Pallet rack part numbers, decoded
Every major rack manufacturer encodes series, post size, gauge, depth and height into its part numbers — but each one does it differently, and none of them are interchangeable. This guide decodes the five manufacturers that dominate Western US warehouses, with one worked example each, compiled from their own published brochures and product support guides. It is a planning reference, not an ordering sheet: final design and load placards need the manufacturer and a licensed engineer.
The five manufacturers, one decode each
Steel King Industries
Redlands, CA plant; an approved fabricator in the Los Angeles and Phoenix rack permitting programs.
SK2000 boltless tubular (roll-formed teardrop) and SK3000 structural channel. Frame numbers read series → post → gauge → depth → height.
RTFBG042096F042XBVG- RTF
- Roll-formed Tubular Frame (SK2000)
- B
- post size — 3″ × 3″ (A = 3″ × 1⅝″, C = 4″ × 3″)
- G
- gauge — 14 ga (P / G / B / W, light to heavy)
- 042
- frame depth, inches
- 096
- frame height, inches
- F042XBVG
- baseplate + color codes (F042 plate, Vista Green)
Interlake Mecalux
San Diego, CA office; Tijuana and Matamoros plants serving the Western US.
Interlock bolted and Interack 30 welded roll-formed frames, on a fixed 18-digit positional code — every digit position means one thing.
IU312B28842NJ00000- I
- standard kit
- U312
- column model — 3″ × 1.625″, 12 ga
- B
- bolted frame
- 288
- frame height, inches
- 42
- frame depth, inches
- N
- color — blue (G = green)
- J
- standard footplate (M = seismic)
- 00000
- options — none
Nucor Warehouse Systems (Hannibal Industries)
Vernon, CA plant; the largest structural pallet rack producer in the Western US, known for the TubeRack dual-moment tubular frame.
I-Series roll-formed teardrop frames and beams on a hyphenated code; CA-Series structural cantilever on section-based codes.
IF3012-42-240-8X8- IF
- I-Series Frame
- 30
- column — 3″ × 3″ (15 = 3″ × 1⅝″)
- 12
- gauge — 12 ga
- 42
- frame depth, inches
- 240
- frame height, inches
- 8X8
- 8″ × 8″ seismic footplate
Ridg-U-Rak
Licensed and certified in the Clark County NV, Los Angeles and Phoenix rack programs; known for the patented Pellegrino seismic base isolation system.
Teardrop and slotted frames on a hyphenated code. The trap: frame heights are written in decimal FEET, not inches — 12.33 means 12′-4″.
UF-S32I-12.00-42.00A83-00-01-0-0- UF
- Upright Frame
- S
- material thickness grade (S / R / M / Y / H, light to heavy)
- 32I
- teardrop column — 3″ × 2¼″
- 12.00
- height in decimal feet — 12′-0″
- 42.00
- frame depth, inches
- A83
- standard bracing, Lake Green
- 00-01-0-0
- reinforcement / floor pad / deflector / special codes
UNARCO Material Handling
National manufacturer with a dedicated Western dealer network; known for the T-Bolt beam connection and Key-Wedge Pin cantilever.
Field-based codes (spaces shown for readability): the first letter picks the punching system — T-Bolt, Interchange teardrop, Sturdi-Bilt — then gauge, tube shape, height and depth follow as fixed fields.
T01 33 19242 S000SSS- T
- T-Bolt system (I = Interchange teardrop, B = Sturdi-Bilt)
- 01
- standard configuration
- 3
- gauge — 0.085″ (14 ga)
- 3
- tube shape — 3″ × 3″
- 192
- frame height, inches
- 42
- frame depth, inches
- S000SSS
- wood / baseplate / bracing / option fields — standard
Three things the catalogs won’t tell you
Teardrop “compatibility” is a trap
Teardrop is a de facto pattern, not a controlled standard. Beams from one manufacturer will usually engage another’s uprights — but connector geometry, pin count, weld pattern and steel grade all differ, so neither component’s published capacity survives the mixed assembly. Keep every bay single-manufacturer, and treat “it fits” as a statement about geometry, never about capacity.
Nothing published is seismic
Every capacity figure in every manufacturer’s public literature is a gravity-only static value. Seismic design categories C through F require site-specific analysis under ASCE 7 at the actual address — and SDC D, E and F cover essentially the whole Western US. Use published numbers as planning ceilings the seismic design will reduce, not as design values.
Drive-in rack has no capacity chart — anywhere
All five manufacturers decline to publish drive-in rail and arm capacities, because the rail is engineered to the specific pallet weight, pallet dimensions and forklift geometry of each project. That is not a gap in your research — it is the product. Budget an engineering submittal on every drive-in job.
The connector often governs, not the beam
A beam chart rates the beam. The beam-to-column connection has its own maximum, and on heavier profiles it is frequently the lower number. Ridg-U-Rak publishes it plainly: 12,000 lb per pair on the 2-pin connector and 18,000 lb on the 3-pin — regardless of beam profile. Its own beam chart stars the cells where the beam out-rates the connection. When you read any capacity chart, ask what the connection is rated for before you trust the beam’s number.
What published capacities look like
Comparable step beams around a 4″–4½″ face at the standard 96″ bay width, from each maker’s own published chart. Values are per pair of beams, uniformly distributed, gravity-only — planning figures, not design values.
| Manufacturer | Series | Face | Per pair @ 96″ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steel King | SBRUM400 step beam | 4.19″ | 5,080 lb |
| Interlake Mecalux | 36E step beam | 3.66″ | 4,162 lb |
| Nucor (Hannibal) | I-Series I44160, 16 ga | 4.5″ | 5,666 lb |
| Ridg-U-Rak | 410S rolled beam | 4.1″ | 5,830 lb |
| UNARCO | F2-6450 step beam | 4.5″ | 5,832 lb |
Frequently asked
Are teardrop pallet rack beams interchangeable between manufacturers?
Usually they will physically engage — teardrop is a de facto industry pattern, not a controlled standard. But connector geometry, pin count, weld pattern and steel grade all differ between makers, so neither component’s published capacity applies to a mixed assembly. Source the uprights and beams in any single bay from one manufacturer.
Are published pallet rack capacities seismic?
No. Every capacity figure the major manufacturers publish is a gravity-only static value. Seismic design categories C through F require site-specific analysis under ASCE 7 using the actual project address, and most of the Western US falls in D, E or F — so treat every published number as a planning ceiling that the seismic design will reduce.
Why is there no drive-in rack capacity chart?
No major manufacturer publishes rail or arm capacities for drive-in rack, because the rail is engineered to the specific pallet weight, pallet dimensions and forklift of each project. Budget for an engineering submittal on every drive-in project instead of expecting to specify it from a catalog.
What actually governs a load beam’s capacity?
The lesser of the beam chart and the beam-to-column connection. Ridg-U-Rak, for example, publishes 12,000 lb per pair for its 2-pin connector and 18,000 lb for its 3-pin — regardless of beam profile. A heavy beam on a light connector carries the connector’s number, not the chart’s.
The full catalog is inside FloorCast3D
FloorCast3D carries a sourced, provenance-graded capacity catalog — eight pallet rack makers, five cantilever makers, over a hundred rated series — and sizes real parts from your pallet weights: snap-up selection against the published charts, connector maximums applied where they govern, and constructed catalog part numbers on the BOM and drawings.