Dump Truck Cost Per Hour Calculator

Find your break-even: what every billable hour costs to run your dump truck, including your own pay.

Truck type

Starting numbers are examples. Enter your own.

In dollars per month.

Loan or lease payment. Enter 0 if the truck is paid off.

In dollars per month.
In hours per month.

Hours you get paid for in a working month.

In months per year.

Fixed costs keep running in months the truck doesn't work.

In dollars per gallon.

Example diesel price: $5.35/gal (August 2026). Enter today's price. This price is more than 3 weeks old.

In dollars per hour.

Your own pay if you drive.

More options
In dollars per year.

Registration, IRP, HVUT (Form 2290) and permits: yearly total.

In dollars per month.

Phone, ELD, accounting, parking, software.

In gallons per hour.

Typical for this truck, varies. Enter your own.

In dollars per hour.

Typical for this truck, varies. Enter your own.

In dollars per hour.

Typical for this truck, varies. Enter your own.

In percent.

Payroll taxes and workers' comp, as a % of driver pay.

Your cost per billable hour

$99.75/hr

  • Fixed costs$27.50/hr
  • Running costs (fuel, maintenance, tires, driver)$72.25/hr
  • Yearly cost$191,520
  • Billable hours a year1,920 billable hours

Where each hour goes

CostPer hourShare
Fixed costs$27.50/hr27.6%
Fuel$26.75/hr26.8%
Maintenance$8.00/hr8%
Tires$3.00/hr3%
Driver pay + burden$34.50/hr34.6%

This is your break-even. Charge less and every hour loses money. Work out your hourly rate with these numbers

How this is calculated

  1. Yearly fixed costs = (truck payment + insurance + other fixed costs) × 12 + permits and registration.
  2. Billable hours a year = billable hours per month × months worked.
  3. Fixed cost per hour = yearly fixed costs ÷ billable hours a year.
  4. Fuel per hour = gallons per hour × diesel price.
  5. Driver cost per hour = driver pay × (1 + payroll burden %).
  6. Cost per hour = fixed cost per hour + fuel + maintenance + tires + driver cost.

Worked example (tri-axle): $3,000 payment, $900 insurance and $300 other costs a month, plus $2,400 a year in permits, is $52,800 a year. Over 160 hours a month for 12 months (1,920 hours) that's $27.50 an hour. Fuel at 5 gal/hr × $5.35 is $26.75, maintenance $8, tires $3, and a $30 driver wage with 15% burden is $34.50. Total: $99.75 per hour, or $191,520 a year.

Work only 9 months and the same costs come to $108.92 per hour.

Questions

What goes into dump truck cost per hour?

Two kinds of cost. Fixed costs (truck payment, insurance, permits and registration, and other monthly bills) are spread over your billable hours. Running costs are paid for every hour you work: fuel, maintenance, tires, and driver pay plus payroll burden.

Why does working fewer months raise my cost per hour?

Fixed costs keep coming in months the truck sits. With the example numbers, a tri-axle working 12 months costs $99.75 an hour. The same truck working 9 months costs $108.92 an hour, because the same $52,800 of yearly fixed costs is spread over 1,440 hours instead of 1,920.

How much is dump truck insurance per month?

One insurance source says many dump truck owner-operators budget about $400–$1,200+ per month per truck in 2026, and that new ventures and quarry or mining work often cost more. The main price drivers it lists are where the truck is garaged, operating radius, job type, driving record and claims, truck value and liability limits (LogRock). Use your own quote in the calculator.

Should I include my own pay?

Yes, if you drive the truck. Put your own hourly pay in "Driver pay". Otherwise the result is what the truck costs without paying you, and any "profit" later is really your wage.

Where does the diesel price come from?

The note under the diesel field says where the starting price came from and how old it is. The site uses the U.S. Energy Information Administration's weekly U.S. average retail price for No. 2 diesel when it is available. Enter what you actually pay.

Sources

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