00) or Apollolift A-1008 at 7,700 lb ($650.00). Both 48 x 27, both 3 inch lowered.
• Dock plates, ramps, trailers: Apollolift A-1011 with hand brake ($450.00). 48 x 27, 5,500 lb.
• Lanes you cannot turn in: Eoslift M20TWO four-way ($613.00). 47 x 27, 4,400 lb, 52.1 inch turning radius.
• Receiving by weight: Apollolift A-1032 scale truck ($1,260.00) or Eoslift E20V ($1,414.00). 4,400 lb.
• Washdown, food, pharma, corrosives: EKKO A25S ($1,936.10). 304 stainless, 48 x 27, 5,500 lb.
• 36 inch forks, low-profile, or freezer fluid: call before you buy. We quote those from the same manufacturers.

Every truck above is in the Manual Pallet Jacks collection, and the powered versions are one level up in Pallet Jacks. If your pallet is not a GMA or a Euro, measure the opening between the blocks or stringers on the face you will enter and call 1-800-794-1049, 8 AM to 4 PM Central, with that number, the heaviest load, and the narrowest door. We will match it to a truck in one call, price match an authorized US dealer's listed price, and quote volume on multi-truck orders.

Frequently Asked Questions

How wide is a pallet jack?

A standard truck is 27 inches outside edge to outside edge, made up of two 6.3 inch forks with 14.4 inches between them per Apollolift's published dimensions, and a narrow truck is 20.5 inches. The 27 inch width is sized for the 48 x 40 GMA pallet entered from the 40 inch end; the 20.5 inch width is sized for the 800 mm face of a Euro pallet, half pallets, and 30 inch doorways. Fork thickness on the Apollolift trucks is 2.1 to 2.2 inches, which matters when you measure a low pallet opening.

Will a 27 inch pallet jack fit a Euro pallet?

Yes from the 1,200 mm side, and no from the 800 mm side. Per Mecalux's EPAL spec the pallet stands on nine 145 x 100 x 78 mm blocks, three to a face. On the 800 mm face that leaves two 250 mm (9.8 inch) openings with the corner block starting 300 mm from the centerline, and a 686 mm (27 inch) truck puts its outer fork edge at 343 mm, 43 mm into the block. A 521 mm (20.5 inch) truck puts it at 260 mm and clears by 40 mm. On the 1,200 mm face the openings are 382 mm (15 inches) and either truck enters.

Can a narrow pallet jack lift a standard 48 x 40 pallet?

Yes, from the 40 inch end, and the Eoslift M25N is rated at the same 5,500 lb as the 27 inch M25. The forks sit closer together under the deck, so the load is carried on a narrower base; keep the load centered on the pallet and lower before you turn with a tall stack. If 48 x 40 pallets are most of your work and you only need the narrow truck for the occasional Euro pallet or doorway, buy the 27 inch truck as the primary and the 20.5 inch truck as the second unit.

Can a pallet jack enter a pallet from the side?

On a notched stringer pallet, no. Repackify's GMA spec is "Forklift any side; jack 2 sides": the notches cut into the 48 inch stringers pass a forklift's forks, which hang in the air, but a pallet jack's load wheels have to roll on the floor between the stringers, which only happens from the 40 inch ends. A block pallet such as the Euro pallet has open bottom boards on all four faces, so a pallet jack enters from any face whose openings clear its fork width.

Does OSHA require training to use a manual pallet jack?

The powered industrial truck standard does not reach it. 29 CFR 1910.178(a)(1) limits that section to trucks "powered by electric motors or internal combustion engines," so the operator training and evaluation rules in 1910.178(l) apply to electric pallet jacks and forklifts, not to a hand-pumped truck. The aisle clearance and housekeeping rules in 1910.176(a) apply to every truck, powered or not. Train people on safe use anyway; the standard sets the floor, not the ceiling.

How much does a manual pallet jack cost?

On Warehouse Gear Hub as of this writing, a standard 48 x 27, 5,500 lb truck is $388.00 to $423.00 (Eoslift M25 and EKKO A25), the 20.5 inch narrow Eoslift M25N is $423.00, the hand-brake Apollolift A-1011 is $450.00, the 6,600 lb Apollolift A-1031 is $560.00, the four-way Eoslift M20TWO is $613.00, the 7,700 lb Apollolift A-1008 is $650.00, scale trucks run $1,260.00 to $1,414.00, and the 304 stainless EKKO A25S is $1,936.10.