A pickup truck is one of the most common ways of transporting bags of mulch from the store to your farm. Nonetheless, not many farmers know the bed capacity of their trucks nor the number of mulch bags they can comfortably pack on them.
Overloading your truck may ruin its shock absorbers or cause an accident. Besides, overloaded bags may slide over each other and fall off. On the other hand, you wouldn’t want to carry mulch that is not enough for your farm. So, how many bags of mulch fit in a pickup?
The number of mulch bags that a standard pickup can hold is 40. The average car can carry five to six bags of mulch. Two to three yards of mulch will fit in a standard pickup truck.
How Many Bags of Mulch fit in a Pickup
A standard pickup truck will carry a maximum of 40 bags of mulch. Many manufacturers pack their mulch in 2 cubic foot bags. On the other hand, it’s proven that 13.5 bags need a space of one cubic yard.
A regular-sized pickup truck holds 2-3 cubic yards of mulch when packed to full capacity. Let’s use three cubic yards as the standard measure.
If 13.5 bags need one cubic yard (as I had stated before), then three cubic yards can accommodate approximately 40 bags (i.e., 13.5×3)
Nonetheless, slight variations may occur depending on the type of mulch packed in the bags.
One cubic yard is recommended for bulky mulches like gravel and sand. Beyond that, you’re overloading your truck.
How Many Bags of Mulch Will Fit in My Car?
Five to six bags of mulch will fit in an average car. Most cars hold between 10 to 13 cubic feet of mulch or soil in bags. Since mulch is usually sold in 2 cubic feet bags, dividing the cubic feet measurement means that your car can only hold 5-6 mulch bags.
Although two cubic feet is the standard size of mulch bags, some bags may be smaller or bigger. Estimating the number your car can accommodate—as we’ve seen—is simple arithmetic. You take the average capacity of most cars (10-13 cubic feet) and divide it with the bag size (in cubic feet) of the mulch.
That number of bags is enough for most landscaping projects. However, depending on the size of your landscaping project, the size of your car, and the car’s weight capacity, you may need to make multiple trips.
Many might wonder why I don’t advise buying in bulk. I know that buying in bulk (pricing per yard) is cheaper. Nevertheless, spreading unpacked mulch in your car may stain it or leave an unpleasant odor.
How Many Yards of Mulch Will Fit in a Pickup Truck?
A standard pickup truck holds two to three cubic yards of mulch when packed to the brim. However, smaller pickup models like the Ranger or S-10 can only accommodate one to two cubic yards. Essentially, four-wheel drive pickup trucks have a bigger capacity than two-wheel drive trucks.
Trucks whose bed sizes are comparable to the standard dimensions of 8 feet (length), 5.33 feet (width), and 1.5 feet (height) hold 2.5 yards of mulch. However, when such are heaped beyond the body level, they comfortably accommodate 3 cubic yards.
Pickup trucks with a lesser bed length of around 6 feet mostly accommodate 2 yards of mulch, although they can carry more when heaped. Bed sizes whose length is around 5 feet accommodate 1 yard of mulch.
The length of most pickup beds ranges between 5 feet and 8 feet. Some beds vary in inches and accommodate more or less the same amount of mulch.
In summary, a small pickup will hold one cubic yard of mulch, whereas a mid-size pickup will hold 1-2 yards. Full-size pickups hold 2-3 cubic yards of mulch.
Here’s a calculator to help you know how much mulch to order.
Truck Bed Volume Calculator
Enter the measurements of the truck bed in feet:
Enter the height of the wheel wells in feet:
Please note that this code only calculates the volume of a truck bed in cubic yards based on user-provided measurements of the truck bed’s length, width, and depth in feet, and the height of the wheel wells in feet calculated to the cubic area in yards of a quarter sphere. It does not take into account any other factors that may affect the actual volume of the truck bed. To get the bags; divide the result you get by the size of your bag to get the number of bags needed.
How Many Bags of Mulch Can I Put In My SUV?
You can put 14 bags of mulch in your SUV. SUVs have a bigger capacity as compared to ordinary cars. Whereas a normal car holds 10-13 cubic feet of mulch bags, an SUV can hold twice as much.
