Sealed box or
open sides?

Fleet · 29 January 2026

Two ways to build a load space

Once you reach lorry-sized freight, the load space tends to come in one of two forms: a rigid enclosed box, or a curtain-sider with flexible sides that draw back. Both carry similar volumes and pallet counts, but they suit different jobs, and the difference is mostly about how you get the load in and out.

Neither is simply better than the other. The right one depends on what you are moving and what the loading and unloading points can handle. Understanding the trade-off saves a wasted trip, because a vehicle that cannot be loaded the way your site works is no use however much it holds.

The enclosed box

A box body is fully rigid and sealed, loading from the rear, usually through doors or its own tail-lift. Its strengths are security and weather protection: the load travels locked away, out of sight and dry, which suits valuable, sensitive or weather-shy goods that need looking after on a long run.

The trade-off is access. Because you load from the back, a box works best where goods can be brought to the rear and worked in along the length, rather than craned or forklifted in from the side. For protection it is hard to beat, but it asks a little more of how the load is handled.

The curtain-sider

A curtain-sider has a rigid roof and frame but flexible sides that pull back like curtains, opening the whole length of the load space. That makes side loading easy, so a forklift can place pallets straight in from a yard or loading bay along the full deck, which is quick and convenient for palletised freight.

The trade-off is a little less security and weather sealing than a sealed box, though the curtains still keep the load covered in transit. Choose by access and load type: a curtain-sider where forklift side-loading rules, a box where protection comes first. These jobs are priced per job and on the route, with a fixed quote before the driver sets off, and our pallets and freight guide covers the wider picture.

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