Road Base Calculator
Work out how much road base or gravel you need for a driveway, road, parking pad or walkway. Enter the area and up to three layers, and get cubic yards, tons, truckloads, fabric and cost — with a depth check for your project, a live cross-section, comparison tables and a downloadable PDF.
| Layer | Depth | Cubic yards | Tons | Price / ton | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enter the area and layers | |||||
| Depth | Cubic yards | Tons | Loads | Total cost | Project fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enter the area and layers to compare | |||||
| Material | Tons / yd³ | Tons | Price / ton | Total cost | Per sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enter the area and layers to compare | |||||
How to use the road base calculator
Four quick steps turn your area and layers into cubic yards, tons, truckloads, fabric and cost — with a depth check for your project, a live cross-section, by-depth and by-material tables, a chart and a downloadable report.
Enter the area
Pick rectangle, circle or a known area, then give the size and the project type.
Add your layers
Set up to three layers bottom-up, each with its material, finished depth and price per ton.
Set compaction & delivery
Choose the compaction allowance, the truck size and the delivery fee per load.
Read results & save a PDF
Get cubic yards, tons, truckloads, fabric and total cost, then download a report.
How road base quantities are calculated
It’s a volume problem: area times depth gives cubic yards, a compaction allowance adds the extra loose material, and the density turns yards into the tons your supplier sells by. Here is the exact math the calculator runs.
Worked example — 60 × 12 ft driveway (720 sq ft), 6″ road base, 20% compaction, tandem truck
Compacted volume: 720 × 0.5 ÷ 27 = 13.3 yd³ · Loose: 13.3 × 1.20 = 16 yd³
Tons: 16 × 1.45 = 23.2 tons · Loads: 23.2 ÷ 14 → 2 tandem loads · Lifts: 2 × 3"
Material: 23.2 × $35 ≈ $812 + delivery $200 = ~$1,012
≈ 16 cubic yards (23 tons) of road base — two tandem loads, spread in two lifts, for about $1,012 or $1.41 per sq ft.
Road base reference charts
Handy lookups for how depth and material change the cubic yards, tons, truckloads and cost.
| Depth | Cubic yards | Tons | Loads | Total cost | Project fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2″ | 5.3 | 7.7 | 1 | ~$371 | Thin top-up |
| 3″ | 8.0 | 11.6 | 1 | ~$506 | Light use |
| 4″ | 10.7 | 15.5 | 2 | ~$741 | Walkway / patio |
| 6″ | 16.0 | 23.2 | 2 | ~$1,012 | Driveway min |
| 8″ | 21.3 | 30.9 | 3 | ~$1,383 | Driveway, good |
| 10″ | 26.7 | 38.7 | 3 | ~$1,653 | Heavy trucks |
| 12″ | 32.0 | 46.4 | 4 | ~$2,024 | Heavy, good |
Tons and yards scale straight with depth. On firm soil, 6–8 in suits a car driveway; go to 10–12 in for heavy trucks, RVs or soft ground.
| Material | Tons / yd³ | Tons | Price / ton | Total cost | Per sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Road base (ABC / CA6 / Class 5) | 1.45 | 23.2 | $35 | ~$1,012 | ~$1.41 |
| Crusher run | 1.40 | 22.4 | $30 | ~$872 | ~$1.21 |
| #57 crushed stone | 1.35 | 21.6 | $40 | ~$1,064 | ~$1.48 |
| #3 clean stone | 1.30 | 20.8 | $38 | ~$990 | ~$1.38 |
| Recycled concrete (RCA) | 1.25 | 20.0 | $25 | ~$700 | ~$0.97 |
| Asphalt millings | 1.20 | 19.2 | $22 | ~$622 | ~$0.86 |
| Decomposed granite | 1.35 | 21.6 | $45 | ~$1,172 | ~$1.63 |
Recycled concrete and asphalt millings are the budget picks; road base and crusher run are the standard driveway materials. Prices are placeholders — enter your local price per ton.
| Project | Firm soil depth | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Walkway / patio base | 4″ | Foot traffic only |
| Car driveway | 6–8″ | Add a sub-base on soft soil |
| Heavy trucks / RVs | 10–12″+ | Often needs fabric too |
These are rules of thumb on firm, well-drained soil. Soft, wet or clay ground needs more depth, a larger sub-base stone or geotextile fabric.
