Tipper truck hire
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Hire a tipper truck with a driver
We send 6, 10 and 14–18 cube tipper trucks with drivers to sites, farms and municipal jobs in all 9 provinces. A “cube” is one cubic metre, so a 10 cube tipper has a 10 m³ body.
Tippers cart away excavated soil, deliver sand, stone and gravel to site, take rubble to the landfill and move material around big earthworks. They drive to your site on the road, so there's no lowbed to pay for.
- 6 cube: R1,250–R1,900 a load in Gauteng, or about R3,050 a day dry. House plots, small rubble jobs, narrow streets.
- 10 cube: R3,700–R5,250 a day with a driver. The everyday site tipper.
- 14–18 cube: R3,300–R4,000 a day. Bulk, lighter loads and long runs.
Tipper sizes: 6, 10 and 14–18 cube
What a tipper may carry is set by its axles, not its body. The National Road Traffic Regulations allow 7,700 kg on a steering axle, 9,000 kg on a single axle with dual wheels and 18,000 kg on a tandem. Take off the truck's own mass and you have the legal payload.
| Size | Typical truck | Gross mass | Empty | Legal payload | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 cube | Two-axle 4x2 (Tata LPK 1518 or similar) | 16,200 kg | 5,265 kg | about 10.9 t | House plots, small rubble loads, tight streets |
| 10 cube | Three-axle 6x4 (Tata Prima 2528.K or similar) | 25,500 kg | 8,500 kg | about 17 t | Sand, stone, soil and rubble on most sites |
| 14–18 cube | Four-axle 8x4 (Tata Prima 3338.K or similar, 19 m³ body) | 33,000 kg | 11,200 kg | about 21–22 t | Topsoil, rubble and other light bulk; long runs |
The 6 cube's short wheelbase turns in residential streets and fits under trees and wires where a bigger truck can't. The 10 cube is the default for construction. The 14–18 cube carries more volume, but heavy materials fill its legal payload long before they fill its body.
Tons vs cubes: how much a tipper really carries
A cube of wet sand weighs almost twice a cube of topsoil, so a tipper full of one is a very different load from a tipper full of the other. Here's what a level-full body weighs, using loose material weights from Caterpillar's reference tables. Cells marked “over” are above the legal payload in the table above.
| Material | t per loose cube | 6 cube | 10 cube | 18 cube |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sand, dry | 1.42 | 8.5 t | 14.2 t | 25.6 t (over) |
| Sand, damp | 1.69 | 10.1 t | 16.9 t | 30.4 t (over) |
| Sand, wet | 1.84 | 11.0 t (just over) | 18.4 t (over) | 33.1 t (over) |
| Soil, dry (packed earth, dug out) | 1.51 | 9.1 t | 15.1 t | 27.2 t (over) |
| Soil, wet (just dug) | 1.60 | 9.6 t | 16.0 t | 28.8 t (over) |
| Clay | 1.66 | 10.0 t | 16.6 t | 29.9 t (over) |
| Gravel, dry | 1.51 | 9.1 t | 15.1 t | 27.2 t (over) |
| Crushed stone (13 mm, 19 mm) | 1.60 | 9.6 t | 16.0 t | 28.8 t (over) |
| Rubble, clean (concrete, brick, soil) | about 1.07 | 6.4 t | 10.7 t | 19.2 t |
| Topsoil | 0.95 | 5.7 t | 9.5 t | 17.1 t |
What this means on your job:
- A 10 cube carries ten cubes of almost anything dry. Wet sand is the exception: about 9 cubes is the legal load.
- An 18 cube is a volume truck. With crushed stone it's full at about 13.6 cubes (21.8 t), with dry sand about 15 cubes. It earns its keep on topsoil and rubble.
- We load to the legal mass, not the top of the body. Overloaded trucks get fined and stopped at weighbridges, and the delay lands on your job.
The full conversion tables, including cubes per ton and loose vs compacted volumes, are in how many cubes in a ton.
Tipper truck hire rates
All prices exclude VAT and include the driver. A day is normally an 8–9 hour working day on site.
| Size | Rate | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 6 cube tipper | Per load, with operator · per load (Gauteng) | R1,250–R1,900 |
| 6 cube tipper | Per day, dry (operator included, you pay the diesel) | about R3,050 * |
| 10 cube tipper | Per day, with operator | R3,700–R5,250 |
| 10 cube tipper | Per load, with operator · per load (Gauteng) | about R2,300 * |
| 10 cube tipper | Per hour, dry (operator included, you pay the diesel) | about R270 * |
| 14–18 cube tipper | Per day, with operator | R3,300–R4,000 |
| 14–18 cube tipper | Per month, with operator | about R42,000 * |
* Few price points for this one, so treat it as a guide; the exact price comes back on WhatsApp.
Per load or per day?
Per-load prices cover a short local run: load on your site, drive to the tip or the next site, tip, done. Day hire keeps the truck and driver on your job all day while a TLB or excavator loads it.
The break-even is about two loads. Two 10 cube loads at the per-load price come to about R4,600, close to the day rate of R3,700–R5,250. Three loads come to about R6,900, so from three loads a day, day hire is cheaper. A 14–18 cube on a long contract is about R42,000 a month with a driver.
What changes the price
- Size of truck and how many you need at once.
- Distance to the tip or the quarry, which sets how many loads fit in a day.
- Diesel: with-driver rates may or may not include diesel; dry hourly rates (about R270 an hour for a 10 cube) mean you pay the diesel. Confirmed in writing.
- Standing time: a truck waiting for a loader that's broken down or a gate that's locked is charged as agreed on your quote.
