Well now, if you’re wonderin’ just how many cubic yards fit into a pickup truck, I reckon I can help ya with that. I ain’t no engineer, but I know a thing or two about truck beds and what they can hold, from years of shufflin’ around in the back of a few pickups myself. So, let me break it down for ya in simple terms.

Now, a full-size pickup truck, the kind you might see on the road with a big ol’ bed in the back, can hold somewhere between two and three cubic yards of stuff, dependin’ on the size and how deep you load it. That means, if you got yourself one of them big trucks with an 8-foot bed, you’ll likely fit around 2.5 cubic yards of material in there, when it’s loaded all the way to the top, level and neat. But, if you’re stackin’ stuff higher, you might squeeze in a bit more, though you’ll be riskin’ it spillin’ out all over the place.
So, let’s talk numbers:
- If the bed is about 8 feet long, 5.33 feet wide, and 1.5 feet high, you’re lookin’ at around 2.5 cubic yards of stuff, when it’s packed in nice and even.
- If the truck bed’s a little shorter, say 6 feet long, like those short beds, it’s gonna hold a bit less. You’re lookin’ at maybe around 1.5 to 2 cubic yards there.
Now, if you’re loadin’ something like mulch, you need to keep in mind that mulch takes up more space than say, sand or gravel. For example, one cubic yard of mulch might look like a big ol’ pile, but when it’s spread out, it’ll cover a lot of ground. Usually, you can fit about one-third of a yard of mulch in the back of your truck, maybe a little more if it’s packed down real good.
So, what are we lookin’ at for different materials?
- For dirt or gravel, a full-size pickup might hold up to 2.5 cubic yards, but that’ll depend on how deep you load it and if it’s all packed down tight or just piled up high.
- If you’re haulin’ leaves or mulch, which are light and fluffy, you might only get about 1.5 to 2 cubic yards in there.
- Concrete or heavy stones? You’re probably lookin’ at closer to 1.5 cubic yards, because that stuff’s heavy and it doesn’t pack down as easily as lighter materials.
What does this all mean?
Well, when you’re tryin’ to figure out how many cubic yards your truck can carry, just remember that a full-size standard pickup can hold anywhere between 2 to 3 cubic yards of material, dependin’ on what you’re loadin’ and how deep you fill it. If you’ve got a short bed, you’ll be lookin’ at less—around 1.5 to 2 cubic yards. So, it’s always a good idea to know what you’re haulin’, and maybe even measure the bed before you load it up to make sure you’re not overloadin’ your truck.
And don’t forget, when in doubt, you can always take it slow and make a couple trips if ya need to. It’s better than havin’ a mess of stuff spillin’ out the back on the road! So, hope this helps ya out and makes your truck loadin’ a little easier next time.
Tags:[pickup truck cubic yards, full-size pickup, truck bed capacity, how much dirt in truck, mulch in pickup truck]