The short answer
From 2 cubic metres for a small tipper to 25 for an eight-wheeler. A six-wheeler has a 10 cubic metre steel body, or up to 17 in alloy. With heavy material such as gravel, weight stops the load long before the body is full: a 10 cubic metre six-wheeler carries about 6 to 7 cubic metres of crushed rock.
Body size and payload, from a real fleet
These are the body volumes and payloads that TR Group, a New Zealand truck rental company, lists for its tip trucks. The last column is the payload divided by 1.6 tonnes per cubic metre, a typical figure for crushed rock in a loose pile.
| Truck | Body | Payload | Crushed rock it carries |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small tipper (4x2, car licence) | 2 m³ | 2.5 t | 1.6 m³ |
| Medium tipper (4x2, class 2) | 3 m³ | 4.5 t | 2.8 m³ |
| 7 tonne tipper (4x2) | 7 m³ | 7 t | 4.4 m³ |
| Six-wheeler, steel body (6x4) | 10 m³ | 10 to 11 t | 6.2 to 6.9 m³ |
| Six-wheeler, alloy body (6x4) | 17 m³ | 11 to 12 t | 6.9 to 7.5 m³ |
| Eight-wheeler, alloy body (8x4) | 25 m³ | 14 t | 8.8 m³ |
Builders and operators vary, so treat these as typical. The truck's own plate, or the carrier, has the real figures. A truck and trailer carries more again; ask the carrier for the combination.
Why a full truck is not always a full body
A truck has two limits: how much fits in the body, and how much weight it may carry. Light material fills the body first. Heavy material reaches the weight limit first, so the body goes out part empty.
Take the eight-wheeler above: a 25 m³ body and a 14 tonne payload. Divide the payload by the material's density to see how much it can carry by weight, then compare that with the body.
| Material | Density, t/m³ | 14 t is | Load carried | Stopped by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crushed rock / road base | 1.60 | 8.8 m³ | 8.8 m³ | weight |
| Sand (dry) | 1.50 | 9.3 m³ | 9.3 m³ | weight |
| Sand (damp) | 1.80 | 7.8 m³ | 7.8 m³ | weight |
| Topsoil (loose) | 1.30 | 10.8 m³ | 10.8 m³ | weight |
| Garden mix | 1.00 | 14.0 m³ | 14.0 m³ | weight |
| Compost (screened) | 0.70 | 20.0 m³ | 20.0 m³ | weight |
| Bark mulch | 0.40 | 35.0 m³ | 25.0 m³ | body size |
Densities are typical loose stockpile figures, the same ones the Stockpile app uses. Yours will differ with moisture and grading: see cubic metres to tonnes.
Three ways to check a delivery
- From the docket. Divide the tonnes on the weighbridge docket by the material's density. A docket for 14 tonnes of crushed rock at 1.6 t/m³ is 8.75 m³.
- From the body. Length times width times the depth of the load gives a level load. A heaped load holds more, and a load that has settled on the road looks smaller than it left.
- From the pile. Measure the heap once it is tipped. A tape and a formula give a rough figure (try the stockpile volume calculator). Walking round it with a phone measures the surface as it really is.
How many loads are in my pile?
Divide the pile's volume by the volume of one load of the same material.
A 28.4 m³ heap of crushed rock, moved by the eight-wheeler at 8.75 m³ a load, is 28.4 ÷ 8.75 = 3.2, so four trips with the last one part full. The same heap in bark mulch would go in two, because the body fills to 25 m³ before the weight matters.
Stockpile is a phone app that measures the heap for you: walk round it once and it gives the volume and the tonnes, with a report you can send before you leave the yard. iPhone first, Android soon after.
Frequently asked questions
How many cubic metres does a six-wheeler tipper hold?
A six-wheeler (6x4) tipper has a body of about 10 cubic metres in steel, and up to 17 in alloy. With gravel or sand it carries less than that, about 6 to 7 cubic metres of crushed rock, because the weight limit is reached before the body is full.
How many tonnes of gravel are in a truck load?
As many as the truck's payload allows. One rental fleet lists 10 to 11 tonnes for a steel six-wheeler and 14 tonnes for an eight-wheeler. At 1.6 tonnes per cubic metre, 14 tonnes of crushed rock is 8.75 cubic metres.
How many cubic metres is a tonne of gravel?
About 0.63 cubic metres, taking crushed rock or gravel at 1.6 tonnes per cubic metre in a loose pile.
Is a "metre" of mulch a cubic metre?
Yes. In a landscape yard a "metre" or a "cube" means one cubic metre, measured loose.
The pile in your pocket.
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