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Old 10-22-2018, 08:33 AM   #1
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black top vs. rocks for storage

I am about to build a parking spot for our Sunseeker next to my garage. I have been told it can't sit on the grass or the moisture will kill my brake lines over the winter. Do I need to black top it or can I just lay a few inches of rocks and have it sit on the rock bed? Also, should it be slightly sloped to allow the water to run off the roof? I plan on putting a roof on next year, won't get it done this year. Thanks.
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Old 10-22-2018, 08:38 AM   #2
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Rocks, dirt, grass all have moisture come up out of the ground. Use a moisture barrier and put down stone but taper so water won't gather under it.
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Old 10-22-2018, 08:43 AM   #3
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When you say blacktop....if you mean asphalt, it has been said in the industry that the oils and such within asphalt’s composition can contaminate the rubber structure of tires.

If you’re parking long term.....
Parking on grass or dirt is bad because of moisture, plus you might sink in.
Asphalt is bad as stated above.
Concrete is ok, but expensive. If not thick enough, it can crack.
Gravel drains well and allows an amount of air circulation.

My gravel pad is basically level....you can alter with planks if needed.
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Old 10-22-2018, 09:09 AM   #4
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I used to have a sloped stone RV pad next to my garage, but I now live in the Arizona desert...nothing but sand.

In Colorado (where my house was), I always leveled it side to side, but raised the front some to allow water run off.

I also had all of the stabilizers down.

Here in the desert I only put the front stabilizers down and left the back ones up while in storage as I was advised by an RV teck to only put down what you need in the sand as they are highways into the RV for ants!

As for the tires, I put all four of them on Lynx Leveler blocks with the flat Lynx block covers so that the grips on the blocks don't damage the tires.
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Old 10-22-2018, 09:34 AM   #5
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We park our TT at one side of our basement. It sits on gravel with one side on leveling blocks and the other side on the gravel. All four stabilizer jacks are down as is the tongue jack. It is under a metal roof. I use borax powder around - not on the base of each jack and the tires to discourage ants.
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Old 10-22-2018, 12:45 PM   #6
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Parking

Asphaltic concrete is soft and will depress if parked upon for long periods, PCC, or Portland Cement Concrete is best, use #3 rebar on 16” centers with #4 rebar perimeter in 8”x8” thickened edges. Do it right do it once.
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Old 10-22-2018, 12:59 PM   #7
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In my town and county you have a very big tax increase with cement.
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Old 10-22-2018, 12:59 PM   #8
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ID:	189761We stored our Sunseeker on crushed limestone for a couple of years without problems. It was in a storage area. As for your rock vs blacktop, have you considered millings (or sometimes referred to as millage). This is recycled roadway blacktop that has been pulverized. When rolled, it compresses like a blacktop surface, so water does not penetrate and it does not rut. We had half of our drive done with this stuff a couple years ago and it is holding up well including snow plowing and snow blowing. If you are talking rock, as in limestone, this has a tendency to settle, rut, get stuck in the treads and track. River gravel will do the same.

As for cost, we had the drive graded and 6" of millings rolled in for about the same cost of limestone and about a fourth of the cost of blacktop. If you can find an excavator that has access to millings, it could be your ticket to a good surface.
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Old 10-22-2018, 01:22 PM   #9
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Ive never heard of moisture damaging brake lines if parked over grass. Ive also never heard of asphalt contaminating tire rubber. I guess Ive learned 2 things from reading this thread. Ive had boats for years, one had trailer brakes and was always parked on grass. I never had issues with the trailer brakes. Only issues with the boat. Lots and lots of issues.
With that being said, I park my TT on a pad made of recycled asphalt which is basically old asphalt road that was tore out and crushed up into gravel sized pieces. It more or less works just like gravel and drains well. I used that just because it was cheap. After the first few months before the recycled asphalt was completely packed, I noticed the tires sinking into ruts. So I laid down some 1/2" thick 12" x 12" pieces of steel scrap I had in the shop to park the tires on and give them a bigger foot print. So thats what I currently use, but its probably going to get replaced with cement when I repour the section in front of my garage in a couple years.
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Old 10-22-2018, 01:23 PM   #10
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I am in the same situation as we enter our first season of winter storage. Our trailer is new to us but has been stored outside its whole life, sometimes covered, but the previous owner claimed to have rodent issues when he tried to use a cover. We have a spot on our lawn we'd like to keep it, or on the side of our garage. The side of the garage is 3/4 crushed bluestone, but my truck, which has been parked there for about 8 years, is showing what I would consider to be premature rust on the undercarriage, so I believe the moisture issue. I like the idea of a slight grade with plastic under stone. I'd like concrete, too but it is outside the budget and will cause problems with our city if we want to file for permits in the future.
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Old 10-22-2018, 02:45 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PenJoe View Post
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Attachment 189761We stored our Sunseeker on crushed limestone for a couple of years without problems. It was in a storage area. As for your rock vs blacktop, have you considered millings (or sometimes referred to as millage). This is recycled roadway blacktop that has been pulverized. When rolled, it compresses like a blacktop surface, so water does not penetrate and it does not rut. We had half of our drive done with this stuff a couple years ago and it is holding up well including snow plowing and snow blowing. If you are talking rock, as in limestone, this has a tendency to settle, rut, get stuck in the treads and track. River gravel will do the same.


