Field calculator
Excavation truck load calculator (haul-off)
Hauling off an excavation costs by the truck load, and the number of loads is not just the size of the hole, because soil expands when you dig it. The loose volume you actually haul is the in-place (bank) volume times one plus the swell factor, divided by the truck capacity. Enter the bank cubic yards (the volume of the cut or hole measured in place), the swell or bulking percentage, and the truck box capacity. The swell depends on the soil: sand and gravel expand roughly 10 to 15 percent, common earth around 25 percent, clay 30 to 40 percent, and blasted rock much more, so the loose volume hauled is always larger than the neat excavation. Two cautions keep the estimate honest. Dump trucks are often limited by legal weight rather than box volume on heavy, wet, or rocky material, so the real load can be smaller than the box suggests. And the reverse happens at a fill, where the soil compacts down by a shrink factor. Confirm the swell with the geotechnical report and the legal haul weight with the trucking company.
Result
Excavation haul-off truck loads: loose volume = in-place (bank) volume × (1 + swell percent), and truck loads = loose volume divided by the truck capacity, rounded up. Enter the bank cubic yards (the volume of the hole or cut measured in place), the swell or bulking percentage, and the truck box capacity in cubic yards. The point estimators miss is that soil expands when it is dug, so you haul more loose volume than the neat in-place excavation: sand and gravel swell roughly 10 to 15 percent, common earth around 25 percent, clay 30 to 40 percent, and blasted rock much more. Two cautions: trucks are frequently capped by legal weight rather than box volume on heavy, wet, or rocky material, so the real load may be smaller than the box; and compaction back at a fill works the opposite way (a shrink factor). Confirm the soil swell with the geotechnical report and the legal haul weight with the trucking company.
anvilfield.com/calculators/excavation-truck-load-calculator · Free field calculators and FieldOS. A planning estimate, verify against the code, the manufacturer, and the engineer of record.
More Concrete calculators
Truck load FAQ
What is excavation shoring?
Excavation shoring is an engineered earth-retention structure that holds back the soil for a deep, near-vertical cut so the ground does not slide in and the neighbor's footing does not drop. It is a designed wall, braced with tiebacks or struts, not a trench box. A geotechnical or structural engineer sizes it.
What is soldier pile and lagging?
Soldier pile and lagging is a temporary shoring wall of vertical H-piles set on the order of 6 to 10 ft apart with lagging boards placed between them as you dig down. It is the cheapest system but it does not hold water and wants firm soil above the water table. The engineer sets the spacing and embedment.
What is a tieback?
A tieback, or ground anchor, is a drilled and grouted steel tendon that reaches back through the wall into stable soil or rock, then is tensioned to hold the wall against the soil load. It keeps the excavation clear of internal bracing but needs an easement to sit under the neighbor's property or the street.
Shoring or a trench box: what is the difference?
A trench box is an OSHA protective system that shields a worker if the wall collapses, and it lets the ground move. Engineered shoring holds the ground in place and limits movement to protect the building, street, or utility behind it. Use a box for worker safety, an engineered wall when something behind the cut must be protected.
Which shoring system holds back groundwater?
Sheet piling with clean interlocks, secant pile walls, and slurry or diaphragm walls form continuous watertight barriers that hold groundwater out. Soldier pile and lagging and most soil-nail walls do not, so below the water table they need dewatering. Settle the watertight-wall versus dewatering choice with the geotechnical engineer early, because it drives the wall.