Asphalt hauling: how to haul hot mix right, from the plant to the paver
Steve Woods · Truck Dispatcher, TruckSprint
Steve Woods is a truck dispatcher with 9 years of experience in trucking. He reviews every guide we publish. How we research and update guides.
Updated October 2026
Quick answer
Asphalt hauling means trucking hot mix from the plant to the paver before it cools. Start with a clean bed and an approved release agent (many agencies ban diesel), cover the load with a waterproof tarp, load to legal weight at the plant scale, and keep your place in line. Delivery temperatures are set by the job spec.
Source: FHWA HMA review guidelines; Oregon DOT asphalt specifications · checked 2026-10
Asphalt hauling is the busiest work a dump truck sees in summer, and the least forgiving. The product cools from the minute it leaves the silo, the paver can't stop, and a cold load can come back to you. I'm Steve Woods, a truck dispatcher at TruckSprint with 9 years in trucking. Here's how hauling asphalt works, the rules agencies write into paving jobs, and how the pay works.
The rules paving jobs write in
Agencies put hauling rules in their paving specifications. Two public examples:
| Source | What it requires of haul trucks |
|---|---|
| FHWA hot mix review checklist | Truck bed clean and free of dirt and gravel; mix covered with a waterproof cover during transport; approved release agents when beds are lubricated |
| Oregon DOT asphalt specification | Diesel not allowed as a release agent; plants set up so release agent can be sprayed into beds without climbing onto the truck; delivered between 284 and 329 °F at the job site |
Source: FHWA, Hot Mix Asphalt Pavement Guidelines (generic construction review, hauling equipment 402-3.03) · checked 2026-10
Source: Oregon DOT, asphalt price agreement technical specifications (supplementing Standard Specifications 00744) · checked 2026-10
Your state's spec may differ in the details. Ask the paving contractor for the hauling section of the job spec before the first load.
Release agents: why not diesel
Hot mix sticks to a steel body. The old fix was a splash of diesel, and many agencies now ban it: petroleum solvents can strip the asphalt binder off the stone and leave a weak spot in the mat. Agencies keep lists of approved release agents; the plant usually has one on a spray bar.
Spray a thin, even coat, drain any puddles before loading, and keep your feet on the ground while you do it. Oregon's spec writes that in: release agent sprayed without climbing onto the vehicle.
Tarping hot mix
The cover does two jobs: it keeps heat in and rain and wind out. A crusted, cold top layer leaves lumps in the mat, and a rained-on load can be rejected. FHWA's checklist asks for a waterproof cover during transport.
Use a cover that seals at the sides and front, and keep it on until you're backing to the paver. Electric arm systems save time on a busy paving day; options and state cover laws are in dump truck tarp systems.
Legal loads and weight
Hot mix is loaded and ticketed by weight at the plant scale. It's dense: Missouri DOT's estimating factors put compacted asphalt mixes at 1.970-2.036 tons per cubic yard, so a legal load fills only part of the body. Tell the plant your legal payload so the silo stops at the right number. Overweight tickets don't get easier in July.
The paving day: plant, haul, paver
A paving crew runs on a steady flow of trucks. Too few and the paver stops, which leaves joints in the mat; too many and trucks wait while the load cools.
- Plant: clean bed, release agent, load under the silo, tarp, scale ticket.
- Haul: straight to the job; no stops with a load of hot mix.
- Paver or transfer vehicle: back in on the signal, raise the body slowly, and keep in contact with the paver without bumping it. Drop the tailgate only when told.
- Return: clean any buildup off the tailgate and body before the next load.
EXAMPLE: a 45-minute round trip on a crew placing 150 tons an hour needs enough trucks to deliver 150 tons every hour; at 13 tons a load and 1.33 loads per truck per hour, that's about 9 trucks. Your loop time decides your loads per day; work it out in our dump truck cycle time guide.
Equipment that works
- Tri-axles and quads: the common local asphalt truck; more legal tons per trip.
- End dumps and live bottom trailers: for longer hauls; live bottoms unload with a floor conveyor, so the body never goes up near the paver. Trailer types are compared in end dump vs belly dump vs side dump.
- Insulated bodies and good tarps: hold heat on long hauls and cool days.
How asphalt hauling pays
Most paving work pays by the hour, because the trucks spend so much time waiting at the plant and the paver; some pays by the ton. Public schedules give a sense of equipment rates: see dump truck hauling rates for Caltrans and FEMA hourly rates by truck size. On public paving jobs, driver pay can fall under prevailing wage rules.
Paving is seasonal in most of the country, so pair it with aggregate and base work in spring and fall; see hauling aggregate.
TruckSprint no longer dispatches dump trucks. If you also run a 26 ft box truck, our desk can keep it loaded year-round.
Sources
- FHWA, Hot Mix Asphalt Pavement Guidelines (generic construction review)
- Oregon DOT, asphalt price agreement technical specifications
- Missouri DOT, Estimate Factors (EPG 450)