# How much sand can I carry in a truck?



## cnet24

I have a Silverado and live within 3 miles of where I will be buying sand for leveling. To avoid the minimum order qty plus delivery charge, I'd like to go get the sand myself. For those that have done this- how much sand can I (safely) load into my truck?


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## ctrav

Seems to me about a yard or maybe 1.5 yards...


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## Spammage

cnet24 said:


> I have a Silverado and live within 3 miles of where I will be buying sand for leveling. To avoid the minimum order qty plus delivery charge, I'd like to go get the sand myself. For those that have done this- how much sand can I (safely) load into my truck?


1/2 ton? 3/4 ton? Bigger? Timbrens or airbags?


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## adgattoni

Do you drive a dump truck? If not, the amount you can carry is precisely:

not enough.


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## erdons

1/2 - 3/4 of a yard. That's around 2000 lbs.


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## MidloMillers2012

I carried 2 yards of sand in my Titan about 20 miles last spring. It was squatting pretty good and I had to brake and turn more carefully but it worked out. 1 1/2 yards would have been a less stressful drive for sure. 3 miles I would definitely do 2 yards again, my drive, I will reduce it a bit next time.


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## Rig2

Most places only let you get a yard at a time with a long bed truck. A yard of sand weight depends on how wet it is. It can be from 1500 to 2500lbs.


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## Cory

My Titan can do a yard no problem. I did a yard at a time for the first 6 yards last year but 1.5 yards the last 2 loads, it handled it fine but it's hard on the suspension and the breaks. This picture is a yard in it


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## SCGrassMan

Pay the $50


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## Cory

SCGrassMan said:


> Pay the $50


My place is 5 miles up the road, delivery is $100, that's almost 3 extra yards of sand. Shoveling it out of the bed of the truck is a lot easier than shoveling it off the ground. Plus I also drove the truck on the lawn to where it needed to be dumped. I ordered 20yards this year and paid for delivery but I know I'm gonna regret shoveling it off the ground into the cart then towing and dumping the cart.


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## lucas287

While I'm not a proponent of overworking a half ton truck (assuming that's what you have) if you install some timbrens, an add-a-leaf kit, or some air bags, then overloading for a distance of 3 miles is okay.


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## Jgolf67

The average 1500 series truck across almost all models has a payload capacity of 1300 to 1600 pounds (which includes people and tools) so it will be very easy to bottom out your suspension with a little bit of sand.


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## SC-Bermuda

I've put 1 yard in my 1/2 ton silverado with no issue.


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## ZachUA

According to the googles, a silverado (not sure your year) has about 1900lbs of payload capacity (I believe this includes passenger weight), so subtract your body weight and any other passengers weight, and that's about how much weight you can put in the bed. Rig2 above said a yard of sand weighs 1500-2500lbs depending on how wet it is.


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## Crabbychas

I've hauled about 2/3 of a yard in my Colorado without issues. The sand was very dry though.


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## dfw_pilot

Not necessarily a criticism, but for those who've said they've done it with "no problems," I can't help but wonder if there are longer term effects that have surfaced yet.


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## Brackin4au

My dad just got a yard of sand in his 2018 gmc 1500 yesterday. He said it did fine, but he wouldn't want to put any more than that, because he could definitely feel it putting a little more strain on the truck.


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## falconsfan

If you do it, air tires up to the max pressure on the sidewall. Don't forget to air down when you're done. You should have a sticker in your drivers side door frame with capacities specific to your truck.


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## MidloMillers2012

For the record, that Titan was a work truck with upgraded suspension and I have since replaced it so I can't comment on long term issues (suspension, etc).


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## Cory

dfw_pilot said:


> Not necessarily a criticism, but for those who've said they've done it with "no problems," I can't help but wonder if there are longer term effects that have surfaced yet.


I remodeled houses for 15 years, 8 of which was out of a Dodge Ram 1500. It was often over loaded in the bed to the point the overload blocks were slammed on the axle or the trailers I towed with it was well over the tow limit. I went through brakes every 15kish miles but other than that it still runs like a champ with 220k miles on it, my mom owns it now. I'm not saying someone should overload their own truck but a yard of sand isn't gonna cause catastrophic damage to a 1/2 ton truck. More than a yard of sand or gravel is more a safety issue than harmful for the truck.


