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suprz's avatar
suprz
Explorer
Jul 26, 2017

Advice on building a gravel parking pad

If all goes well this fall, i will be installing a gravel parking pad for the RV. It will be 36ft long, by 12ft wide. And will make it 4 inches deep. Rough estimate of 3/4 crushed stone needed is 4 yards. I want to dig down 4 inches, tamp down the soil and put 2 layers of landscaping fabric for weed control, then just have the stone brought in. This pad wont be used like a driveway, the RV will just be backed up onto it, and then when we leave for a trip driven out off of it. That is why im not thinking about putting down layers of base materials first. Edging will most likely be pressure treated 2x6's. Anyways, advice and or ideas are welcome

Thanks
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  • Hank_MI's avatar
    Hank_MI
    Explorer
    Jul 26, 2017
    We built a parking area about 7 years ago. Pretty similar to what you're doing. It's next to our driveway and the ground sloped down quite a bit. Had fill dirt brought in to make a level area. Packed down with small dozer. A load of crushed rock on top, not sure the exact depth, around 4". I bordered it with treated 2 x 6's. I could use another load of crushed rock. Our driveway slopes towards it so in heavy rains it gets a lot of water. Like you plan, we park the MH on it and when ready to leave we drive away. It's worked well for us.
  • JIMNLIN's avatar
    JIMNLIN
    Explorer III
    Jul 26, 2017
    My pad is under a 16' wide x 40' long trailer shed. I used 3/4" limestone crusher run. Soil is compact sandy which has driveway gravel working up to the surface in dry weather.
    My 1/4 mile long driveway is 3/4" and 1 1/4" crusher run and has been down since '98. The dump truck spread it out on the ground about 3"-4" deep.
    If your in the Bermuda grass zone its a much bigger problem than weeds. I use a grass and weed killer along the driveway edge as a weed killer won't kill grasses.
  • tragusa3's avatar
    tragusa3
    Explorer
    Jul 26, 2017
    The sub-soil you're dealing with will partly determine what sort of prep you need to do. I'm on a very hard red clay. We just dumped the gravel, spread it out and used it. That was 10 years ago with zero maintenance.

    We used "crusher run" and it is closer to cement now than gravel. The larger the gravel you use, the better it will hold up to erosion from water. But that may not be of concern in your location.
  • wing_zealot's avatar
    wing_zealot
    Explorer
    Jul 26, 2017
    Your math is off. 36' x 12' x 4" = 5.3 cyd. Making it 6" deep would equal 8 cyd.
  • Halmfamily's avatar
    Halmfamily
    Explorer
    Jul 26, 2017
    In making our pad I leveled and compat6ed the area with our tractor and then layed 2-4 inches of number 2 gravel with no edging. I did not use any fabric, if weeds come up a little weed killer takes care of it. I've added a little gravel in spots over the years especially after heavy rainy seasons and the gravel settled some. Seven years and mostly maintainence free.
  • gbopp's avatar
    gbopp
    Explorer
    Jul 26, 2017
    I didn't build a pad but, I did cover a large area I use for parking my car/truck and RV with 2B gravel. I just scraped off the grass and about an inch of dirt before pouring the gravel. It varies from about 2-4 inches deep. It works great and drains well.
    I didn't use weed stop fabric. I get some weeds but, I just spray them with weed killer every few weeks. It's much easier than cutting grass.
    You'll like your pad.
  • Ivylog's avatar
    Ivylog
    Explorer III
    Jul 26, 2017
    Get "crusher run" as it will compact better and you might as well go 6" as a single axle dump truck holds 6 yards. I would not worry about tamping it down although I would run the RV back and forth several times before putting the fabric down...leave any ruts it makes.

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