RV gravel drive - how to?

[CPittman]

I need to put down a gravel drive and parking spot for my RV and I'm looking for suggestions. The soil on the property is hardpack sand.



Should I put down a 1" stone bed 4 - 6" deep and go back over that with 3/8" chips (or crusher run)? Should I just put down chips and leave it at that?



This drive will be used fairly infrequently, but will carry my truck ~7,700 lb and the 5er ~9,000 lb. dry.



Any suggestions?

 

[robertyoke]

I don't have sand here, clay mostly but I like re-cycled asphalt instead of gravel. it does not move around as much and holds up better imo. crushed concrete is good also but more dusty till it packs down. I think both are better than just a 3/4 rock and its the labor/trucking that cost the most anyway.

-robert

 

[AndrewKing]

I recently made some parking spaces at a rental property and was told to go with 5 inches of 24A which is basically a mix of #57 stones and crush and run... . the 57s provide some base and the dust acts like cement to bind everything together and makes for a smooth surface... the 5 inches were used since it will eventually pack down... . seems to work real well so far.

Andrew

 

[Grizzly]

A 1" layer of crusher fines work great on hard packed sand. How thick is the sand and what's under it. My concern is under heavy rain, what happens to the hard packed sand?

 

[MMiller]

We don't have sand around here, so this may just be the wrong thing. We usually dump a good layer of 2" rock, about 4-6" deep down for the first pass, and then as those rocks get pushed into the ground a little then we dump smaller rock that packs pretty nice. The larger rock makes a better base and stays longer then smaller rock. We do this on our farm driveways that see loaded semi trucks and heavy equipment. Its usually a 2 year project, then more rock as time goes by, but thats on high traffic driveways.



Our base soil is black dirt and clay.



Michael

 

[DMcGalliard]

Gravel drive and parking

The suggestions are good, my experience is that 2" of 3/4" washed stone is best, it will mini the dust and stay put. Try to make it wide enough to be able to drive over the whole width of the drive, it will keep the drive well shaped. Crown it slight so that the water stays off of it. I have 1/2 mile of gravel drive that I maintain with about 10 users, I demand that they use all the road and not follow the other guys tracks. It makes a big difference as the the amount of time that I spend grading the road.

On the spot you park your RV gravel is ok if you make sure that no water stands under the RV, make sure it is well drained, sloped or crowned. Water under an RV will cause mold and mildew in the RV, I know from experience. Paved is better, but there is the problems of cost and footprint of where the RV sets, most pavement will not hold up, concrete maybe. Mine is still gravel for the Teton. Hope this helps.

Dave Mc

 

[JimB1]

Drainage, drainage, drainage. With drainage almost anything works. Without drainage almost nothing works. 1-1/4 minus crushed rock is excellent pick by itself and has all the sizes in it to tie everything together. Dust can be a problem especially since we don't "oil" the roads anymore but you've called out infrequent use so dust issue is mitigated. How deep the layer, gets back to drainage. If terrain slopes away even slightly and you crown the middle just a tad (1-2 inches) then 3-4 inches out at the edges, all 1-1/4 minus crush over hard pack sand will make the best most economical solution possible.

 

[Grizzly]

Drainage, drainage, drainage. With drainage almost anything works. Without drainage almost nothing works. 1-1/4 minus crushed rock is excellent pick by itself and has all the sizes in it to tie everything together. Dust can be a problem especially since we don't "oil" the roads anymore but you've called out infrequent use so dust issue is mitigated. How deep the layer, gets back to drainage. If terrain slopes away even slightly and you crown the middle just a tad (1-2 inches) then 3-4 inches out at the edges, all 1-1/4 minus crush over hard pack sand will make the best most economical solution possible.

I agree 100% on drainage, but you must know what's underneath the surface. Is it clay, if so, is it a heavy clay or a lean clay, or is it sand or is it silt. If you don't know, dig a hole with a post hole digger if nothing else. To know what to put on top of the surface you must know what is under the surface, then make it drain.

 

[abdiver]

If your under base the sand is like beach sand, Place filter cloth or Rail Road cloth over the sand then 4 inches of 3/4" Road base (3/4" crushed stone with fines) wet it down and drive over it to help pack it down once it is dry and hard place 1 to 2 inches of 3/4 round stone (no fines) the round stone will not get stuck in tire tread or your shoes will drain water and will keep inside of your Trailer clean. This is for Parking pad only do not place round stone on a roadway. You may not have to use the filter cloth but I don't know your soil type.

 

[Grizzly]

If your under base the sand is like beach sand, Place filter cloth or Rail Road cloth over the sand then 4 inches of 3/4" Road base (3/4" crushed stone with fines) wet it down and drive over it to help pack it down once it is dry and hard place 1 to 2 inches of 3/4 round stone (no fines) the round stone will not get stuck in tire tread or your shoes will drain water and will keep inside of your Trailer clean. This is for Parking pad only do not place round stone on a roadway. You may not have to use the filter cloth but I don't know your soil type.

Sounds like you have had plenty of experience building or designing roadways or maybe both.

 

[abdiver]

Grizzly, Yes, I was / am an General Engineering Contractor. Had my own business for over 20 years, grew up on ranch I always liked Trucks and Tractors started with one backhoe. Most work done in rural area where most roads are gravel privately maintained. I just got tired of dealing with employees and all the new State and Fed rules and regs for my business. Still own all my equipt I still have fun operating it on my 10 acres. I don't own a wheelbarrow find a backhoe works better I don't have to push it.

 

[CPittman]

abdiver - there is actually hard-pack red clay at about 6-8" below the sand surface. I like the idea of heavy base with fines to hold everything together and then a washed stone layer over that to keep the inside of the trailer clean - sounds just about right.



The drive to the parking spot will be about 700-800 feet long with the first 400 feet or so winding through the pines and it not very sandy at all, just the last half and the parking area is somewhat sandy.



I really appreciate everyone's thoughtful responses - now it's time to get to work!

 

[bmoeller]

I HATE red clay. The stuff here doesn't drain worth a crap. Isn't worth a dang for growing crops, either.

 

[abdiver]

Cpittman, I don't know your area's soil conditions. So take this with a grain of salt Would it help to remove the 6 to 8 inches of sand and place rock on the Red Clay? With this sand does it assist in the drainage of the area? I always like to build my roadways & parking pads so when they are finished so they are above the existing soil so it stays well drained. You don't want the finished grade of the road or Pad to be below grade as you want rain water to run away not into the area. As stated earlier Drainage is very important



Good luck with the job.

 

[Thunderbolt]

I built a driveway back to my Dad's pole barn where he stores his 34' motorhome. I used 70 tons of "quarry blend". It's basically 1-2" stone and fines straight from the quarry. The fines really help lock it in place. After spreading the base, I used a plate compactor. After a couple passes I hosed it down and made a couple more passes. It's like concrete. I started building at the end of an existing driveway. Each Dump truck load backed down over newly spread stone helping the whole compacting process along. By the way in South Jersey our soil is sugar sand over orange clay/gravel.