Earthwork
Export Soil Calculator
Calculate soil export: loose (swelled) cubic yards, whole truckloads to dispatch, hauling, and disposal fees.
Inputs
Live estimate
Material needed
23.15 cu yd
- Area
- 500 sq ft
- Cubic feet
- 500
- Cubic yards
- 18.52
- Estimated tons
- 30.09 tons
- Estimated truckloads
- 1.65
- Disposal cost
- $800
- Total cost
- $800
You will likely need
- •23.15 cu yd — material needed
- •Schedule 2 truck loads
- •Approximate delivered weight: 30.09 tons
- •Estimated total: $800
Diagram
Live estimate
- Mathematical quantity
- 23 cu yd
- Bank-to-loose swell (already applied)
- Informational
- Field conditions
- Not applied
- Adjusted requirement
- 23 cu yd
- Ordering rule
- Round up to whole truckload
- Suggested order
- 24 cu yd
Excavation is measured bank, hauled loose. The engine converts bank→loose once via Advanced options.
What you actually need in the field, before rounding to a supplier-friendly ordering unit.
Estimator confidence
LowerThe primary result already includes the swell factor from Advanced options. Truckloads and disposal cost are derived from that loose volume.
Improve confidence: Verify the swell percentage in Advanced options matches your soils report (typical 15–40%).
Why this behavior applies: Excavation is measured as bank volume but hauled loose. This calculator converts bank to loose once — in the primary quantity — and truckloads and disposal both use that loose figure.
- Swell factor — Bank cubic yards do not equal loose truck volume.
- Confirm dump site acceptance criteria before excavating — contaminated soil is expensive to move.
- Match truck size to site access — bigger trucks aren't cheaper if they can't reach the pile.
- Track loads with tickets — trust but verify at billing time.
- Ordering trucks based on bank volume without applying swell.
- Assuming any dump will take any soil.
- Skipping the ticket audit and paying for phantom loads.
Smart tips
- Ordering 5–10% extra is standard on irregular layouts. Running short costs more than the excess.
- You're just over one truckload — a slightly larger truck could save a delivery fee.
How it's calculated
Area is derived from your shape inputs and converted to sq ft.
Depth is converted to feet; cubic feet = area × depth.
Cubic yards = cubic feet ÷ 27, then × (1 + waste %) × (1 + compaction %).
Estimated tons = cubic yards (with waste) × 1.3.
Truckloads = cubic yards (with waste) ÷ truck capacity.
Total cost = cubic yards (with waste) × price per cubic yard + delivery.
Material assumptions
- The compaction slider is used as a swell factor here — soil expands 15–25% between bank and loose.
- Disposal fees vary widely (per-load at private sites, per-ton at municipal transfer stations) — call ahead to confirm the tip rate.
- Clean fill is often accepted free at active construction sites.
- Truckloads shown are rounded up in the actionable output — you always dispatch whole trucks.
Frequently asked questions
Related calculators
Related articles
Deeper guidance from the Learn library — sizing, depth, waste, and ordering for this material.
Confirm disposal site, tip fees, and haul permits before dispatching trucks.