Home Parking Pad

[haleme]

I have been parking my TT at the end of my driveway (near the house) for over a year. It has been a pain to park my truck and wife's van around the trailer and something needed to be done.

Before Christmas, we took out 10 trees in the backyard. This week will have the backyard levelled, resolve the drainage issues and remove the remaining tree stumps. Now, we will have proper space to park the trailer off the driveway.

When this work is complete, I plan to use railroad ties as a border and gravel to make a more permanent place to park my 33' trailer.

Any suggestions or things I need to think about as I plan and execute a new parking pad for my TT?

[TitanMike]

I just finished laying a bunch of these both to access my gravel pad without leavjng ruts as well as for level pads within the graveled area.

They let water drain from underneath the tires.

https://www.belgard.com/

Turf Stone


The access part in my front yard will have grsss and the tire pads are just filled with crushed rock.

[Fishspike]

Are you using Class Five gravel

Originally Posted by TitanMike

I just finished laying a bunch of these both to access my gravel pad without leavjng ruts as well as for level pads within the graveled area.

They let water drain from underneath the tires.

https://www.belgard.com/

Turf Stone


The access part in my front yard will have grsss and the tire pads are just filled with crushed rock.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Fishspike

Are you using Class Five gravel

Don't know what "class" but quarry sent me "5/8 chip". Largest size of crushed stone is 5/8" and includes lesser size chips but no fines (dust, fine sand).

Compacts easily but still alliws some drainage.

[flyflotrtim]

In addition to drainage, access to water and electricity will be handy. Outside lighting is nice too. If you could also allow access to your septic, that would be great.

[haleme]

Good conversation. Am I thinking about this correctly with the railroad ties thou? Is there a better alternative?

My local landscape supply has #57 gravel for $56 a ton. #57 is, 3/4-1" sized gravel. They recommend at least 2" deep.

I will have a box with 50 amp (30 and 20 receptacles) and water trenched to the back side of the pad. Septic is on the front of the house, so not practical to get a full hook up.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by haleme

. Am I thinking about this correctly with the railroad ties thou? Is there a better alternative?

There's got to be an alternative to creosote soaked railroad ties and I'll bet your landscaping company has a better alternative.
You might want to ask their advice since what will work depends on your soil, amount of rain, slope of the land, etc.

[wildmanabe]

Well we just got 2 months ago a new 5'er. So what i did was 20x40 Tarp. Got 4 yards of little white rock, not lime. Spread the rock out an had enough to go an extra 10 ft off the 40ft an a 5x5 door pad. It's on a small incline so any big rain will drain. The part that is off the tarp i just sprayed a weed/grass killer made with Vinegar . Killed any plant life. Sprayed wheels,jacks with a bug killer, 90 day lasting. After the first Drive on with unit, i ended up raking out another 10 feet. Spots had a bit too much rock. Under $400 , Compared to Getting a permit to put down cement pad, Cement which total about $2000.

[Nick Danger]

Railroad ties are actually hard to come by in my region. They are unnecessary and you should stick with pressure treated 6x6 landscape timbers to keep the stone in place. I would recommend removing the organics (grass and loam) before installing the stone. I would also recommend putting 4 to 6 inches of compacted reclaimed base course before the top layer of stone dressing. Tip the area about 2" side to side or front to back so water will drain off.
The turf stone access across the grass is perfect. Just make sure to install to manufacturers specs or you'll be fixing it for years.
Good luck on the project. Keep us updated with photos.

[Alloutdrs1]

I have been working on mine as well, I framed out with 4x6 pressure treated lumber. I then filled it in with crush and run this by past Friday and yesterday rented a vibratory plate compactor to run over the whole thing. My plan is to top dress with 2" of #57 gravel now. I have to cut across my front Lawn to access my spot and it's not next to me driveway so those belgard turf stones look like a good idea for that area. I have been laying out plywood but that is getting old.

[emm-dee]

When I put my 25 foot wide carport in I spread a combination of crush and run and 5-7 rock. Since the ground slopes about four inches side to side I then poured 2’x3’ concrete pads to park on which allowed the RV to be perfectly level when parked.

I don’t know if it’s fact or not but there have been several comments on this forum saying it was not good to park the tires on concrete. Being cautious I put HDPE boards under the tires if I know the RV will be parked more than two-three weeks.

Also, since the parking area is about 150 feet from the driveway I extended the 5-7 rock from the carport to the driveway. It’s only about three inches thick but prevents rutting the approach to the carport. Four years later the rock has been taken over by grass and has disappeared. But, it still does the job of preventing ruts when driving over it, especially when raining.

[haleme]

Originally Posted by emm-dee

Four years later the rock has been taken over by grass and has disappeared. But, it still does the job of preventing ruts when driving over it, especially when raining.