As for cost, we had the drive graded and 6" of millings rolled in for about the same cost of limestone and about a fourth of the cost of blacktop. If you can find an excavator that has access to millings, it could be your ticket to a good surface.
How has your RAP held up? Did it stay as smooth as it looks in the pic after the roller went over it?
I did not roll mine. When I laid it our local rental place did not have the 2 or 3 ton roller in. All they had available was the 1 ton which I did not think would accomplish much. I spread it out with a truck and snow plow and compressed it the best I could with the truck.
The RAP I received also did not look as refined as yours. Im pretty sure mine came from a local road that was being repaved. It was originally a concrete road that had at least 3 layers of asphalt laid over top so there was a bit of crushed cement mixed in with the RAP. The surface never really packed as much as I would have liked. It seems loose and moves around kind of like walking on pea gravel. And we have a tenancy to pick it up on our shoes and track in in to the trailer when we're packing and unpacking. It works, and it was cheap, but those are some of the reasons Im considering replacing it with concrete. If im already doing the pad in front of my garage, I might as well.
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Old 10-22-2018, 02:53 PM   #12
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I park mine on blacktop and have never had any problems with the tires
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Old 10-22-2018, 04:18 PM   #13
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Storage Surface

I have used either decomposed granite or "pack gravel" on trailer parking surfaces since 1974. Both these products wick the moisture equally well and allow the tires to sit on dry surfaces except during the actual rainfall. In the hot dry summers of northern California, it also stays cooler than asphalt does. Its been perfect for me.
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Old 10-22-2018, 04:27 PM   #14
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The highway was being ground and resurfaced. The ground millings were being hauled to a local farm, so I asked if I could get some. Low and behold the company said I was just off the highway while milling was being done...so how much did I need. I figured I got between 60-80 tons.
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Old 10-22-2018, 04:35 PM   #15
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I have used either decomposed granite or "pack gravel" on trailer parking surfaces since 1974. Both these products wick the moisture equally well and allow the tires to sit on dry surfaces except during the actual rainfall. In the hot dry summers of northern California, it also stays cooler than asphalt does. Its been perfect for me.
Thanks Jim,

Did you excavate out before putting in the DG? Did you compact it or put any other substrate below it?

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Old 10-22-2018, 06:36 PM   #16
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I bought some rubber pavers from a home improvement store that are 16x16x1 and made from shredded tires. They have grooves on the surface to simulate stone so they drain away any water that lands on them and block the moisture from coming up from the gravel pad. I figured what is better for rubber tires to sit on than rubber tires. They are only a few bucks each.
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Old 10-22-2018, 06:54 PM   #17
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I park mine on gravel and the tires are on plywood, no issues here. The best part is that it is at home and not all alone in a storage yard.
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Old 10-22-2018, 07:20 PM   #18
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Here in the desert I only put the front stabilizers down and left the back ones up while in storage as I was advised by an RV teck to only put down what you need in the sand as they are highways into the RV for ants!

As for ants, keeping food stuff out of trailer helps. On top of that, I spray Raid on everything that comes in contact with the ground during ant season.
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Old 10-22-2018, 07:23 PM   #19
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I park mine on blacktop and have never had any problems with the tires

My trailer has been on black top in three different storage yards for about five years now with no tire issues.
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Old 10-22-2018, 07:39 PM   #20
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We laid medium sized stones (~14 tons wort) around 2 doubled rows of 16x16x4 concrete blocks. That gives some wiggle room when backing, and keeps everything high and dry during Arizona monsoon season.
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