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## Cory

You could think of it like this. All 1/2 ton trucks can tow at least double their payload and some can tow over 4 times their payload. I'm not sure about the truck in question but my Titan has a payload of 2,100 pounds but can tow 9,300 lbs. it's not that the drivetrain that can't handle the weight it's the suspension and brakes. The truck starts to squat the more weight you put in the bed which in turn raises the front making the front end really light and front tire traction become less and less. The issue is that the front brakes have less stopping power and steering becomes sketchy with a severely overloaded bed.

That said, if you want to be extra cautious then have them dump 1/2 yard in and check the suspension. If it looks good then add the other half. But it should be able to haul a full yard, if not I would trade it in for a Titan :lol: :thumbup:


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## pintail45

How much sand do you need? If more than a yard or two, I'd seriously consider borrowing or renting a trailer (think Home Depot).


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## jdpber

I had an entire dump truck delivered earlier this year and it was $70 delivery for the 20 yards. I spread 14 in the front yard. a few yards out back and still have 3-4 yards left for during season leveling.

I thought about using the 8x14x2 tandem ax 6k trailer to save on delivery. Then i thought about all of the added shoveling. $70 to not have to do added shoveling is money well spent if you need a lot of sand.

I will need the same amount next year.


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## hsvtoolfool

The payload limit rating for your specific truck should be available in your owner documents or on-line. For example, my 2012 F-150 with 5.0L V8, 8-ft bed, and regular towing package has a maximum payload of 2,000 lbs. I also have the option of using a trailer, with a maximum GVWR of 7,000 lbs. So with a trailer, I could safely and legally haul about 2 yards per trip if I really wanted. The optional "max tow" package for my truck raised the payload limit to 3,000 lbs and the GVWR to 10,000 lbs. Your truck and options will vary.

There's some safety margin factored into these limits, so you can probably "get away" with a little more weight on a short drive. *Frankly, it's not worth the risk.* If the drive is short, then carry loads well below your limit and make several trips. It's not the leaf springs, ride height, engine, or transmission you must worry about. It's your brakes and how you'll stop when some yahoo dives in front of you and slams his brakes.


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## kds

I did about 2-3 yards of sand and compost in my F-150 on Monday. I'm known to overload my truck a lot. I know I probably shouldn't. You could do it but there's probably some long-term effects or safety issues that go along with it.



hsvtoolfool said:


> It's not the leaf springs, ride height, engine, or transmission you must worry about. It's your brakes and how you'll stop when some yahoo dives in front of you and slams his brakes.


Boy howdy. A couple of weeks ago I took a load of river rock to the landfill (to be recycled and used as road base). It's out in the boonies. I was on a state highway going about 65 when some idiot didn't secure his load and an ottoman flew out of his pickup and onto my lane of traffic on the highway. I had a very shifty load and it was like time just stood still when I was making the decision on how to avoid it. I knew if I slammed on my brakes, my load would shift not only making the brakes not very effective but could destroy them or I could get rear-ended. If I swerved to the left or to the right I could either lose control and roll the truck, or drop off the shoulder, or hit a car next to me. It was probably one of the scariest driving experiences I've had, so I agree it's braking you need to worry about, not necessarily the engineering of the vehicle.


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## Brackin4au

Cory said:


> it's not that the drivetrain that can't handle the weight it's the suspension and breaks. The truck starts to squat the more weight you put in the bed which in turn raises the front making the front end really light and front tire traction become less and less. The issue is that the front brakes have less stopping power and steering becomes sketchy with a severely overloaded bed.


That's what my dad was saying also, he could tell the front end wasn't as sturdy while driving the 3-4 miles home. He only had a yard, so it wasn't bad... but more than that and it gets sketchy for sure...


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## lucas287

Here's your solution:

https://activesuspension.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUmGX0mxUJU

Easiest install ever! No breaking apart leaf spring packs and u-bolts,...


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## pintail45

lucas287 said:


> Here's your solution:
> 
> https://activesuspension.com/
> 
> 
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> Easiest install ever! No breaking apart leaf spring packs and u-bolts,...


The only solution to being over GVWR is lightening your load. That being said, Timbrens or Sumosprings would be easier and hold more weight.


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## Reddog90

This is .5 yard wet masonry sand in a F150 (1/2 ton). The dirt place would only put .5 yards in a 1/2 ton truck, and I'm glad.










Truck normally has noticeable rake and this is noticeable cali lean in a sloped driveway. It drove like hell and steering was sketchy.


