This handy calculator will not only tell you how many tons or cubic yards will get moved off of the job site each hour, but also how many trucks you’ll need in order to maximize the efficiency of the excavator, loader, or however else trucks might be loaded on your project. By the time the last truck is loaded, the first truck should be pulling up to be loaded again.

For example, if you can load each truck in 5 minutes, each truck can hold 25 tons, and each truck can drive to the destination and back in 45 minutes, you’ll be loading 300 tons per hour and you’ll need 9 trucks to keep your excavator running nonstop.