How Many Yards in a Dump Truck? (Volume and Weight Limits)
Short answer: it depends on the truck body, and on the weight of what you are hauling. To find a body’s volume, measure the inside length × width × height in feet and divide by 27. A body 14 ft long, 7½ ft wide and 4 ft deep holds about 15.6 cubic yards. With heavy materials like gravel and sand, though, the truck usually reaches its legal weight long before the body is full.
To work out how many yards your project needs in the first place, use the cubic yard calculator.
How to measure a dump body
- Measure the inside of the body in feet: length, width, and height from the floor to the top of the sides.
- Multiply them to get cubic feet.
- Divide by 27 (there are 27 cubic feet in a cubic yard).
Dump body maker OX Bodies notes that the hoist well takes up about ½ cubic yard, so a body’s usable space is a little less than the box measurement.
Volume of some example bodies
| Inside size (L × W × H) | Cubic feet | Cubic yards | Weight if filled with dry gravel |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 × 7 × 2 ft | 140 | 5.2 | 7.3 tons |
| 12 × 7½ × 3 ft | 270 | 10.0 | 14.2 tons |
| 14 × 7½ × 4 ft | 420 | 15.6 | 22.1 tons |
| 16 × 7½ × 4½ ft | 540 | 20.0 | 28.4 tons |
| 18 × 7½ × 5 ft | 675 | 25.0 | 35.4 tons |
Dry gravel weighs about 1.42 tons per cubic yard. Look at the last column: a big body full of gravel would weigh far more than most trucks can legally carry.
Why weight, not space, limits the load
On the Interstate system, federal rules cap a truck at 80,000 lb gross, 20,000 lb on any single axle and 34,000 lb on a tandem axle pair, and less where the federal bridge formula requires it. States set their own limits for other roads. What a truck can carry (its payload) is its legal or rated gross weight minus its own empty weight, and only the owner knows both.
So ask the hauler how many tons the truck can carry, then convert tons to yards for your material:
| Load | Dry gravel | Wet gravel | Dry sand | Topsoil |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 tons | 3.5 yd³ | 3.0 yd³ | 3.8 yd³ | 4.6 yd³ |
| 10 tons | 7.1 yd³ | 5.9 yd³ | 7.6 yd³ | 9.3 yd³ |
| 15 tons | 10.6 yd³ | 8.9 yd³ | 11.5 yd³ | 13.9 yd³ |
| 20 tons | 14.1 yd³ | 11.9 yd³ | 15.3 yd³ | 18.5 yd³ |
Light materials such as mulch and wood chips are the opposite case: the body fills up before the weight limit, so for those the body’s cubic yards is the number that matters.
How many truckloads do I need?
Divide the yards you need by the yards per load, and round up. For example, 30 cubic yards of dry gravel on a truck that carries 15 tons (10.6 yd³) is 30 ÷ 10.6 = 2.8, so 3 loads. Wet material weighs more, so a load holds fewer yards after rain.
Common questions
How many yards of dirt fit in a dump truck?
Measure the body, or ask the hauler for its weight limit. Loose dry dirt is about 1.03 tons per yard, so a truck that can carry 15 tons takes about 14.6 yards of it, if the body is big enough.
How many tons of gravel are in a yard?
About 1.42 tons dry and 1.69 tons wet. See cubic yards to tons for other materials.
Is a “yard” of material the same as a truckload?
No. A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, a box 3 ft on every side. One truckload is usually many yards.
Sources
- OX Bodies: how to choose the right dump truck body size: measuring yardage (L × W × H ÷ 27); about ½ yd³ lost to the hoist well.
- 23 CFR 658.17 (Federal Highway Administration): truck weight limits: 80,000 lb gross, 20,000 lb single axle, 34,000 lb tandem axle on the Interstate system.
- Engineering ToolBox: densities of dirt, sand and gravel: gravel 105/125 lb/ft³ dry/wet, sand 97, loam 80, loose dry dirt 76.