Feeling ripped off.....fill dirt

[Egon]

I respectfully disagree.

Nothing wrong with that!

 

[cabinhollow]

What size is the truck bed?
All in feet.
Length of bed x width of bed x height of bed = cu ft / 27 = cu yard.
So if that truck bed was 14' long x 7.5' wide x 3' tall = 315 cu ft / 27 = 11.66 cu yards.
Looking at the picture, the bed was loaded to 4/5 max. So, if it was the size bed I used, you received app. 9.33 cu yards.

 

[ruffdog]

We can get black dirt 3 ways, either from a old dense pile (heavy), loosened dirt (lighter), or sifted dirt (lightest). The sifted dirt is so easy to spread you can do it with a rake but once it packs, it loses 50% of volume.

 

[Big Barn]

What size is the truck bed?
All in feet.
Length of bed x width of bed x height of bed = cu ft / 27 = cu yard.
So if that truck bed was 14' long x 7.5' wide x 3' tall = 315 cu ft / 27 = 11.66 cu yards.
Looking at the picture, the bed was loaded to 4/5 max. So, if it was the size bed I used, you received app. 9.33 cu yards.

Excellent explanation! BUT. We do not know the bed length of the truck in the photo. It LOOKS longer than 14 feet to me but photos can be deceiving. Most tandem trucks in my area are 16 1/2 foot minimum and up to 20 feet long.

 

[Big Barn]

Some places use scales on the loader, some use scales on the truck, some use average weighting. 1 cu.yd. Of clay is about 1700 pounds, one cu. yd. of sand/clay is about 2500 pounds. One cu.yd. Of mulch is about 1000 pounds. A tri-axle dump averages out to 22 cu. yds. But is limited by weight more than volume. 22 yards of mulch wouldn’t be a weight issue but 15 yards of sand is.
L

 

[Big Barn]

Nothing wrong with that!

 

[mred2]

I have two friends that haul dirt and gravel for me. One has large truck with a trailer. He says he hauls 20 yards on his truck. He can not turn it around at my house, but can the barn. The other has tri-axle trucks, his says that he hauls 20 yards on his truck. It seems that both trucks hauls are based on the max weight allowed on the highway. So no matter who I buy from, both should be about the same yards. The big trailer is so much bigger and looks like it is not loaded, but it is as much as he is allowed to haul. I have been given copies of the weight tickets when they haul rock and both are close to the same weight. And they are charged by the ton to buy it. Dirt is different. Around here when you ask for top soil, you get mostly sand and horse manure.

 

[Rmart30]

Dirt down here is sold by whatever fits in the truck. They fill the truck till it looks full, and not too full to attract attention from the DOT.
Ive loaded, moved and spread a lot of dumptruck loads and they always looks small when the truck dumps em. Usually if "I think" 3 loads should do it, I end up with 5 or 6.

 

[LD1]

Ever seen them water it down either.

Would take ALOT of water to even make much difference in the cost

 

[ovrszd]

But, there is a shrinkage factor, too. Whenever I plant something, I dig a hole, place the plant in the hole, scoop the dirt back in around it, then have to go get some more dirt to fill in the rest of the hole.



Bruce

Shrinkage, you know about shrinkage???? (Sienfeld)