---
title: "Chassis"
description: "A chassis is a special trailer or undercarriage used to transport ocean containers over the road. A chassis will be necessary for a shipment traveling by truck and will incur a chassis fee."
language: en
canonical: https://www.flex.thisisbrew.com/glossary/chassis/
lifecycle: live
dateModified: 2026-08-20T06:44:04Z
topics:
  - "Trucking"
---

# Chassis

A chassis is a special trailer or undercarriage used to transport ocean containers over the road. A chassis will be necessary for a shipment traveling by truck and will incur a chassis fee.

## What is a chassis?

A chassis is a special trailer or undercarriage used to transport ocean containers over the road.

A chassis will be necessary for a shipment traveling by truck and will incur a chassis fee.

A tri-axle chassis will be used for overweight FCL shipments traveling by truck. Generally, a tri-axle chassis is required for a 20’ container above 36,000 lbs, or a 40’ container above 44,000 lbs. See [Overweight Cargo](https://www.flex.thisisbrew.com/help/overweight-cargo/) for more information.

### How do chassis work?

Chassis are intended to securely attach to the container so that the container fits snugly onto the chassis, preventing excess movement. Chassis come in both 20’ container sizes and 40’ container sizes to fit an FCL container appropriately.

![Empty blue intermodal container chassis trailer with tandem rear axles, dual tires, mud flaps, and folding front landing gear.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ynj1yl20/development/62772804c0e403555915ed20f59a5b0e60bf6c50-599x359.png)

![A red semi-truck hauling a beige ocean shipping container loaded on a chassis trailer along a road, the chassis frame outlined in red.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ynj1yl20/development/31b9b06906387c60e03fed4b3ea7eaf52624cf5a-500x338.png)

Back to the [full glossary](https://www.flex.thisisbrew.com/glossary/).

---

*This is a markdown version of [https://www.flex.thisisbrew.com/glossary/chassis/](https://www.flex.thisisbrew.com/glossary/chassis/) for AI/LLM consumption.*