Dump Truck Load & Hauling Calculator
Plan a haul: how many loads it takes (by weight and by body volume), how long each round trip takes, how many days with your fleet, and the trucking cost using ATRI's operating cost per hour.
Dump Truck Load & Hauling Calculator — ConcreteNear.com
| Tons | 280 tons |
| Cubic yards | 200 yd³ |
| Cycle time per trip | 55 min |
| Loads per truck per day | 9 |
| Working days | 2 days |
| Truck-hours | 18.3 hr |
| Total miles | 400 mi |
Cost estimate U.S. average prices
| Trucking (operating cost + overhead) 18.33 hr × $106.69 × 1.25 | $2,445 |
| Estimated total | $2,445 |
- Most haulers bill by the hour with a minimum (often 4 hours), or by the load for short, repeatable hauls.
- You are weight-limited — a bigger body will not help; more axles will.
| Inputs | |
| Material to haul | 200 |
| Measured in | Cubic yards |
| Material density | 1.4 tons/yd³ |
| Truck payload | 14 tons |
| Truck body (heaped) | 12 yd³ |
| Round-trip distance | 20 mi |
| Average speed | 30 mph |
| Load + dump time per trip | 15 min |
| Trucks | 2 |
| Working hours per day | 9 hr |
Planning estimate only — confirm with your supplier or contractor.
Prices used — edit any price to match your local quote
| Item | Unit price | Basis & source |
|---|---|---|
| Truck operating cost per hr | public source ATRI, An Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking: 2026 Update, Table 9 — average marginal cost per hour, 2025 (fuel, truck payments, repairs, insurance, tires, tolls, driver wages and benefits) (2025 data, published Jul 2026) — For-hire fleet cost before overhead and profit. Local dump and lowboy rates are usually higher; use the overhead % to adjust. | |
| Hauler overhead & profit per % | starting estimate Starting estimate added on top of the ATRI operating cost. |
How to use this calculator
- Enter the quantity in yards or tons and the material density.
- Enter truck payload and heaped body size.
- Enter the round-trip distance, speed and load/dump time.
- Enter trucks and working hours to see days.
Formulas
Loads = larger of tons ÷ payload and yd³ ÷ body sizeCycle (hr) = round-trip miles ÷ speed + load/dump minutes ÷ 60Days = loads ÷ (trucks × floor(working hours ÷ cycle))
Questions
How many yards in a dump truck?
A tandem dump body commonly holds about 10–14 yd³, but heavy material (rock, concrete) hits the legal weight limit first — often 13–15 tons.
How many tons can a dump truck carry?
It depends on axles and state limits: roughly 13–15 tons for a tandem and 16–20 for a tri-axle.
Why is my trucking cost "+ overhead"?
ATRI's figure is the motor carrier's operating cost per hour. Haulers add overhead and profit; the default 25% is an editable estimate.
Sources & assumptions
Prices checked 2026-11-10. State pricing multiplies national figures by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities (goods for materials, services for labor and services). RPPs compare general consumer price levels (U.S. = 100). They are not construction-specific; we use RPP Goods for materials and RPP Services: Other (excludes rents) for labor and services.
- Truck operating cost — ATRI, An Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking: 2026 Update, Table 9 — average marginal cost per hour, 2025 (fuel, truck payments, repairs, insurance, tires, tolls, driver wages and benefits) (2025 data, published Jul 2026). For-hire fleet cost before overhead and profit. Local dump and lowboy rates are usually higher; use the overhead % to adjust.
Starting estimates No public price series was found for: Hauler overhead & profit. These defaults are editable placeholders — replace them with a local quote.
Results are planning estimates, not quotes or engineering advice. Codes, specifications and your supplier's numbers govern.
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