How Much Road Base for a 400 Foot Driveway?
How much road base for a 400 foot driveway: about 88.9 tons for a 12-foot-wide lane at 4 inches deep. That is 4,800 square feet and 59.26 cubic yards.
Volume and tonnage calculator →The math
- Area: 4,800.0 sq ft.
- Depth in feet: 4 ÷ 12 = 0.333 ft.
- Cubic yards: 4,800.0 × 0.333 ÷ 27 = 59.26 yd³.
- Tons: × about 1.5 tons per yard = 88.9 tons.
The crushed stone calculator does this for any size.
Related: How Much Gravel for a 400 Foot Driveway?
Road base needed by depth
| Depth | Cubic yards | Tons of road base | Tons +10% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 in | 29.63 | 44.4 | 48.9 |
| 4 in | 59.26 | 88.9 | 97.8 |
| 6 in | 88.89 | 133.3 | 146.7 |
| 8 in | 118.52 | 177.8 | 195.6 |
Tons by driveway width
| Width | Tons at 4 in | Tons at 6 in |
|---|---|---|
| 10 ft | 74.1 | 111.1 |
| 12 ft | 88.9 | 133.3 |
| 14 ft | 103.7 | 155.6 |
| 16 ft | 118.5 | 177.8 |
Related: How Much Road Base for 400 Square Feet?
How many loads
Plan for about 97.8 tons with waste. On a 15-ton truck that is about 7 trips; spreading while dumping (a tailgate spread) puts the stone close to where it belongs.
Base and top layer
If this is a new driveway on soil, build a base of 4 to 6 inches of coarse stone first and finish with a packable surface stone. For a refresh, 2 inches over the old surface is common. Fabric under the base helps on clay or wet ground.
Buying the stone
Small dump trucks commonly carry around 5 to 10 tons and tri-axles more, but loads vary by truck and state, so ask the yard what fits in one trip. Road base is a graded stone-and-fines mix built to compact into a load-bearing layer. Round up by about 10 percent for compaction and uneven ground.
Questions people ask
How many tons of road base for a 400 ft driveway?
About 88.9 tons at 12 ft wide and 4 inches deep.
How many truck loads for a 400 ft driveway?
About 7 loads of 15 tons, including some extra.
How many tons of road base are in a cubic yard?
Roughly 1.5 tons for planning, but suppliers vary with stone size and moisture.
Should I put landscape fabric under the stone?
On soft or clay soil, a woven geotextile keeps stone from sinking into the dirt and makes the layer last longer.
Related guides
- How to Build a Gravel Driveway That Lasts
- How Much Gravel for a 100 Foot Driveway? Tons by Depth
- A Passing Pullout on a Long Driveway
- How Much Does a Ton of Gravel Cover? Depth Chart
- Tons to Cubic Yards for Gravel: Conversion Chart
- Crushed Stone vs Gravel: Differences and Best Uses
- Geotextile Fabric for Driveways: Woven vs Nonwoven and How Much You Need
- Compacting a Driveway Gravel Base in Lifts
- How Much Road Base for a 250 Foot Driveway?
- How Much Road Base for a 300 Foot Driveway?
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