Facility guide · San Joaquin County · updated 2026-09-18
Lovelace Transfer Station in Manteca: hours, fees and what it takes
Open seven days, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. $78.78 a ton (effective 2026-01-01), flat minimums by vehicle, no cash. What Lovelace takes and the debris it turns away.
At a glance
| Address | 2323 E. Lovelace Rd, Manteca, east of Airport Way |
|---|---|
| Hours | Monday through Sunday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. The county says the close is strictly enforced; arrive 15 minutes early. |
| Closed | New Year's Day, Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day |
| Who can use it | The general public and businesses. The scale house runs separate public and commercial entry lines. |
| Payment | Credit or debit card, or a business check with the business printed on it. No cash. |
| Weighed loads | $78.78 a ton (effective 2026-01-01), $38.50 minimum (effective 2026-01-01) |
| Load cover | Required. An uncovered or unsecured load pays a double disposal fee, or buy a tarp at the gate. |
Most small loads pay a flat minimum by vehicle
Lovelace does not weigh every car and pickup. It charges a flat minimum set by the vehicle and how high the load sits, and it only switches to weight when the load is heavier than that minimum covers. Anything bigger than the vehicles below is weighed.
| Vehicle and load | Posted minimum |
|---|---|
| Car | $21.75 (effective 2026-01-01) |
| Van, 8 feet or less from the last seat to the rear | $35 (effective 2026-01-01) |
| Pickup, bed under 8 feet, load at or below the cab | $25 (effective 2026-01-01) |
| Pickup, bed under 8 feet, load above the cab | $32.50 (effective 2026-01-01) |
| Pickup with an 8-foot bed, or a trailer 8 feet or less, at or below the cab | $38.50 (effective 2026-01-01) |
| Pickup with an 8-foot bed, or a trailer 8 feet or less, above the cab | $57.75 (effective 2026-01-01) |
| Every other vehicle, weighed | $78.78 a ton (effective 2026-01-01), $38.50 minimum (effective 2026-01-01) |
| Any load while the scales are down | $25 a cubic yard (effective 2026-01-01) |
Item fees, and what San Joaquin County residents drop free
Lovelace is a county facility, so it runs the same resident allowance as North County in Lodi. Bring proof of San Joaquin County residency and a household load gets, per trip, at no charge:
- up to 10 mattresses or box springs
- up to 2 refrigerators, freezers or AC units
- up to 4 motorcycle, passenger or small-truck tires
- up to 4 TVs, CRTs or monitors
- up to 9 pieces of u-waste (fluorescent tubes, batteries, small electronics), and no more are accepted
- up to 12 used oil filters
Past those limits, or on a business load, the sheet charges per item:
| Item | Posted fee |
|---|---|
| Refrigerator, freezer or AC unit | $20 each (effective 2026-01-01) |
| TV, CRT or monitor | $23.75 each (effective 2026-01-01) |
| Mattress or box spring, resident over the limit | $20 each (effective 2026-01-01) |
| Mattresses on a business load | Weighed at $78.78 a ton (effective 2026-01-01), up to 30 units |
| Passenger tire, off the rim / on the rim | $6.50 (effective 2026-01-01) / $7.50 (effective 2026-01-01) |
| Truck tire, off the rim / on the rim | $10 (effective 2026-01-01) / $12.25 (effective 2026-01-01) |
| Hard-to-handle: boats, large concrete, wire, large or long pipe, drip hose and large wooden or metal beams | $123.97 a ton (effective 2026-01-01) |
Construction debris: yes, with limits
Lovelace takes construction and demolition waste, and it takes small loads of concrete, soil, rocks, gravel or asphalt. What it turns away is the heavy end of a remodel:
- Large loads of concrete, soil, rocks, gravel or asphalt
- Pressure-treated and creosote-coated wood, such as fence posts and railroad ties
- Logs and tree stumps
- Anything heavy or hard enough to damage the equipment. The price sheet lists this as "some types of construction/demolition waste," so a load of broken slab is a call first, not a surprise at the tipping floor.
One line on the sheet contradicts another: tree stumps are listed as refused and also under hard-to-handle. Call the scale house at (209) 982-5770 before you bring one. A big concrete or dirt job is better sorted by our concrete and dirt disposal guide.
Where a Lovelace load actually ends up
Lovelace is a transfer station, not a landfill. The county has owned and run it since July 1, 1977, on 15 acres. What gets tipped here is sorted, then loaded onto county transfer trucks, up to 22 tons a truck, and driven to Foothill Sanitary Landfill in Linden. Foothill itself is closed to the general public, which is why Lovelace is the public gate for the south end of the county.
It is busy: the county reports about 777 tons a day in 2024. The county posts a live view of the entry line and a wait-time meter on its facility page, and it says weekends are when the self-hauler line gets long.
Lovelace or North County
Both are county gates, both are open seven days, and both run the same resident free limits and the same no-cash rule. The difference is the rate: Lovelace weighs at $78.78 a ton (effective 2026-01-01), North County on Harney Lane at $60.93 a ton (effective 2026-01-01). On a small pickup load that sits under the flat minimum it does not matter. On a heavy load it adds up, so if you are north of Stockton anyway, Harney Lane is the cheaper scale. Every gate side by side is in every gate and every rate for 2026.
When it is cheaper to just go yourself
Here is the gate fee for three of our standard load sizes against what we charge to load and haul the same thing. The tonnage is an estimate for ordinary household junk, not a weighed job, and the gate column is Lovelace MRF & Transfer Station's posted rate of $78.78 a ton with its $38.50 minimum, effective 2026-01-01.
| Load | Gate fee if you haul it | We load and haul it |
|---|---|---|
| Quarter load about 3.5 cu yd, roughly 0.35 ton | $38.50 | $225 |
| Half load about 7 cu yd, roughly 0.7 ton | $55.15 | $375 |
| Full trailer about 14 cu yd, roughly 1.4 ton | $110.29 | $895 |
Go yourself if you live in San Joaquin County, have a pickup, can lift it, and it fits in one trip below the cab. That is a flat $25 (effective 2026-01-01) to $38.50 (effective 2026-01-01) at the gate, and inside the resident limits your mattresses, fridge, TVs and tires ride free. We cannot beat that, and we would rather say so.
The middle option is our trailer. We drop it, you load it on your own schedule, and we haul it to the gate: $275 for a day with the first ton of disposal included, delivery free within 25 minutes of our Lodi yard. Details on dump trailer rental.
Hire it out when the load is the problem, not the gate:
- You do not have the truck. A rental truck, fuel and the afternoon sit on top of every figure above.
- It is heavy or awkward. A fridge off a back porch, a sleeper sofa down a staircase, a hot tub. That is where people get hurt.
- It is more than one trip. A whole house or a packed garage turns into several runs, each one weighed and billed on its own.
- You cannot make the gate. The 4:00 close is enforced every day, and the weekend line is the long one.
Our prices are on the full rate card, and the junk removal page has what we take.
Where our Lovelace loads come from
When we haul a job in these towns, this is the gate it goes to. Each page has local prices and drive times.
Related guides
Sources
Hours, rules and fees are the operator's own published figures on the dates shown. Gates change hours and rates without telling us; call the scale house before you load a truck around a number.