Can My Truck Carry?

Sand Calculator

Sand is one of the deceptively heavy materials to haul — it looks like it should be light, and then a cubic yard shows up weighing well over a ton. The calculator above converts your length, width, and depth into cubic yards, tons, and truckloads, but the number that matters most for hauling safely is the weight, and that number swings hard depending on whether the sand is dry or wet.

This guide covers how deep to order sand for common jobs, which type of sand actually belongs in each job, the math behind the calculator, and why moisture is the single biggest variable in whether your truck can carry the load.

Common depth:
You need
0.74 cubic yards (1.00 tons)
Area covered
120 sq ft
Volume
20 cu ft (0.74 cu yd)
Total weight
2,000 lbs

That's 2 trips in a Ford F-150 (1,525 lb payload, ~1,000 lbs per trip).

This load exceeds what the F-150 can carry safely in one trip. Split it into 2 trips, or have it delivered.

Order about 10% extra to allow for compaction, settling, and spillage. See Sand, dry (washed) weight details or run a full payload check.

How deep should the sand be?

Depth depends entirely on the job. These are the depths that go into the calculator for the most common sand projects:

  • Paver bedding: about 1 inch of screeded concrete sand under the pavers, before jointing sand goes in the gaps
  • Sandbox fill: fill to the depth of the box, typically 6 to 12 inches, using washed play sand
  • Leveling under an above-ground pool: 1 to 2 inches, screeded flat and compacted
  • Trench backfill and grading: depth varies by project — measure the actual void or the fill needed to reach grade, using fill sand

Pick the right sand for the job

Not all sand is interchangeable, and using the wrong type is a common way projects go wrong. Sand is graded by particle size and how it's processed, and each type is suited to a specific job:

Concrete sand (ASTM C33) is coarse, angular, and compacts into a stable, interlocking base — that's exactly what you want under pavers, in concrete mixes, and anywhere sand needs to bear weight without shifting. It runs roughly 2,700 lb per cubic yard.

Mason sand is fine and screened smooth, meant for mortar joints and the fine jointing sand swept between pavers — not for structural bedding. It's lighter than concrete sand at roughly 2,410 lb per cubic yard.

Play sand is fine, washed, and rounded specifically so it doesn't cut skin, which is why it's the right (and often required) choice for sandboxes. It runs around 2,600 lb per cubic yard.

Fill sand is a general-purpose, less-refined sand used for backfilling trenches and bringing low areas up to grade, where drainage and bulk matter more than precise grading. It's close to mason sand at roughly 2,410 lb per cubic yard.

The mistake to avoid: using a fine sand like mason or play sand where coarse concrete sand belongs, such as under pavers. Fine sand doesn't lock together the same way — it shifts and washes out under load, and the paver surface ruts and settles unevenly within a season or two.

The formula (and a worked example)

The calculator runs this math: cubic yards = (length in feet x width in feet x depth in feet) / 27, where depth in feet = depth in inches / 12. From there, tons = (cubic yards x pounds per cubic yard) / 2,000.

Paver patio example: a 12x16 ft patio bedded 1 inch deep (0.0833 ft) is 12 x 16 x 0.0833 = 16 cubic feet, divided by 27 = about 0.6 cubic yards of concrete sand. At 2,700 lb per cubic yard dry, that's roughly 1,620 lb — well within a half-ton truck's payload on its own.

Sandbox example: a 6x6 ft sandbox filled 9 inches deep (0.75 ft) is 6 x 6 x 0.75 = 27 cubic feet, or exactly 1 cubic yard of play sand — about 2,600 lb dry.

Why moisture changes everything

This is the part that catches people off guard. Dry sand runs about 2,700 lb per cubic yard. Wet sand runs about 3,375 lb per cubic yard on average, with a realistic range of 3,240 to 3,510 lb — roughly 20-25% heavier than dry, purely from the water sitting between the grains.

That difference isn't academic. A single cubic yard of wet sand can weigh more than 3,300 lb, which by itself can exceed the entire payload capacity of a half-ton pickup once you factor in the truck's own curb weight allowance, passengers, and other cargo. Order the same volume you'd order dry, and a load that should have fit in one trip suddenly doesn't.

The catch is that you often can't tell how wet the sand is just by looking at the pile from a distance, and many suppliers stack sand in open, uncovered yards. Rain, morning dew, and even humidity soak into the pile, so what gets loaded onto your truck is frequently wetter than the dry-weight figure the yard quotes. Ask the supplier directly whether the sand has been rained on recently, and if you're picking up after a wet stretch of weather, load conservatively — plan for the wet-sand weight, not the dry one. For more on what happens when you guess wrong, see our guide on overloading risks.

Ordering and hauling tips

A few practical steps make the difference between a smooth haul and a problem:

  • Order about 10% more than your calculated volume to cover compaction, an uneven base, and minor measurement error
  • Tarp the load before driving — dry sand blows out of an open bed at highway speed, showering the vehicles behind you
  • Spread the load evenly across the bed, over the rear axle, rather than letting the supplier dump it in a single mound at the tailgate — a mounded load shifts axle weight backward and can affect handling and braking

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a cubic yard of sand weigh?
Dry sand runs about 2,700 lb per cubic yard. Wet sand is significantly heavier — around 3,375 lb per cubic yard on average, with a range of 3,240 to 3,510 lb, since water adds roughly 20-25% to the weight.
What type of sand should I use under pavers?
Concrete sand (ASTM C33), a coarse, angular sand that compacts into a stable bedding layer, at about 1 inch deep. Fine sands like mason or play sand don't lock together the same way and can lead to rutting under paver loads.
Can a half-ton truck haul a cubic yard of sand?
It depends on moisture. A cubic yard of dry sand at roughly 2,700 lb is close to or within many half-ton payload ratings once other cargo is factored in, but a cubic yard of wet sand at 3,300+ lb can exceed it outright. When in doubt, especially after rain, split the load.
How deep should sand be for a sandbox?
Fill to the depth of the box, typically 6 to 12 inches, using washed play sand. A 6x6 ft box at 9 inches deep needs almost exactly 1 cubic yard.
What's the difference between mason sand and play sand?
Both are fine sands with similar weight (roughly 2,410 lb vs. 2,600 lb per cubic yard), but they're processed differently. Play sand is washed and rounded specifically to be safe for skin contact in sandboxes; mason sand is screened fine for mortar joints and isn't graded for that purpose.

Material Weights Used Here

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