Advice on building a gravel parking pad

[suprz]

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

[Grit_dog]

OP, as you've seen the terminology for different aggregates is different everywhere.
Don't call the pit and ask for pit run without knowing what it is there......
To me pit run is exactly that. Whatever comes out of the pit before crushing and screening.
What you use for the pad depends on first if it's soft wet soil and you need a "base" or if it's fairly unyielding and all you need is a top course.
High traffic areas, base course (gravel and fines) will pack in and make a hard more structural surfacing. Recycled asphalt millings or recycled concrete, even better.
This stufff is not aesthetic.
For occasional use on a small pad like you're planning, I'd just get crushed rock. Anywhere from 1-1/2 to 3/4 depending how coarse you want it. Bigger rock will shove less.
Also, buy extra. If you need 6cy neatline, get a few extra yards. Grade it up in an area that won't get packed in and then you have a stockpile to freshen it up, fill in ruts, cover up silted areas etc.

[TenOC]

You want as much "dust" in the mix as you can get. Different location different terms. The dust packs down and turns into almost concrete after a few rains or some water from a hose.

[SDcampowneroper]

crusher run is also known as pit run, or base coarse, with fines and rock up to 3/4".
It is what is used for gravel roads, and base in our campsites. We then top sites with 1" clean to give a well drained clean to shoes surface.
The limestone fines compact into a nearly impervious barrior, stopping weeds and settling due to how hard it compacts. No need for fabric.

[theoldwizard1]

tragusa3 wrote:
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.

Very true. If you are on sand, landscape cloth is very important as the gravel will just sink into the sand over time.

tragusa3 wrote:
We used "crusher run" and it is closer to cement now than gravel.

Crusher run has different names in different area. It is a combination of 3/4" and down to "fines". It compacts very well. If you are doing more than 4"-6" you should spread the first 3"-4" "lift" and compact that before doing the next "lift".

[suprz]

I want something that wont get stuck in the rv's tire treads also. That is just a pet peeve of mine

[ken56]

I am looking at doing the same thing. Tims Ford State Park in Winchester TN has sites that are all fines. I like it but it tracks something terrible. It sticks on your shoes and you track it into you trailer and TV. The CA6 mentioned sounds like its not as bad as the straight fines. I will keep that in mind.

[valhalla360]

Big question is what is the underlying soil like. If it's weak, 4" likely won't be enough and it will rut as you pull onto it. Soft clay or muck is bad and no amount of compaction will help, you just need extra thickness.

If it's sand or hard clay, you should be fine.

[wnjj]

Dave H M wrote:
The term crusher run may be kinda slangy. i have heard truckers snicker about it.

The road pack around here is graded as CA6. It still has the "fines" in it and packs hard.

If you want stone without fines around here you call it clean.

Like i have CA6 on my road but 3 inch clean along the shore line of my pond.

anyhow personally I would go with CA6

The different terminology is interesting. At the quarry a half mile from my house, you ask for 3/4 minus (usually just called 3/4) if you want some fines in it and 3/4 drain if you want mostly larger stuff.

[Oasisbob]

You mentioned "the RV will just be backed onto it". This may work for you depending on how steep you are backing up. We tried gravel as you described and wheel spin was a headache. We decided to black top over it. We were patient and got some bids. One day we got a call from a black topper who had left over he needed to dump. We got 906 square feet done for a dollar a foot. It is considered temperary so did not affect taxes. Best of luck

[Dave_H_M]

The term crusher run may be kinda slangy. i have heard truckers snicker about it.

The road pack around here is graded as CA6. It still has the "fines" in it and packs hard.

If you want stone without fines around here you call it clean.

Like i have CA6 on my road but 3 inch clean along the shore line of my pond.

anyhow personally I would go with CA6

[Hank_MI]

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]

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]

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]

Your math is off. 36' x 12' x 4" = 5.3 cyd. Making it 6" deep would equal 8 cyd.