How Much Is a Dump Truck Load of Gravel? Tons, Yards & Cost

By Site Measure · Maintained by Vincent Ruan · Published September 18, 2026 · Updated September 24, 2026

First published September 18, 2026 as “Gravel delivery minimum orders”; expanded and retitled September 24, 2026.

Not sure how big an order is? See what a ton of gravel looks like.

How much is a dump truck load of gravel?

A full 22-ton tri-axle load lists at $405.00 for 2A modified red stone and $1,999.00 for 1–3 inch river stone at Stone Depot in Perkasie, PA: $18.41 to $90.86 a ton. The stone sets most of the price. Order size sets the rest: Colson’s Gravel in Morrow, OH delivers 10 tons of crusher run for $375.00 ($37.50 a ton) but 1 ton for $165.00.

The yard lists these under “Tri-Axle Deliveries” without breaking out a delivery charge. For the per-ton list prices of gravel, crusher run and river rock at 17 other suppliers, see gravel prices per yard and per ton.

How many tons of gravel are in a dump truck?

8 to 22 tons for most of the dump trucks suppliers publish; a small bobtail carries up to 7.5 tons and a truck with a transfer trailer up to 24. Axle weight limits set the payload, not the size of the box: federal limits are 20,000 lb on a single axle, 34,000 lb on a tandem and 80,000 lb gross. One Indianapolis hauler’s spec sheet shows the arithmetic: its tri-axle weighs 25,380 lb empty and 68,000 lb loaded, a payload of 21.31 tons against the 22 it advertises; its single-axle truck works out to 8.45 tons (8 advertised).

How many yards of gravel are in a dump truck?

Divide the tons by the weight of a cubic yard. The 11 supplier-published gravel and crushed stone weights in our density table run from 2,400 to 2,800 lb per yard, so a 10-ton load is 7.14–8.33 cubic yards. The tri-axle above is rated for 22 tons or 15 yd³; the two limits meet at 2,933 lb per yard. Every one of those weights is lighter than that, so a full tri-axle of gravel is about 15 yards, or 18–21 tons.

For another material, the tons to cubic yards converter takes any weight per yard.

Why a small load costs more per ton

The truck costs about the same to send whether it carries 1 ton or 10, so delivered prices fall steeply with order size. Colson’s Gravel charges $165.00 for 1 ton of crusher run and $375.00 for 10: per ton, the small order costs 4.4 times as much. Its trucks carry 10 tons at most, so 14 tons is 2 loads, $600.00, or $42.86 a ton: more per ton than a single full load.

Colson’s Gravel’s prices include delivery within 20 miles; the Massachusetts prices include delivery and tax. When a yard prints both, the gap is the delivery charge: 3/4 inch crushed stone costs $21.50 a ton picked up and $27.50 delivered on a full tri-axle, $6.00 a ton, or $120.00 on a 20-ton load.

Minimum orders and short-load fees

A short-load fee is what a yard adds when you take less than a full truck. Some yards set a minimum instead, from 1 yard to 22 tons, and some bill the truck by the hour. The terms below are each supplier’s own; they are not interchangeable.

If you need less than a yard’s minimum, a smaller local yard or bagged gravel may cost less; the bags versus bulk comparison shows where the line falls at listed prices.

How many truckloads do I need?

Divide the tons you need by what one load carries and round up. A 12 × 40 ft gravel driveway built to the FHWA gravel roads guide’s lightest suggested depth, 4.5 inches, is 9.45 tons at 105 lb/ft³: 1 load of up to 10 tons. At 6.5 inches for a weak subgrade it is 13.65 tons: 2 loads from a yard that caps loads at 10 tons, or one from a truck rated 13–20 tons. The gravel driveway calculator works out the tons for your own dimensions.

What to ask before you order a load

1. Which truck will come, and how many tons or yards it carries.
2. Whether the price includes delivery, and the charge for a short load.
3. Whether you pay by the ticket weight or the ordered quantity.
4. Whether two materials can share one truck, and at what cost.
5. Where the truck can dump: it needs room to raise the bed and firm ground to drive on.

Sources

Prices and terms as published on September 24, 2026 unless a row says otherwise. Suppliers change them; get a written quote for your address.

• FHWA: federal truck size and weight limits — Single axle 20,000 lb, tandem 34,000 lb, 80,000 lb gross on the Interstate System.
• PRO Aggregate, Chico, CA — Dump trailer: 4 t; Bobtail: 7.5 t; 10-wheeler: 8–12 t; Super dump: 13–20 t; Transfer truck: 13–24 t; Large loads billed by the hour, round trip, $120–$170 depending on truck and area; a second material on the same truck adds $30.
• Laura Kopetsky Tri-Ax, Indianapolis, IN — Single-axle dump truck: 8 t; Tri-axle dump truck: 22 t.
• Colson’s Gravel, Morrow, OH — Delivery truck, per load: 10 t; delivered B-19 3/4 inch crusher run by order size; delivered #8 pea gravel by order size; Delivered prices from 1 ton; 10 tons maximum per load; $50 surcharge beyond 20 miles.
• Bove Brothers, Oakdale, CT — Full tri-axle load: 20 t; Delivered prices assume a full 20-ton tri-axle load; anything less adds a short-load fee set by location.
• MassMulch, Tewksbury, MA — delivered 3/4 inch crushed stone by order size; delivered 3/8 inch pea stone by order size; 1–4 yard orders carry a higher per-yard delivery rate; $80 fee if a load cannot be delivered.
• Stone Depot, Perkasie, PA — 2A modified red stone, 22-ton load $405.00; 2A modified gray stone, 22-ton load $442.00; 2B 3/4 inch clean gray stone, 22-ton load $576.00; 1–3 inch river stone, 22-ton load $1,999.00.
• South Bay Materials, San Jose, CA — 1 cubic yard minimum per item for bulk delivery.
• Menoni & Mocogni, Highland Park, IL — 1 yard minimum; 25-mile delivery radius; no mixed or split loads.
• Frank Brothers, Lodi, OH — No deliveries under 2 tons or 2 yards; per-mile charge, $35 minimum; stone loads of 2–15 tons.
• Front Range Material, Lafayette, CO — 15-ton minimum order.
• ATAK Trucking, Northern and central NJ, Staten Island — 20-ton bulk delivery minimum for 3/8 inch pea gravel.
• Ozinga, Service area varies by state — 22-ton delivery minimum for gravel.

Written with AI assistance from the sources listed on this page. Each figure links to its source; recorded dates are shown with the figures or in the gravel weight and price ledgers, and the arithmetic is covered by automated tests. How this page was made · Report an error