Drive-In Rack in Jessup, Maryland

A freezer aisle is expensive space. Drive-in pallet rack removes most aisles, so more pallets fit in the same cold volume.

Frozen distributors often hold many pallets of a few items, such as ice cream, frozen vegetables or meat, which fills lanes completely.

Frost on rails also hides dents, so look closely during each defrost.

Freezer installations use steel and finishes suited to low temperatures. Anchors, guides and protectors are selected for the room conditions.

Installers work in short shifts in the cold, which affects scheduling.

One-sided lanes are last in, first out. Frozen goods with long shelf life often tolerate that if lanes are emptied fully before refilling.

Where strict rotation is needed, drive-thru racking loads from one side and ships from the other.

Beverage and dairy coolers along US-1 and MD-175 also use drive-in for bulk reserve. Heavy beverage pallets set rail and upright capacity.

Ice and frost build on rails and pallets. Sound, dry pallets of a single type reduce problems. Rails follow pallet width, so mixed pallets need a standard.

Freezer trucks may have cabs or heaters that add width. Lanes are sized around the full truck, with clearance on both sides and overhead.

Guides at entrances and protectors at openings are especially important in cold rooms, where steel and trucks both take more wear.

Produce and seafood near the Maryland Food Center turn quickly and need strict rotation. Drive-in is rarely the right fit there; flow lanes or selective rack handle it better.

For SKUs with fewer pallets each, pushback rack in Jessup also works in freezers and keeps trucks outside the structure. Short-dated food fits a Jessup pallet flow layout.

Depth follows stock per item. A freezer holding forty pallets of one product, stacked five high, uses eight deep.

Deep lanes in freezers save the most energy, but only if they stay full. A half-empty drive-in rack lane is cold air you pay for.

Size lanes to typical stock, and leave odd quantities in selective positions near the door.

Freezer doors and strip curtains limit how trucks approach. Place the block so trucks enter lanes squarely after the door, with room to turn.

Fewer trips through the door mean less cold loss, which favors deep storage near the entrance for the fastest bulk items.

Cold steel and icy floors make impacts more likely. Walk openings weekly for bent posts and rails, and clear ice from lane floors.

Inspect during defrost cycles or low-volume windows. A drive-in rack in a freezer works harder than one in ambient space, so replace damaged parts quickly.

Keep cold-rated spares on hand so repairs do not wait on freight.

Train drivers to slow down near the doors, where condensation creates slick spots.

Baltimore Pallet Racks is a division of Warehouse Equipment & Supplies Co., which began supplying and installing rack in 1997.

Read the drive-in rack overview or the Jessup service area page, then share room temperatures, pallets per SKU and truck specs so we can draw a free layout.

Baltimore Pallet Racks

1400 W. Lombard St.

Unit #687

Baltimore, MD 21223

Monday - Friday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Why is drive-in rack common in Jessup freezers?

Does drive-in work for food rotation?

Is drive-in good for produce near the Maryland Food Center?

Do freezer trucks fit standard drive-in lanes?