Almost all medium-size SUVs hold 27 cubic feet of mulch. That’s about a cubic yard. Assuming that the mulch is packed in 2 cubic feet bags, a space of 27 cubic feet will theoretically hold 13.5 bags (i.e., 27 divided by 2). Since mulch bags cannot be divided into half, we can assume that a space of 27 cubic feet can hold 14 bags.
A good example of a medium size SUV is the Subaru Forester. Its back can accommodate 28.9 cubic feet and can thus carry 15 bags of mulch. A Subaru Outback is slightly bigger and can accommodate a cargo space of 32.5 cubic feet, meaning it can carry around 17 bags of mulch.
Bigger SUVs in the compact class like the Honda CRV can accommodate a yard and a half of mulch. That means it can carry around 20 bags—6 more than a medium size SUV. However, you’ll need to push the seats up to create more space.
How Many Bags Of Mulch Is In A Full Skid?
There are 70 bags of mulch in a full skid. Skids are often confused with pallets, although they’re almost identical. A skid is a pallet that doesn’t have the bottom deck boards.
The typical skid measures 48 by 40 inches and holds about 70 bags of mulch stacked on one another in vertical rows. However, this is when it’s stacked with the more common two cubic feet bags. It can only hold around 50-60 bags and 40-50 bags when the mulch is packed in the 2.8 and 3 cubic feet bags, respectively.
Smaller mulch bags—1.5 cubic feet—require lesser space. A typical skid can hold around 70-80 bags of such. It keeps the mulch bags together and keeps them away from damage.
Although the height of the bags stacked on a skid determines how many bags it can hold, weight is also a factor to consider. The maximum recommended height is 48 inches. Beyond that, the bags are more likely to slide over each other and fall.
On the other hand, wooden skids can safely hold up to 4600 pounds. Some mulching materials are heavier, and the number of bags the skid can carry is thus lower than average.
How Many 2 Cu. Ft Bags of Mulch Are In A Yard?
There are 13 ½ two cubic feet bags of mulch in a yard. The two cubic feet bags are considered “small” bags. A yard is equivalent to 27 cubic feet. Therefore, to estimate the number of 2 cubic feet bags that can fit in a yard, you divide 27 by 2 to get 13.5.
The three cubic feet bags are considered the “big” bags. A yard can only accommodate 9 of such (i.e., 27/3). For accurate estimations of the number of bags that will fit in a yard, it’s always crucial to identify the bag size first.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will 2 Cubic Yards Fit in A Pickup Truck?
Yes, two cubic yards will fit in a pickup truck. Most full-size trucks will accommodate 2-3 cubic yards of mulch, a cubic yard of stones and gravel, and two cubic yards of soil.
At times, the same cubic yards measure of different materials weighs differently since some materials are denser than others. It’s essential to consider the weight rating of your truck to avoid packing bags of mulch that fit into the car but go beyond the standard weight that your truck should carry.
How Many Wheelbarrows Are In A Yard Of Mulch?
There are 9 to 14 wheelbarrows in a yard of mulch. The size of the wheelbarrow basin determines how many of its full loads fill up a cubic yard of mulch. There are two major wheelbarrow sizes—two or three cubic feet per wheelbarrow load.
Wheelbarrows that carry a two cubic foot load have shallow basins, and it takes 14 loads to carry a cubic yard of mulch. On the other hand, those with a capacity of 3 cubic feet only need nine full loads to carry a cubic yard of mulch.
How Many Wheelbarrows Are in A Dump Truck?
There are 108 to 168 wheelbarrow loads in a dump truck. Since a dump truck can hold 10 to 14 cubic yards of material, it will take approximately 168 full loads of the two cubic foot wheelbarrow loads to fill it. However, if you’re using the three cubic foot wheelbarrow, around 108 loads are enough to fill it.
Conclusion
Most pickup trucks can carry two to three cubic yards of mulch in one trip. That translates to 40 bags of mulch. Smaller pickups will only accommodate one cubic yard of mulch, which translates to 14 bags.
If you’re the kind of farmer who won’t mind using an SUV farm transport, you’re assured of a decent carrying capacity. Most will accommodate one cubic yard of mulch, equivalent to 14 bags. It’s always important to identify the size of the mulch bag to avoid wrong estimates.
