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egarant's avatar
egarant
Explorer III
Jun 20, 2017

New Concrete Driveway....Is It Strong Enough?

Just had a new concrete driveway poured. The driveway will average 4" thick, will cure in 30 days (it's been 32 as of today) to 3,000lbs per square inch. Buckeye Fibers were also added and mixed into the concrete at the plant. No indication of how much base, but they did put in a welded wire mesh in place of rebar.

DW is scared that parking the 14,000 TC on the NEW driveway will crack it.
The old driveway was already in tough shape when I purchased the TC, so I can't compare.

CAT scale info:
Front axle weight: 5,500 lbs
Rear axle weight: 9000 lbs

5,500 lbs divided by two front tires would be 2,750 lbs each
9,000 lbs divided by 4 rear tires would be 2,250 lbs each

I just measured the tire contact patch with the ground, it is about 6'x8" for each tire.

If each tire is contacting the driveway with 48" of rubber I'll do the following math...... 48 x 3,000=144,000 which means the driveway should hold 144,000 lbs in each 48" area. If that is correct, I should be WAY safe.

Does that sound correct?

Thanks!

35 Replies

  • Do a little math. If one tire has a 6" x 6" contact area that is 36 square inches. 36 sq.in. x 3,000 lbs/sq.in. = 108,000 lbs for each tire. I think you will be okay.
  • I used to deliver concrete and the standard time for curing of driveways and non commercial use is seven days before you should drive or park on it. For commercial use it goes from 30 to 60 days depending on the depth.
    Allot of other factors though, like the addition of fibers or the correct slump and temperature of the mix at pour, But for what you are doing 30 days is plenty!
    If your that concerned, cut up some 1/2 inch plywood in 2'x2' squares and put them under your jacks to spread the weight.
  • You probably can park on it after about seven days. Yes, it is strong enough.