Cantilever Versus Pallet Racking – How Are They Different?

“As the name indicates pallet racking is used to store pallets, these cantilever racks mostly store items that are not stored upon pallets,” said Buy Metal Shelving Representative  Cameron Canfield.  “Any company that needs to store heavy, long items like pipes, lumber, or say a contractor storing long products like gutters and siding uses cantilever rack to store flashing and gutters for roofing.  They also choose cantilever rack because it is even commonly used for storing furniture and anything else that is bulky and long.”

It is a definition that anyone deeply involved in the shelving industry would know immediately.  The difference between cantilever and pallet racking is pretty obvious.

However for those who are not exposed to these types of shelving on a regular basis may find their uses a tad bit confusing.

First off, remember what Cameron said earlier; the name itself gives it away.  Yes, those rows of pallet racking look pretty inviting to stack other long and bulky items on there when they’re empty, however sometimes that may not be such a grand idea.  Hence why someone (we can only assume Mr. Cantilever himself) came up with the cantilever rack.

“Any company that needs to store heavy, long items can store those things on these cantilever racks,” said Canfield.  “Cantilever racking also gives you much better accessibility as far as moving and storing those longer and heavier items.”

With that, you can simply stop reading right here—there simply is not a better, more  simple explanation.  However here are a few more of the details.

“Cantilever rack is pretty much made of I-beams that are welded to an I-beam base,” explains Canfield.   “And then you put arms going up the cantilever rack, so it’s two I-beams that are connected together with bracing and the nice thing about it is the I-beams make up the backbone of the unit and then the bracing goes up between the uprights to stabilize the rack, so it goes vertically and horizontally as well which gives it extra added stability.”

Again; pallet racking may look inviting to stack long things without a pallet, but to the trained eye there are much better storage options…

“Pallet racking is what you’ll have is two horizontal beams and then at the end of those beams you will have an upright.  Now for example if you don’t have something that needs to sit on a pallet, that will straddle those pallet racking beams, this will allow you to just set the item gently on there without it having to be on a pallet,” said Canfield.  “Because the normal beam for a pallet rack is 8 feet—you can get them 12 feet, but the normal size is 8 feet is the standard but therein is the problem why pallet racking cannot be used everywhere.”

You see, the measurements on normal pallet racking won’t allow long items to sit on those shelves.

“Now if you have something that is 10, 15 plus feet long, there is no way you can slide those in there because the uprights that are every 8 feet will get in the way.  So cantilever rack is mainly designed for those longer items that just are not well-suited for pallet racking,” said Canfield.

Plus there is the sheer weight of those long, potentially cumbersome items that pallet racking just won’t support.

“The arms that we have on the models on the website can carry 3,800 pounds per arm.  So you have two arms and in essence it is 7,600 pounds per level.  Now each frame of the cantilever racks can hold up to 60,800 pounds—that is on a 192 inch tall unit,” said Canfield   “So you can carry a significant more amount of weight on these cantilever racks than pallet racking.”

How much weight can an entire cantilever rack system support?  Odds are it will shock you.

“The arms that we have on the models on the website can carry 3,800 pounds per arm.  So you have two arms and so in essence it is 7,600 pounds per level.  Now each frame of the cantilever racks can hold up to 60,800 pounds—that is on a 192 inch tall unit,” adds Canfield.  “So you can carry a significant more amount of weight on these cantilever racks than pallet racking.”

That is because normally those who buy cantilever are looking are looking for very serious applications.

“We actually did a custom job for a company out in Illinois called Overton Chicago Gear.  Now what they do is manufacture wind turbines.  You know those big things you see on the wind farms, those big beefy towers that rise up and support the turbines way up in the air.  They had to store them so they have one of these cantilever racks that we specially made for them that would house these large shafts for the wind turbines,” said Canfield.

But more importantly, the ease of which you can remove those awkward, long and non-palleted products from cantilever is what makes that option so attractive.  Cantilever racks allows you to gently put what you’re storing straddling across those two arms where it can be easily picked up with a forklift.  Plus in cantilever racking, the arms come in both flat and inclined if you have something that would potentially roll off, these angled arms would eliminate that problem.

“Pretty much there is nothing in between the big I-beams, because the I-beams are on 32 inch bases so you have all that room to drive a forklift up underneath those arms and lift what you need.  And as I said the arms on these models on the website are about 2 feet long,” explains Canfield.  “So the bracing will run 72 inch centers, so that means you will have a good 6 feet in between those I-beams to kind of come in and scoop up the desired product you want to remove from the racks.”

So there you have it.  That is how cantilever racking and pallet racking differ.  If you have any questions, please contact Cameron who will be happy to not only help you solve your warehouse needs, but help you purchase the types of shelving you are currently seeking as well.