Estimate how much soil a dig will produce — in the ground and once bulked for cartage — and how many truck loads it takes to remove it.
Before digging, check for underground services (Dial Before You Dig / BYDA) and consider shoring and safe batter angles. Deep excavations have serious collapse and services risks.
traqR keeps site quantities, plant hire and cartage on the job card so excavation costs are captured and quoted properly.
Start free trialLength × width × depth gives the in-ground (bank) volume — how much space the excavation occupies before anything is dug.
Dug soil bulks up as it loosens. A swell factor (often around 25%) converts bank volume to the loose volume you actually have to cart.
Dividing the loose volume by the truck or bin capacity gives the number of loads to remove the spoil.
Multiply length by width by depth for the bank (in-ground) volume, then apply a swell factor for cartage. A 6 × 4 m hole at 0.5 m deep is 12 m³ in the ground, or about 15 m³ loose at 25% swell.
When soil is excavated it loosens and takes up more space than it did in the ground. This “swell” is roughly 10–15% for sand, 25–40% for clay, and more for rock. It matters because you cart and dispose of the loose volume, not the bank volume.
Divide the loose (bulked) volume by the truck or skip capacity and round up. Tandem tippers commonly carry around 6–10 m³. This tool does that once you enter the truck size.
Always locate underground services before digging (Dial Before You Dig / BYDA), and for anything but shallow trenches, address collapse risk with battering, benching or shoring. Excavation is high-risk work with specific WHS duties — plan it properly.
This calculator estimates excavation and cartage volumes only. It is not a substitute for locating underground services, geotechnical advice, or excavation safety planning (shoring, battering, exclusion zones), which are required by WHS law for excavation work.
traqR keeps site quantities, plant hire and cartage on the job card so excavation costs are quoted properly. Try it free for 14 days.