What the road base calculator gives you
Your area and layers give you a full ordering list, not just a volume.
Road base at a glance
Who uses a road base calculator
From a gravel driveway to a shed pad or a farm road, the same calculator sizes the gravel and the loads.
Laying or topping up a gravel driveway and wants the tons to order and how many truckloads that is.
- Enter length & width
- Set 6–8″ depth
- Read tons & loads
Building a shed, barn or parking pad and needs a sub-base plus base layer with fabric on soft ground.
- Add a sub-base layer
- Turn on fabric
- Check the depth
Quoting gravel work and wants yards, tons, delivery and cost per sq ft for the bid.
- Enter price per ton
- Pick the truck size
- Export the PDF
Tips for ordering and laying road base
A base that lasts comes from the right depth, ordering for compaction and building up in lifts.
Road base calculator FAQ
Quick answers about how much to order, yards to tons, depth, compaction, trucks and fabric.
Multiply the area by the finished depth in feet, divide by 27 for cubic yards, add a compaction allowance, then multiply by the material density for tons.
A 60 × 12 ft driveway (720 sq ft) at 6 in deep needs about 16 cubic yards or 23 tons of road base with a 20% compaction allowance.
Multiply cubic yards by the material’s density in tons per cubic yard. Road base is about 1.45 tons per loose cubic yard, crusher run about 1.4, and clean stone about 1.3.
So 16 cubic yards of road base is roughly 16 × 1.45 = 23 tons.
On firm soil, 4 in suits a walkway or patio, 6 to 8 in a car driveway, and 10 to 12 in or more for heavy trucks, RVs and equipment.
Add depth, fabric or larger sub-base stone on soft, wet or clay soils.
Loose gravel shrinks when it’s compacted, so you order extra to reach the finished depth. Road base and crusher run need about 15 to 25% extra; clean stone needs less.
A 6 in compacted layer at 20% means ordering enough loose material for about 7.2 in.
Typical legal payloads are about 6 tons for a single-axle dump truck, 14 tons for a tandem, 18 for a tri-axle and 22 for a semi end-dump. A 23-ton driveway order is two tandem loads.
Ask your supplier what trucks they run.
Road base (also called ABC, CA6 or Class 5) is the standard driveway base because its mix of crushed stone and fines compacts into a hard, stable surface. Crusher run is similar and often cheaper.
Recycled concrete and asphalt millings are budget options; clean #57 or #3 stone is used for drainage layers but doesn’t lock up as firmly.
On firm, well-drained soil, no. On clay, wet or soft ground, a woven geotextile fabric between the soil and the gravel keeps the stone from sinking in and mud from pumping up, so the base lasts much longer.
Allow about 10% extra fabric for overlaps.
Yes. Spread and compact the base in lifts of about 4 in at a time rather than all at once, or the bottom never compacts properly. A 6 in base is two lifts; a 12 in base is three.
Each lift is rolled or plate-compacted before the next goes on.
Planning estimate only — confirm with your supplier. Works in US units. Depth is the finished, compacted depth, and the compaction allowance adds the extra loose material needed to reach it: cubic yards = area × depth ÷ 27 × (1 + compaction), and tons = cubic yards × density. Densities are typical values (tons per loose cubic yard) and vary by quarry, moisture and gradation — ask your supplier for theirs. Prices are placeholders; enter your local price per ton and delivery fee. Soft, wet or clay soils may need more depth, fabric or an engineer’s advice.