Great info! Did you use a weed block fabric or other ground cover prior to laying the rock?

I am planning on using weed block before I lay the rock.

[haleme]

Originally Posted by Alloutdrs1

I have been working on mine as well, I framed out with 4x6 pressure treated lumber. I then filled it in with crush and run this by past Friday and yesterday rented a vibratory plate compactor to run over the whole thing. My plan is to top dress with 2" of #57 gravel now. I have to cut across my front Lawn to access my spot and it's not next to me driveway so those belgard turf stones look like a good idea for that area. I have been laying out plywood but that is getting old.

This sounds about what I am planning to do. Did you use anything to keep the 4x6 pt lumber attached to each other and not move?

[tinkerreknit]

Railroad crossties are cheap and readily available in my area, so that's what I used. I had to build up one corner of the area 19". They aren't as attractive as treated timbers but they are massive and don't move much. Drill holes and use rebar to pin them in place - they will creep out otherwise. Also, tilt them slightly to counteract the pushing forces of the gravel and the weight of your camper over time. If you use more gravel than needed, you will have enough to rake and level it after a few years of settling. I would recommend running power to the area at any cost. I didn't run water to mine and I regret it. Could you put pipes or conduit in at this time, while the grading is underway? Consider a possible future shelter or canopy as you plan. My canopy was part of my project and the frame of that sits on the gravel a few inches inside of the crossties.

[emm-dee]

Originally Posted by haleme

Great info! Did you use a weed block fabric or other ground cover prior to laying the rock?

I am planning on using weed block before I lay the rock.

I intentionally didn’t use anything on the grass prior to laying the rock. I wanted the grass to come through.

The area inside the carport was machine scraped which took care of all the grass. Occasionally a little will grow through so I just spray it with Ace generic weed killer. I’ve learned a lot about weed killer (over 2,000 feet of fencing) and the Ace brand is half the cost of Round Up and lasts much longer.

[Cabinfever97]

Many different ways to do this. Most will work fine. I have done a dozen or so driveway extensions over the years, one at my house. First remove the sod layer. Add any drainage and any other underground work. Adjust grade. Compact area, you can not over compact. Lay down a woven geo textile fabric. This will keep the soil and aggregates separated. That will increase the stability and strength of the area. You can purchase this material at many landscape supply or a place that sells piping, concrete products, etc. If you are doing a large area the latter supply will.likley be less expensive to buy by the roll. Here by the foot is about $2 for a 12ft wide fabric. By the roll is less than a dollar a foot. Worth every oenny!!! Then add a crushed stone product, fines up to 1 inch. I use 411 crushed limestone. 3-4 inches compacted, you can not.over compact. Then I dress the top with 2 inches of 2B limestone. I do not use any edge material. Just another cost to build that would be better spent on aggregate. Just keep the edges strait when laying the top 2B. Will look good and be much easier to mow. Keep the area grass and weed free with a few squirts of round up throughout the growing season. You can also keep the edges nice using roundup, but takes a special touch or you will kill 3ft of lawn.

[Alloutdrs1]

Originally Posted by haleme

This sounds about what I am planning to do. Did you use anything to keep the 4x6 pt lumber attached to each other and not move?

I did, I cut them so they interlocked when stacked and then I drilled down through then and used 18" metal stakes I found next to the rebar at home Depot. Then I bought a box of timberlock screws and ran them down though every couple feet. Turned out real nice.

[Alloutdrs1]

Originally Posted by emm-dee

I intentionally didn’t use anything on the grass prior to laying the rock. I wanted the grass to come through.

The area inside the carport was machine scraped which took care of all the grass. Occasionally a little will grow through so I just spray it with Ace generic weed killer. I’ve learned a lot about weed killer (over 2,000 feet of fencing) and the Ace brand is half the cost of Round Up and lasts much longer.

I didn't think about the grass coming through the Rick but still firming things up. That would be ideal for what I need to do in the area leading up to my pad. I also thought about adding some sand to it, I've read that it helps lessen the ruts and grass easily grows through it.

[emm-dee]

Originally Posted by Alloutdrs1

I didn't think about the grass coming through the Rick but still firming things up. That would be ideal for what I need to do in the area leading up to my pad. I also thought about adding some sand to it, I've read that it helps lessen the ruts and grass easily grows through it.

Why add sand. Where you live it’s a naturally occurring substance.

[haleme]

Originally Posted by Alloutdrs1

I did, I cut them so they interlocked when stacked and then I drilled down through then and used 18" metal stakes I found next to the rebar at home Depot. Then I bought a box of timberlock screws and ran them down though every couple feet. Turned out real nice.

That is what I was looking for!

Thanks so much!