Soil Haulage Calculator
Natural to loose volume, tonnes and truck loads without overloading.
Inputs
Result
Formula
| Loose volume | natural volume × Ks |
| Total mass | natural volume × natural density |
| Loose density | natural density ÷ Ks |
| Loads | ceil(mass ÷ payload) |
| Loose volume per load | total loose ÷ loads |
| Body volume | per-load loose × 1.1 |
100 m³ of ordinary soil at Ks 1.2 with 25 t trucks: 120.00 m³ loose, 190.00 t, eight loads at 23.75 t and 15.00 m³ loose each — a 16.50 m³ body.
FAQ
Why not dispatch by volume?
Because excavation bulks the soil — more volume, same mass — so loading by volume overloads. One cubic metre of soil becomes 1.2 m³ loose at the same 1.9 t: dispatch a truck per 1.2 m³ and each carries only 1.9 t, which is wasteful; fill the 20 m³ body and it is 38 t. Payload is the only measure that works both ways.
Ks or Ks′?
For carting away and loading, use the initial factor Ks — loose over natural — because that is the freshly dug state. For how much soil backfill needs, use Ks′ — compacted over natural. Ks is typically 1.1-1.3 and Ks′ 1.02-1.08; swapping them overstates haulage by 20%, which is a fifth of the carting cost.
Why is construction waste so light?
Because it is full of voids — broken brick, concrete lumps, mortar, timber and packaging mixed together can be 50% air. Waste bulks at 1.4-1.7 t/m³ against 2.4 for solid concrete. Carting is often priced by volume but weighed in tonnes, and that mismatch is a common source of disputes.
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Results are estimating aids only and are not a design basis. Construction and final accounts must follow the drawings, the applicable standards and an approved method statement. Anything affecting structural safety, shoring or falsework must be checked by a suitably qualified engineer.