Help with building a driveway for RV-

[bluecheese]

My mother in law just bought an RV and we want to park it by my house. The spot in question is currently covered with grass.

Does anyone have experience in building a driveway for an RV. What should we be looking for, can we do it ourselves or shoudl we contract someone. Would dirt and gravel do it or should it be concrete etc..?

If anyone has info or knows anything about it please dive in as she is getting that thing this week-end

[JeffP]

If you do concrete, you're going to make it quite thick to prevent buckling and cracking from the weight of the RV. The biggest thing is keeping it level.

[R-3]

Gravel will work as long as it's compacted well and save a ton of money. Compactors work very well. Something like 3/4- would work great for it. Also doing gravel will leave it open to pouring concrete later on since you have already done the first step. You can also have gravel delivered in a truck that has a spreader than can throw that stuff like 40'. It all depends how much work and how much $$. Later Ryan

[bluecheese]

Great thanks for replies.

so you would recommend going for gravel, especially if I am not sure will keep that thing for a long time (which is the case). Cost is always an issue but durable and not a source of problem is probably teh biggest one here. Would you do Sand + Gravel or just plain gravel.

 

If going for concrete what kind of cost would I be looking at? RV is about 24ft long.

 

The area in question is not leveled at all it has a gentle slope to one side so I gues the first step would be to dig it up and level it with more dirt

Then dump gravel 3/4" (is that the grain size or the layer size) How thick of a layer do you put?. Can you rent the compactors at HD?

 

As you can see I am very naive about the all thing...

[R-3]

Yeah if it might be a temp thing I would definately do gravel. Ive never done a sand/gravel mix maybe someone else can chime in. Thickness will be up to you.

 

You can rent a compactor at a local rental shop, no sure about HD. Ask for a plate compactor- looks like this

 

http://kormax.en.ecplaza.net/3.asp

 

3/4 - (3/4 minus) is the grade of gravel

[Michael7979]

I would remove dirt to make the area level. If you add dirt it could shift and the you have the same problem again. Yeah 3/4 minus should be OK, but it can be done.

[bluecheese]

Thanks Ryan lots of good info. HD does rent those, they look like fun toys , but not sure how long the fun lasts (wife)

 

I would remove dirt to make the area level. If you add dirt it could shift and the you have the same problem again. Yeah 3/4 minus should be OK' date=' but it can be done.[/quote']

 

That makes sense. I was actually wondering how much I would have to work to try leveling the place by adding dirt and of course how stable that would be.

 

By "3/4 minus should be OK, but it can be done" do you suggest using something else that would be more suitable?? Or just trying to confuse me...(scratch)

[bluecheese]

Does this look reasonable to you guys?

 

http://www.build-yourown-home.com/driveway-materials.html

[mister crabs]

try these guys. http://www.johnsoncreekrentals.com/rock_sand_gravel.html

 

yeah basicall you want t o dig up the high spots to level it out and have a good thick layer of gravel brought in and then compacted. just call em and tell em what you are looking for. its a pretty common project and its way cheaper than concrete. If it were going to be permanant or if you may possibly want to use the space again for say a basketball court or something then concrete may be the way to go.

[mister crabs]

a plate compactor would work for what you need. unless you want to have lots of fun and rent a roller. plate compactor is basically like a jackhammer except it has a flat plate instead of a chisel tip. just stake out the area to grade and use construction twine to get an even height. pound gravel flat in the area and thats about it. Did this at my father in laws a couple years back and every year for the last ten or so we spread new gravel on his 1/4 mile or so driveway in central oregon. of course we just drive the dumptruck on that to flatten.

 

HTH. -John

[spectra]

Everything stated is correct on building a driveway or pad. I did one out of 3/4 minus and used it for 3 to 4 years until I was tired of sweeping up gravel from the kids and also the tires of the truckDOH! Also remember not sure how it is in Oregon but in Washington a gravel driveway is not permanent but concrete is so taxes went up once we poured concrete. And yes the gravel is a good base for concrete if you decide to go that rout. Good luck with the project.

[bluecheese]

Jeff, Ryan, John, Michael, Scott Thanks

Lots of very good points. Very useful info guys! I'll start to contact some of those sources.

 

So is this the kind of job that would take a full week-end from digging to compacting? Or would you plan for more time? Just trying to decide on timing for renting equipment. The area of work is about 10 feet wide and 35 feet long.

 

So do I take it that the crushed concrete idea is not so good ? See link in previous post.

[spectra]

I have never used or seen the concret you posted a link to but it does look promising if it works. As for time it all depends on how you are going to dig it out? I used a bobcat so only took me about 2 hours to move dirt and get it all level. Then you need to put down whatever you choose and compact it. Also remember if you dig down into the dirt you will need some sort of edging to keep the gravel out of the dirt? If you are going with concrete no worry on the edging.

[mister crabs]

the crushed concrete may crumble over time. the gravel wont. other than that it would probably work.

[Michael7979]

 

By "3/4 minus should be OK, but it can be done" do you suggest using something else that would be more suitable?? Or just trying to confuse me...(scratch)

 

Yep just trying to confuse....................(laugh)(laugh)(laugh)

[SquidHC]

I have been in constructruction for quite some time. That being, I would definetely recommend gravel. As said above use 3/4- (three quarter minus). Dont add sand or anything like that. It would be in your best interest to dig down 2-3 inches, then fill it and compact it. If you place it next to your house, be sure to consider proper drainage as it can act like a pool and seep all the water into your foundation.

 

Theres a place on Division and about 115th. People dump old concrete there, then they break it up and re sell it. Its cheaper then normal quarry gravel, and is from a more sustainable resource (being it is not mined). I got a 12 yard truck delivered for about 125 bucks. Plus, it compacts really nicely. Even better then normal gravel imo.