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## Cory

Reddog90 said:


> This is .5 yard wet masonry sand in a F150 (1/2 ton). The dirt place would only put .5 yards in a 1/2 ton truck, and I'm glad.
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> Truck normally has noticeable rake and this is noticeable cali lean in a sloped driveway. It drove like hell and steering was sketchy.


Either your bed is shallow or you got a full yard. If not then I'm getting ripped off because there's no way you could see 1/2 yard of sand sticking out the top of the bed when I get loaded. This picture is a yard of what I got (with some already scooped out)


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## Reddog90

As much of a jerk the loader driver was to me, there's no way he gave me extra. He wouldn't even let me shovel up some that he spilled over my tailgate. Idk about my bed being shallow, but it's only 5.5' long.


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## Hexadecimal 00FF00

@Reddog90 @Cory

For comparison, here is 1 yard of mulch. My bed is 20" deep (6.5' long, 5.25' wide). Filled level is a little over 2 yards. I have carried 2.5 yards... it starts to spill at that point.


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## Cory

@Hexadecimal 00FF00 yeah that looks right. I can get 2 yards of mulch in the back of mine leveled off too


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## metro424

2 scoops from a bobcat bucket ~1yard. I honestly wouldn't push my truck much harder than that especially for a total 6mile round trip travel.


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## kds

I asked for 2 cu yds but the bucket operator really loaded me up and it was probably closer to 2.5 cu yds. This is a sand/compost mix.


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## hsvtoolfool

Ah. I misunderstood the original question. Compost and mulch don't weigh much.

You just want to know how much to buy, right? It's easy to measure your bed and then calculate how many cubic yards it can hold. Multiply the dimensions in inches (W x L x H) then divide by 46,656 to get cubic yards. (12 inches per foot x 3 feet per yard) ^ 3 = 46,646 cubic inches per cubic yard. For example, here are some cubic yard volumes for common F-150 bed sizes...

8-foot bed: 50"W x 96"L x 22"H = 105,600 cubic inches = 2.3 cubic yards (5,750 lbs sand)
6-foot bed: 50"W x 72"L x 22"H = 79,200 cubic inches = 1.7 cubic yards (4,250 lbs sand)
5-foot bed: 50"W x 60"L x 22"H = 66,000 cubic inches = 1.4 cubic yards (3,500 lbs sand)
4-foot bed: 50"W x 48"L x 22"H = 52,800 cubic inches = 1 cubic yard (2,500 lbs sand)

Obviously, if I actually filled my entire 8-foot bed with sand, the payload would easily exceed the total weight of my F-150. It's just insanely dangerous to carry that much weight in a truck rated for a 2,000 lb payload. Ignore the braking dangers at 40 MPH and above, think about how high the center of gravity becomes with the entire weight of the truck being about 12" above the axles. It would be extremely easy to tip over going around corners or on a slope.

And then there's the matter of weight distrubution. With an 8-foot longbed, most of the load is pretty much centered between the front and rear axles. At the other extreme, putting 1 yard of wet sand in a 4-foot bed means about half the truck's weight is now located at the rear 1/3 of the vehicle. The truck literally see-saws over the rear axle. That makes the front end light and your steering gets....um...interesting.


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## dfw_pilot

@cnet24, you still here, right??


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## Tellycoleman

jdpber said:


> I had an entire dump truck delivered earlier this year and it was $70 delivery for the 20 yards. I spread 14 in the front yard. a few yards out back and still have 3-4 yards left for during season leveling.
> 
> I thought about using the 8x14x2 tandem ax 6k trailer to save on delivery. Then i thought about all of the added shoveling. $70 to not have to do added shoveling is money well spent if you need a lot of sand.
> 
> I will need the same amount next year.


How big is your front yard


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## kds

dfw_pilot said:


> @cnet24, you still here, right??


 :lol:


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## cnet24

@dfw_pilot always. Just reading responses. I wasn't able to go today so still deciding what I'm gonna do.


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## WDE46

falconsfan said:


> If you do it, air tires up to the max pressure on the sidewall. Don't forget to air down when you're done. You should have a sticker in your drivers side door frame with capacities specific to your truck.


No look at the door for the max GVWR tire pressures. Don't inflate to max sidewall.


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## drewwitt

I do 2/3 yard of sand at a time. I have a tundra.


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## jdpber

Tellycoleman said:


> How big is your front yard


My front is just shy of 11k sqft


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