Do rail-served buildings favour drive-thru lanes?

Often, when railcars unload on one side and trucks load on the other. Open-ended lanes connect those two docks directly. Mixed-height pallets can share a block only if each lane is set for its tallest load, so we group lanes by load height as well as by item.

How deep can a Merced lane go?

As deep as your lot size and floor allow. We size lanes to a carload or trailer of one item to avoid half-empty lanes.

Are lanes used in Merced cold storage?

Yes. Removing aisles shrinks the chilled volume per pallet, which matters for nuts, dairy and produce.

What forklift data should we send?

Model, overall width, overhead guard height and maximum lift. Those set lane width and rail heights.

Merced, California

Drive-In Rack in Merced, CA

Drive-in rack in Merced supports agricultural distributors and cold-storage sites holding large quantities of a few products. Buildings along Mission Avenue, SR-140 and Atwater's rail-served Castle Commerce Center all see this kind of demand.

Rail-served buildings receive bulk in carload quantities. Once unloaded, that product needs dense, organized storage, which is precisely what truck-entry lanes deliver.

A Merced nut or dairy distributor receiving by rail might unload a full car into a block of drive-in rack, one item per lane. Staff then draw down that stock over days or weeks while the next car is ordered. The block keeps the dock clear and every pallet visible from its lane face.

(559) 620-5206

Preparing a Merced Drive-In Rack Quote

Tell us railcar or trailer quantities, pallets per SKU, weights, pallet size and forklift models. Dock locations on each side of the building shape the layout.

Experienced installation crews we schedule and manage assemble the rows and anchor them to the floor, staging material away from active rail and truck docks.

In Atwater, drive-thru racking lets a rail dock and a truck dock share one lane block. Pallets go in from the rail side and come out on the truck side, so older stock leaves first. Where docks share a wall, drive-in rack with a closed back stores more. We compare both layouts and list the usable positions for each.

Learn more on the Merced service area page and the drive-in rack overview. Smaller lots fit Merced pushback rack; rotation-sensitive stock may suit Merced pallet flow.

Rail-delivered bulk

Nut and dairy cold rooms

Two-sided dock buildings

Call (559) 620-5206

Merced Rail Receipts and Drive-In Pallet Rack

A railcar unloads far more of one item than a truck. Lanes hold that volume together and let staff pull it down steadily while the next car is scheduled.

Merced also has cold storage serving nut, dairy and produce growers. Fewer aisles mean less refrigerated volume, so dense lanes are common in those rooms.

Fresno Pallet Racks is a division of Warehouse Equipment & Supplies Co., supplying and installing rack since 1997, and we use that experience on north-valley projects.

Drive-in pallet rack also serves Los Banos-bound and I-5-bound loads staged in Merced warehouses, where full pallets of one product wait for a single truck.

Free warehouse consultation

CAD layout with position counts

Installation by trusted installation partners

Drive-in pallet rack lanes fitted with continuous rails

Drive-in warehouse racking loaded with bulk pallets

Castle Commerce Center Rail and Mission Avenue Trucks

In Atwater, rail spurs feed one side of a building while trucks load on another. That split can make drive-thru lanes worthwhile.

Food processing

Agricultural distribution

Light manufacturing

Drive-Thru Racking for Rail-to-Truck Flow

When product enters on one side and leaves on another, an open-ended lane can match the building. Merced warehouses vary widely, from older packing sheds near town to larger buildings in Atwater. We measure clear height under the lowest obstruction, such as lights or heaters, because that number decides how many rail levels the lanes can carry. Lane count follows from your largest lots, and the remaining floor stays selective for smaller items and order staging.

Rail side

Pallets from the railcar enter lanes from the rail-dock aisle and roll in on forks to the far end.

Truck side

Shipping pulls from the opposite face, so the oldest product reaches trucks first.

Closed-back option

If receiving and shipping share a dock, a closed-back layout stores more and suits stable product.

Guide rails

Floor guides keep drivers centred in long lanes, protecting the uprights and the load.

Recent Installations

Racking projects completed for warehouses across Fresno and the Central Valley.

View More Projects

Get a Drive-In Rack Quote for Your Merced Warehouse

Send the basics and we will follow up with a layout and pricing. Prefer to talk it through? Call (559) 620-5206.

Fresno Pallet Racks

5730 N First St

Ste 105 #252

Fresno, CA 93710

(559) 620-5206

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

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