Dump truck hourly rate calculator, with per-ton and per-load rates
Enter your truck's monthly costs, the hours you bill, fuel burn, maintenance, driver pay and the margin you want. You get the hourly rate to charge, and, with the tons per load and cycle time, the per-ton and per-load rates that match it.
Built and checked by Mike Shelton · Updated · Free, no sign-up
Hourly rate
$96.73
cost $82.22/h
Per ton
$6.05
$120.92 per load
- Fixed cost per hour
- $22.22
- Running cost per hour
- $60.00
- Loads per hour
- 0.8
- Tons per hour
- 16
Your truck needs about $96.73 an hour or $6.05 a ton on this cycle. We look for dump work that clears your rate. Our dispatchers book freight your rig is built for at 5% of gross, and you approve every load.
Find dump work at my rateHow the dump truck rate is calculated
- Fixed cost per hour = fixed monthly costs ÷ billable hours.
- Running cost per hour = fuel (gallons per hour × price) + maintenance and tires + driver pay.
- Hourly rate = (fixed + running cost per hour) ÷ (1 − margin).
- Loads per hour = 60 ÷ cycle time in minutes; tons per hour = loads per hour × tons per load.
- Per-ton rate = hourly rate ÷ tons per hour; per-load rate = hourly rate ÷ loads per hour.
Worked example EXAMPLE
A tri-axle dump truck has $4,000 a month in fixed costs and bills 180 hours: about $22.22 an hour. It burns 5 gallons an hour at $4.00, with $10 an hour for maintenance and tires and $30 for the driver: $60 an hour to run. Total cost is about $82.22 an hour; with a 15% margin, the rate is about $96.73 an hour.
On a haul with a 75-minute cycle and 20 tons a load, the truck makes 0.8 loads an hour, 16 tons. To earn the same as the hourly rate, it needs about $6.05 a ton, or about $120.92 a load. Cut the cycle to 45 minutes and the per-ton rate that earns the same falls to about $3.63, which is why short hauls price lower per ton.
Hourly vs per-ton: which to quote
Hourly pricing protects you on jobs you can't predict: long waits at the loader, slow site access, short hauls with lots of dumping. Per-ton or per-load pricing pays for speed: a well-run truck on a steady haul earns more by finishing more loads. Many owners quote hourly for site work and per-ton for long, steady material hauls. Whatever you quote, check it against your hourly cost with the cycle time you actually expect, not the best-case one.
Payload and weight limits
Tons per load is set by your truck's legal payload, not how much the box holds. On the Interstate, gross weight is capped at 80,000 lb and axle groups are limited by the bridge formula 23 CFR 658.17(b)Checked October 2026, and short dump trucks often hit the formula first. Check your axle spacing with the bridge formula calculator and the material weight with the aggregate weight calculator.
Costs dump truck owners forget
- Unbilled hours: driving between jobs, washouts, waiting for the first load in the morning.
- Winter: fewer billable months spread fixed costs over fewer hours.
- Tires and wear: job sites are hard on tires, brakes and suspensions.
- Licensing and compliance: most dump trucks are rated over 26,000 lb, making them Class B CDL vehicles 49 CFR 383.5Checked October 2026, with drug and alcohol testing and its costs.
Minimums and travel time
Many dump truck owners set a minimum charge, often a few hours, so a short job far from the yard still pays for the trip there and back. Others bill travel time to and from the job, or portal-to-portal. Write your minimum and travel terms on every quote. A one-hour job that takes three hours of your day is a loss at an hourly rate with no minimum.
Owner-operator vs fleet rates
An owner-operator who drives the truck can set driver pay to what they want to earn and adjust it with the market. A fleet owner pays drivers a set wage, plus payroll taxes and benefits, and should enter the full cost per hour. Fleets also carry office and yard costs; add a share of them to fixed costs per truck, or the rate will look affordable while the business loses money.
Local work and driver hours
Most dump work is local, and drivers who stay within 150 air-miles of their reporting location and return within 14 hours can use time records instead of logs. 49 CFR 395.1(e)(1)Checked October 2026 That keeps paperwork simple, but long days still cost money: count every paid hour in your driver pay, including overtime if it applies.
What the result means
The hourly rate is the least you should charge to cover costs and earn your margin at the billable hours you entered. If the market pays less, look at the inputs you can change: more billable hours, lower fixed costs, shorter cycles or a different kind of work. The per-ton and per-load figures are the same rate expressed differently for the cycle you entered; change the cycle and they change. See bulk hauling for the wider picture.
When you dispatch with us, we look for dump and material hauling that clears your rate and call you before booking. See dump truck dispatch or send an application.
Questions about this calculator
01How do I figure out my dump truck hourly rate?
Add your fixed monthly costs, such as the truck payment, insurance and permits, and divide by the hours you actually bill in a month. Add the running costs per hour: fuel, maintenance, tires and the driver's pay. That is your cost per hour. Add your profit margin, and you have the hourly rate to charge.
02Should I charge by the hour or by the ton?
Hourly suits jobs with unpredictable waits, short hauls or site work, because you are paid for your time. Per-ton or per-load suits steady hauls with predictable cycles, and rewards a quick truck. The calculator converts your hourly rate into a per-ton and per-load rate for a given cycle, so you can quote either way.
03What is cycle time for a dump truck?
The time for one full round: waiting and loading at the pit, hauling to the site, dumping, and returning. Divide 60 by the cycle in minutes to get loads per hour. Long lines at the scale or slow loaders stretch cycles and cut loads per hour, which is why per-ton rates on long cycles need to be higher.
04How many billable hours should I count per month?
Count the hours you are actually paid for, not the hours the truck is running. Weather days, breakdowns, travel between jobs and slow seasons all cut billable hours. Using too many hours spreads your fixed costs too thin and makes your rate look cheaper than it can afford to be. Use last year's real numbers if you have them.