SettingsSettings for this calculationUS
The total material volume to haul.
Use the cubic-yard result from a materials calculator like Gravel Driveway, Topsoil, or Concrete.
The hauling capacity of the truck being used.
Confirm the specific truck's rated capacity with your hauler or rental yard — capacities vary by truck configuration, and are quoted in cubic yards in North America and in cubic metres in metric markets.
Truck loads needed
5 x 12 yd³ loads
Trucks are also limited by legal weight, not just volume — dense materials like gravel or wet soil may reach a truck's weight limit before filling its full volume capacity, requiring more, partial loads.
They open the calculator with your figures already in it
Dump Truck Load Calculator: 5 x 12 yd³ 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 needed = total volume / truck bed capacity, rounded up — beds are quoted at 10-14 cubic yards in North America and at 8-12 m³ in metric markets, so the count is worked in whichever measure the hauler quotes rather than converted between them
Inputs used
- Total Volume
- 50 yd³
- Truck Bed Capacity
- 12 cubic yards
Confidence note: Trucks are also limited by legal weight, not just volume — dense materials like gravel or wet soil may reach a truck's weight limit before filling its full volume capacity, requiring more, partial loads.
What this calculation does not cover
- This counts volume only. It does not check payload, axle loading or gross vehicle weight, and a body filled with gravel, sand, wet clay or broken concrete normally reaches its legal weight limit before it is full — so dense material takes more trips than the volume count shows. It is not a legal load check; what the truck may legally carry is the hauler's call.
- The figure you enter is treated as loose, as-loaded volume. Excavated soil and demolition debris swell once they are dug out, and delivered fill loses volume once it is compacted in place, so a bank (in-ground) or compacted-in-place quantity entered here undercounts loads. Convert to a loose volume before using this.
- The three bed sizes are generic fleet sizes, not your truck. Rated capacity moves with body length, sideboard height and whether the quoted figure is struck (level) or heaped, and liners, tailgate gear and a worn body all change what actually goes in. Confirm the number with the hauler or rental yard.
- Nothing here covers getting the truck to the material. Site access and turning room, overhead clearance, tipping space, posted road and bridge weight limits, seasonal load restrictions and permits all change how many trips are actually possible, and none of them are modelled.
- One material, one truck type, and no cost. Loads that cannot be mixed — segregated waste streams, separate stockpiles — need their own counts, and haulage rates, tipping fees and disposal charges (often billed by weight or per ticket rather than per load) sit outside this calculation.
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 2026-09-02 · in the site-wide review of 2026-09-06 · v1.1.1
Regulatory standards & verification citations1
- Truck loads needed = total volume / truck bed capacity, rounded up — beds are quoted at 10-14 cubic yards in North America and at 8-12 m³ in metric markets, so the count is worked in whichever measure the hauler quotes rather than converted between them
Cite this page
Your workspace
Most jobs need more than one number. Add the calculators you need next and they open right here, underneath this one — your figures stay on screen and nothing is lost to a page change.