Can we combine deep lanes with selective storage?

Yes. Deep lanes can hold repeat reserve pallets while selective positions serve mixed stock or frequent individual retrieval. Allocate space from actual movement patterns so replenishment between the two areas does not obstruct lane entrances.

Does a taller building always mean more pallet levels?

No. Usable drive-in pallet rack levels also depend on load height, overhead obstructions and truck capacity at the intended elevation. Measure the complete load and verify the lifting equipment before assuming the available clear height can all become storage.

Which information makes a price comparison useful?

Give each supplier identical load weights, pallet sizes, lane quantities and protection requirements. Include installation access and phasing needs. Otherwise, different assumptions can make two prices look comparable when they describe materially different systems.

Will deep storage suit our production batches?

It usually fits when batch quantities consistently fill lanes and product withdrawal can follow the chosen stock sequence. Review normal holdings rather than only peak receipts, and avoid mixing batches that require separate retrieval inside one lane.

Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

Drive-In Rack in Broken Arrow, OK

For reserve pallets held in production-sized batches, drive-in rack in Broken Arrow can replace repeated access aisles with deeper storage lanes. The benefit comes from keeping like inventory together, not from asking a dense storage block to handle every picking task.

Manufacturers holding many pallets of a few SKUs are strong candidates. The same arrangement can serve bulk finished goods, provided receiving and shipping can work around the lane sequence. Mixed inventories with frequent single-pallet requests need a different access strategy.

We operate as a division of Warehouse Equipment & Supplies Co., supplying and installing since 1997. Before recommending storage depth, we review load geometry, truck movement and the space that must remain available for production and dispatch.

(918) 296-8162

Drive-In Rack Operation, From Entry to Exit

Drive-in pallet rack lane design begins with a full handling cycle: approach, raise, enter, place and reverse out. Check that cycle against the actual truck rather than a nominal aisle dimension.

Support along the lane

Forklifts drive into lanes and place loads on continuous rails running through the structure. Pallet edges need adequate bearing at every position, including the deepest placement.

Work from one end or two

A one-ended drive-in arrangement normally uses LIFO: last in, first out. With both ends open, drive-thru racking can provide FIFO, or first in, first out, when loading and unloading follow opposite directions.

Measure the handling envelope

Truck width, mast height and turning clearance determine lane dimensions. Include attachments, raised mast clearance and the entrance turn when checking whether the proposed levels are usable.

Size rails and guides together

Rail and guide sizing follows pallet width, load weight and the truck envelope. Check pallet construction and load overhang before setting the support spacing; nominal pallet size alone is insufficient.

Drive-In Pallet Rack Specifications Worth Settling Early

Older manufacturing and warehouse stock areas may have 18–24 feet of clear height, while newer tilt-wall bulk buildings may offer 32–36 feet or more. Those are planning contexts, not a substitute for measuring your building. Load height and truck capacity at elevation determine how much of that space is usable.

Provide guide rails, column guards and rail-end protection where the handling layout calls for them. Keep the protected entrance wide enough for the truck, and establish a way to report rack contact promptly. Bent components should be assessed rather than hidden behind stored inventory.

Installation staging needs room for unloaded materials and assembly without blocking production transfers. In non-air-conditioned areas, summer heat affects how work is organized. Spring storms or winter ice can change delivery and installation arrangements, so confirm access as the work approaches.

High volume of a small number of SKUs

Seasonal or buffer inventory held in bulk

Cold storage and freezer rooms where cube matters most

Product too fragile to floor-stack more than two high

Buildings where floor space, not height, is the binding constraint

Broken Arrow warehouse storage Drive-in rack specifications Compare LIFO pushback Compare FIFO pallet flow

Call (918) 296-8162

When Drive-In Rack Beats Another Storage Row

Deep-lane storage is among the densest ways to house palletized inventory because it removes many intervening aisles. Its advantage is strongest when lane quantities follow normal batch sizes. A large theoretical capacity can disappoint if most lanes contain only a few pallets.

Cooler or freezer operations can use the same principle to devote more refrigerated cube to stock. Temperature, pallet condition and frost-related handling conditions belong in the initial discussion. Preserve enough working room for controlled entry rather than forcing extra positions into marginal clearances.

Consider pushback when operators should load from the aisle and several products need separate lanes. Choose selective storage where each pallet requires immediate access. A combination can keep deep reserve stock out of the way while preserving accessible locations for active order work.

Free Design Consultation

CAD layout with position counts

Installation coordinated with installation partners

Drive-in pallet rack lanes fitted with continuous rails

Drive-in warehouse racking loaded with bulk pallets

Operations We Rack Around Here

In the Broken Arrow Industrial District and Kenosha industrial area, manufacturing stock and newer tilt-wall distribution buildings present different height and access constraints. Planning around routes to the SH-51 Broken Arrow Expressway should also keep internal receiving queues out of drive-in rack approaches.

Manufacturing supply

Industrial components

Food distribution

Recent Installations

Racking projects completed for warehouses across the Tulsa metro and northeastern Oklahoma.

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Request a Broken Arrow Drive-In Rack Scope

Share your inventory by SKU, typical batch quantity and maximum loaded pallet weight. A floor plan, clear-height measurements and truck model details let us evaluate drive-in rack lane counts, access and protection on the same basis as your daily operation. Call (918) 296-8162.