Hydraulic Stabilizers / Driveway damage

Driveway slabs tend to be kind of thin by my standards. Thus easily damaged.

I'd plank it, I have in my motor home

For leveling several "Stair Steps" some 2 step, some 3 (2 of each in fact)
These are 2xTire width layed out as follows

Step 3
The second step
And of coruse the bottom step

The bottom step is 3 feet long and the 2nd 2 and the 3rd 1 This gets me as level as possible BEFORE i extend jacks

I also have some 2x12x12 slabs I have six of these 4 are double thickeness (two slabs glued together cross grain) and 2 are singles.

I use these with my hand jacks and stands but they can go under tires as well

Id use the 2x12's at the very least. Under the tires the grain should run the same direction as the tracks Under the jacks it does not matter.

When we bought our first RV (a 26' Class C), we had a dirt & bark third drveway. We had it paved. The concrete vendor suggested a denser mix and an extra inch of depth in the area where the rig would sit and we agreed.

We now have a 32' Class A using the same pad. I would estimate it weighs maybe 50% more than the Class C and the back axle isn't on the thicker part. We haven't seen any concrete problems. Civil engineer8ing design is very conservative! Neighbors hava 43' tag-axle DP, and their parking pad is standard driveway thickness, They've lived there 12 years and haven't had a problem.

Initally, we deployed the jacks whan it was parked, but we got corrosion on the piston rods. I contacted the system vendor about proximity to salt water when parked long term and they said if we were within 60 miles of salt water, we should not leave the jacks extended. Since we're less than 60 yards from salt-water marina waterfont (we're on the cheap side of the street), I leave the rig on its tires.

A new set of tires is a lot less expensive than new levelling jacks.

Dutch_12078 wrote:

msmith1199 wrote:

Hikerdogs wrote:
If the driveway is strong enough to hold the motorhome when it has 4 points of contact(4 tires) it should be strong enough to hold it when there are 8 points of contact (4 tires and 4 jacks). If you're not lifting the wheels off the ground you are essentially spreading the weight across a larger cross section of the drive.

Well, maybe. The leveler jacks have a smaller footprint than the tire, and they are made of steel so the PSI on the ground will be higher. Go out on asphalt during a hot day and notice how the tires sit nicely on top of the pavement without a problem. Now put the jacks down and watch them sink right into that asphalt. Same thing can happen on soft ground. And remember in the back on that motorhome, which has much more weight than the front, you are going from four tire footprints on the ground, to two leveler pads on the ground. The pressure can be much more significant even if you don't lift the wheels off the ground.

The leveler jack footprint is brand dependent. My Bigfoot jacks for example, have a 10"x10" footprint, larger than most RV tires.

Are they larger than two RV tires? Remember there are four tires on the back, or more if you have a tag axle.

msmith1199 wrote:

Hikerdogs wrote:
If the driveway is strong enough to hold the motorhome when it has 4 points of contact(4 tires) it should be strong enough to hold it when there are 8 points of contact (4 tires and 4 jacks). If you're not lifting the wheels off the ground you are essentially spreading the weight across a larger cross section of the drive.

Well, maybe. The leveler jacks have a smaller footprint than the tire, and they are made of steel so the PSI on the ground will be higher. Go out on asphalt during a hot day and notice how the tires sit nicely on top of the pavement without a problem. Now put the jacks down and watch them sink right into that asphalt. Same thing can happen on soft ground. And remember in the back on that motorhome, which has much more weight than the front, you are going from four tire footprints on the ground, to two leveler pads on the ground. The pressure can be much more significant even if you don't lift the wheels off the ground.

The leveler jack footprint is brand dependent. My Bigfoot jacks for example, have a 10"x10" footprint, larger than most RV tires.

Hikerdogs wrote:
If the driveway is strong enough to hold the motorhome when it has 4 points of contact(4 tires) it should be strong enough to hold it when there are 8 points of contact (4 tires and 4 jacks). If you're not lifting the wheels off the ground you are essentially spreading the weight across a larger cross section of the drive.

Well, maybe. The leveler jacks have a smaller footprint than the tire, and they are made of steel so the PSI on the ground will be higher. Go out on asphalt during a hot day and notice how the tires sit nicely on top of the pavement without a problem. Now put the jacks down and watch them sink right into that asphalt. Same thing can happen on soft ground. And remember in the back on that motorhome, which has much more weight than the front, you are going from four tire footprints on the ground, to two leveler pads on the ground. The pressure can be much more significant even if you don't lift the wheels off the ground.

I"m going up there in a week. I'll post what will hopefully be an uneventful visit.

If the driveway is strong enough to hold the motorhome when it has 4 points of contact(4 tires) it should be strong enough to hold it when there are 8 points of contact (4 tires and 4 jacks). If you're not lifting the wheels off the ground you are essentially spreading the weight across a larger cross section of the drive.

We've parked both our 2001 Adventurer and our 2013 Adventurer in our drive for over 12 years without damaging the concrete. If you have some concerns you can also enlarge the contact as previously mentioned by placing pads under the jacks. The pads will have to have considerably more surface area than the bottom of the levelers to appreciably spread the load. The reason parks with asphalt pads require pads under the jacks is that the asphalt softens in hot weather allowing the jacks to sink. Concrete doesn't care if it's -20 or 120 it doesn't soften and has the same strength

Unless the contractor who poured the driveway used substandard concrete or it's less than minimal thickness for a residential application you should be fine.

26,000 lb. on concrete slab for 9 years. So far, no cracks. Had slab poured for that purpose but is same as regular driveway.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback.