SettingsSettings for this calculationUS
The total volume of subgrade material to be hauled off site.
Use the excavated (loose) volume from your earthwork takeoff, not the in-place (bank) volume, if the two differ significantly for your soil type.
The heaped or struck capacity of the dump truck bed being used for hauling.
Confirm the actual rated capacity of the trucks assigned to the project — capacities vary by truck class.
Truck loads needed
17 truck loads
They open the calculator with your figures already in it
Road Subgrade Excavation Truck Fleet Calculator: 17 truck loads — shown in imperial, US market. The link sets both, so the result they see is the one on your screen.
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How this was calculated
Formula source(s)
- Truck loads = ceil(total excavated volume ÷ truck bed capacity), the standard method for estimating haul truck trips for bulk excavation material
Inputs used
- Total Excavated Volume
- 261.5 yd³
- Truck Bed Capacity
- 15.75 yd³
What this calculation does not cover
- Fills the truck by VOLUME, and a haul truck usually fills by WEIGHT first. Payload is loose volume x loose density, and excavated wet clay at roughly 1.6 t/m³ (about 2,700 lb/yd³) puts 19 tonnes (21 tons) in a 12 m³ (16 yd³) box — past the legal axle load long before the material reaches the top of the sides. On heavy or saturated material the trip count comes off the truck's rated payload in tonnes, and this figure will be optimistic.
- Takes the rated bed capacity at face value. A heaped rating only holds for material that will stand in a heap: wet, sticky subgrade sheds off the sides, has to be sheeted, and leaves a skin in the box on every tip, so the volume actually moved per trip is nearer the struck capacity. Enter the struck figure for anything that will not heap.
Estimated cost — your price
This site holds no price list for this material — local prices vary too much to publish honestly. Enter your supplier's price and the result is costed with it.
Computed in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded. Presented in US customary units and US trade terminology. Where a formula follows a published standard, that standard and its edition are cited beside it on this page; where none governs, the page says so. Local amendments override model codes — verify against the code in force where you build.
Sources checked 2026-09-06 · in the site-wide review of 2026-09-06 · v1.0.1
Regulatory standards & verification citations1
- Truck loads = ceil(total excavated volume ÷ truck bed capacity), the standard method for estimating haul truck trips for bulk excavation material
Cite this page
Your workspace
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Tools and safety for this job
To excavate by machine. Generic types, no brands, no prices.
Protection this work requires
- Digging blind strikes gas, water and power every day: get the plans, scan with a cable avoidance tool, and hand-dig trial holes over anything you find.
Excavate by machine: Operating an excavator is a trained and, in most markets, formally certified activity, and hiring one does not include that training. Underground services must be traced before any machine dig. This list covers the tools, not the competence.
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Essential
Cable and pipe detector
Shovel and spade
Recommended
Spirit level
String line and pins
what each groundwork tool is for, and the spec that decides which to buy where one does.