Grave width and trucks

Member Joseph M. Kostek asks –

I have two questions that I would appreciate suggestions from my fellow cemetery counterparts.

1. The average grave is 36 inches wide in our cemetery so we do not accept vaults larger than 36 inches in width.   What are cemeteries doing to address this issue when a vault is larger than 36 inches in width?  We had one the other day where the vault was 40 inches in width.  We had to explain to the family that we had to use part of the second grave they owned.  They accepted the solution but what do you do when you have a single grave.  In further talking with several funeral directors, they are telling me that some vaults exceed 42 inches in width.  How is your cemetery handling these type of situations?
2. We use Ford 350 ¾ ton dump trucks for hauling dirt in our cemeteries.  Over the last ten years the width of new dump trucks have increased by six inches.  This now causes us a problem when we purchase a new dump truck because now it is hard for the new trucks to get in between the monument rows to take out the dirt.  We have looked at other makes but the dump body have all gotten wider.  What do you use to haul the dirt in your cemetery?  Does this vehicle fit between the monuments rows?  Any suggestions.