Plan dirt removal with cubic yards, tons, and truck loads. This calculator applies swell for hauling and helps size dumpster or dump truck tickets.
Reviewed by Marcus Delaney, Licensed General Contractor · Last updated: May 2026
This haul-off planner turns a cleared pad into bank yards, tons, and truck counts. Pool contractors and grading crews use it before they call the dump truck—especially when the landfill bills by weight, not box size. Plug in your strip area and we'll flag swell so you're not short a load on Friday.
Convert length, width, and depth to feet first. Then:
Bank cu yd = Length × Width × Depth ÷ 27
Buffer (optional): Adjusted bank = Bank × (1 + Buffer% ÷ 100)
Haul yards with swell on: Haul = Adjusted bank × 1.25 — that's a 25% bulking default for loose load-out.[2]
Tons for the scale: Tons = Yards × tons/yd. Loose spoil often plans around 1.2 t/yd on sand mixes and up near 1.4 t/yd on wet clay.[1]
Last month we stripped a 42 ft × 22 ft zone after demo—6 in of fill came out. Footprint is 924 sq ft; depth is 0.5 ft → 462 cu ft ÷ 27 = 17.1 bank yd. Ten percent buffer → 18.8 yd. At 1.35 t/yd on wet clay ≈ 25 tons—two tandem loads, but the second truck only ran 70% full because of weight.
Strip depth. Six inches vs twelve on the same footprint doubles export. Measure after sod is off, not from the old grade stake.
Clay vs sand. Clay hits legal weight before the box looks full. You'll pay for tons at the landfill, not friendly cubic yards.[1]
Swell on trucks. Bank yards stay in the cut; trucks haul fluffy yards. Skip swell and you'll book one load too few—that's a Saturday nobody wants.
Gate and route. A 10-yd box doesn't help if the skid steer can't reach the pile. Walk the path before you commit to load count.
Topsoil kept on site. Don't export good topsoil with structural spoil. Stockpile it; your landscape allowance may need it back.
Most sites bill by ton with a minimum per trip. Run tons here, then ask if wet clay counts as special waste—fees jump fast.
Soil bulks in the bucket. Bank is in-place; haul is fluffy. Flip swell on before you schedule trucks.
Depends on moisture. Sandy spoil might ride at 12–14 tons; wet clay can cap you around 10 tons before the box looks half empty.
Tight gates favor walking dumpsters. Open lots with long pushes favor trucks. Same math—match haul yards to the container size.
Yes, but long narrow cuts are easier in our trench calculator if you're pricing spoil per foot of run.
Haul-off numbers swing with moisture, clay content, and how full the truck can legally run—confirm tons with your scale house before you lock a price.