- Tip fees at the landfill are separate from the hire.
| Example quote (for illustration only) | Amount |
|---|---|
| 10 cube tipper, 3 days at R3,700–R5,250 a day with operator | R11,100–R15,750 |
| Transport both ways to Krugersdorp | R2,920–R3,540 |
| Example total, excl. VAT | R14,020–R19,290 |
Clearing rubble and carting spoil
Clearing rubble after building work or a demolition is one of the most common tipper jobs. Clean rubble of concrete, brick and soil weighs about 1.07 t a loose cube, so it fills a body before it reaches the legal mass: a 6 cube carries about 6.4 t, a 10 cube about 10.7 t.
Landfills charge by mass on their weighbridge, not by the cube. In Cape Town, for example, the disposal tariff is per ton measured at the facility's weighbridge. Ask the site for the tip fee per ton and multiply it by the tons in the table above.
Spoil from digging swells when it comes out of the ground. A cube of natural clay in the ground becomes about 1.2 loose cubes in the tipper, so a 10 cube carries roughly 8 cubes of hole. Measure the hole, add 20–25%, and that's how many cubes of spoil you'll cart.
Pair a tipper with a TLB or excavator
A tipper needs something to load it. A TLB loads 6 and 10 cube tippers on house plots and small sites; a 20 t excavator loads faster on bigger digs; a bobcat works where there's no room for either.
Match the number of trucks to the loader so neither stands. Example: if loading a truck takes 10 minutes and the round trip to the tip and back takes 40 minutes, each truck's full cycle is 50 minutes, so five trucks keep one loader busy all day.
Off-road on a mine or a big earthworks site, where the haul road is rough or steep, an ADT dump truck carries more and doesn't get stuck. For long hauls on public roads, a 34 ton side tipper carries about 34 t a trip.
Other tipper sizes people ask for
Small tippers and 3.5 tonne tippers
Our smallest tipper is the 6 cube, with about 10.9 t of legal payload. It takes small loads too, and on short runs you pay per load, not per cube.
12 cube tippers
A 12 cube body sits between our 10 and 14–18 cube trucks. We send whichever suits the material: for sand or stone the 10 cube carries about the same legal mass.
20 cube and 30 ton tippers
Above 18 cubes or about 22 t, the next step on public roads is a 34 t side tipper by the month, and off-road an ADT of 25 t and up.
Tipper truck hire near you
Tippers drive to your site. Inside a main centre, travel is small and confirmed with your price; further out, travel is its own line. Ballito is about 50 km from Durban by road. Transport for a tipper truck there and back usually comes to R4,300–R5,200, shown as its own line on your quote.
Local pages: tipper truck hire in Durban, plant hire in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town. Every province and town: areas we cover.
What every tipper hire includes
- A driver with a professional driving permit (PrDP), who has carted on sites like yours.
- Price in writing before the truck moves, with travel as its own line.
- Loads kept to the legal mass, with weighbridge tickets when you need them.
- A replacement truck on breakdown, or no charge for downtime.
Other trucks for the same job: a water truck for compaction and dust, a flatbed truck for steel and materials, and a lowbed to bring the excavator.
Booking takes a WhatsApp, a written price and a deposit: see how it works. Prices for every machine are on plant hire rates.
WhatsApp us the job and the townQuestions people ask
How much does it cost to hire a tipper truck?
A 10 cube tipper with a driver costs R3,700–R5,250 a day, excluding VAT. A 6 cube is R1,250–R1,900 a load in Gauteng or about R3,050 a day dry, and a 14–18 cube is R3,300–R4,000 a day. Every size and rate is in the price table above.
How much is a tipper truck per load?
A 6 cube load is R1,250–R1,900 and a 10 cube load about R2,300 on short runs in Gauteng. Per-load prices suit one or two loads. From about three loads a day, the day rate of R3,700–R5,250 for a 10 cube works out cheaper.
How many tons does a 10 cube tipper carry?
Legally about 17 t. A typical 10 cube on a 6x4 truck (Tata Prima 2528.K or similar) is rated 25,500 kg gross and weighs about 8,500 kg empty. Ten cubes of dry sand weigh about 14.2 t and fit easily; ten cubes of wet sand weigh about 18.4 t and are over the limit, so wet loads go by weight.
How many cubes is a 6 ton tipper?
A tipper sold as “6 ton” usually means a 6 cube body (6 m³). Loaded with dry sand it carries about 8.5 t, with crushed stone about 9.6 t, inside a legal payload of roughly 10.9 t on a typical two-axle truck.
Can a tipper truck remove rubble?
Yes. Clean rubble (concrete, brick and soil) weighs about 1.07 t a loose cube, so a 6 cube carries about 6.4 t and a 10 cube about 10.7 t. Pair the tipper with a TLB to load it. The landfill's tip fee is separate and is charged on the weighbridge mass.
Do your tippers come with a driver?
Yes, every tipper comes with a driver who holds a professional driving permit (PrDP). How diesel is handled, wet or dry, is confirmed in writing before the truck moves.
Related
Sources we checked
- Caterpillar earthwork volumes reference tables (loose and bank material weights)
- Tata LPK 1518 6 m³ tipper leaflet (GVM and tare)
- Tata Prima 2528.K 10 m³ tipper leaflet (GVM and tare)
- Tata Prima 3338.K 8x4 leaflet (GVM, tare, 19 m³ body)
- National Road Traffic Regulations reg 240, axle massload limits
- Kansas Department of Health and Environment Policy 10-02, C&D waste volume-to-weight factors
- City of Cape Town, solid waste disposal facility tariff notice 2026/27
Need a tipper truck?
WhatsApp us the job, the town and the dates. We confirm the machine, the start date and the price in writing before the machine moves.
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