Truck Loads from Bank Volume and Swell
Also known as how many truck loads · dump truck loads of soil
Worked example: 100 yd3 bank at 25 % swell, 12.5 yd3 box → 10 loads — press Try an example to run it live, then adjust anything.
Enter your known values, leave one input blank, and solves for the missing one. Tap a variable’s symbol to see what it means, with a typical value. Try different units for next level excitement!
Truck Loads from Bank Volume and Swell explained
Dirt does not fit back in the hole it came out of. Excavating breaks up the structure the soil had in place, and the loose material occupies more room than the bank volume you measured: about 25 percent more for common earth, 12 to 15 percent for sand, 40 to 45 percent for clay, and 50 percent or more for blasted rock. So the haul quantity is the bank volume swelled first, then divided by the truck box.
Get this backwards and the job goes wrong in both directions. Bidding the haul on bank measure undercounts your trucks by a quarter, while ordering backfill on loose measure overbuys, since that same soil shrinks again when it is compacted in lifts, often to slightly less than its original bank volume. Excavators price by the bank cubic yard, truckers by the loose cubic yard, and compacted fill is quoted a third way.
Real capacity is also not the number on the spec sheet. A tandem rated at 12 to 14 yd³ heaped may be limited by axle weight long before the box is full, especially with wet clay, so check the legal load as well as the volume.
Truck Loads from Bank Volume and Swell formula
- = Truck loads
- = Bank volume (yd³)
- = Percent swell (%)
- = Truck capacity (yd³)
Missing one of these? Work it out first, then come back
- Truck loads — Stair Riser Count from Total Rise, Stair Total Run from Risers and Tread Depth
- Bank volume — Swell: Loose Volume from Bank Volume, Shrinkage: Compacted Volume from Bank Volume
- Percent swell — Swell: Loose Volume from Bank Volume, Sheets or Tiles Needed (with Waste Allowance)
- Truck capacity — Concrete Bags from Volume and Bag Yield, Snow Volume from Water Volume