Forum Discussion

dad2aprincess's avatar
Mar 28, 2015

soft pavement

What product / procedure do you guys use when camping on soft pavement? We stopped at a government-run park the other day that hadn't had any updates in decades. Our jacks made big holes in their pavement. (Their water and power didn't work either. It was a fun night.)
  • My coach has two very large rear jack pads (12") and the front has two medium size pads, about 8". On a recent trip, one of the front pads blew a hole through an asphalt campsite. I looked for a premade plastic block that would support the weight of a DP. I found some nice blocks from this place. They're pricey, but I only needed two. They're very well made.

    Campers Friend
  • Place boards under the jacks to spread the weight, the bigger the area covered by the wood the less it sinks, soft pavement, sand, dirt with grass is what you are trying to avoid, the joke is to distribute the load and if the wood sinks to far, leave the wood in place, you can always purchase more.

    navegator
  • I try to avoid such places. We camped in similar facility years ago for family funeral. I try not to to do it again, had to dig jacks out and then patch holes in paving.

    Ask on this sit, chances are someone has been there and done that and can help find better place with better facilities.
  • 2oldman wrote:
    I've never encountered this, with the possible exception when it was 110°. Sounds like someone didn't let it cure.

    Or too much oil

    I always put some boards under the jacks to distribute the weight.
  • I carry 4, orange plastic pads that I bought at Camping World. About 1 inch thick with a waffle pattern on one side, flat on the other. They are about 14" square and smooth side down for soft pavement. They work just fine but if one ever gets stuck, I'll just have a set of 3. I think I paid around 12 dollers per pair.
  • 1 inch treated plywood sections, with a smaller section glued and screwed on top of that as large as will fit a small compartment, that will go under your jacks and not have to run the wheels over them.
    They get heavy but plastic ones like utility companies use on outriggers cost a ton.
    In Texas we stayed at an RV resort outside Austin that was perfectly dry and had large rocks on the lane on the site. Our front jacks sunk down to their limit. Water running over rock a few feet down a week after a downpour.
    They brought big pieces of plywood plus ours and some boards after re situated on the site a few feet. The grass and lane were bone dry on top.
  • power and water probably ran under the pad where your jacks were
  • I've never encountered this, with the possible exception when it was 110°. Sounds like someone didn't let it cure.