Bus in Your Driveway

[mmanning]

I'd like to keep the bus I eventually purchase in my driveway (its allowed by the city), but I am worried that my driveway cement is not thick enough to hold the weight.  Do you have issues with cracking pavement?  If this is an issue, how did you solve it?

[Scott & Heather]

My bus cracks pavement sometimes when I visit friends. I insist to every one of them that I can't park in their driveways, they all absolutely assure me I can, I explain that my coach will crack their concrete, they absolutely insist it's ok and never believe me...and then of course it does and they never complain as these usually aren't the first cracks in their concrete but yeah, my coach at 40,000 lbs will crack anything less than 6" thick. There's no way around it besides having thick concrete or being ok cracking it. I suppose you could put long thick boards down to spread out the weight and increase your footprint but long term I think that might be a pain.

[richard5933]

There are many factors involved beyond just how thick the concrete slab is...what type of concrete was used, how well was the concrete laid, was proper reinforcement put in place, what's the drainage situation, and most importantly how stable and well-prepared was the underlying substrate. You can put a great slab on top of unstable ground and have problems.

Do you have any information about your driveway? Whether or not the concrete in my driveway cracked (it didn't) from the weight of my bus doesn't really help you know if yours will crack.

My suggestion would be to call a local paving contractor to come out and evaluate what you've got and to make recommendations. A reliable contractor familiar with the specific needs for your geographic area would be able to give you an answer pretty quickly.

[Scott & Heather]

I would still insist that no matter how great your rebar or substrate or drainage, 4" of concrete isn't enough to stave off weight induced cracks from a 35,000 or 40,000 bus.

[edvanland]

My original driveway and the one I still have is 3 & 1/2 inches thick, no rebar and just laid down on top of the grass. I did not know when I poured it in 1980 I would have a bus. The bus has not cracked it nor has a 8 to 9 yard cement truck. Lucky I guess or the good lord protects fools. Just put a 20 by 14 by 25 foot extension at the top of the drive to connect to the road and it is 5 and 1/2 inches, compacted with rebar and is 3000 lb concrete so will see how that works.

[Dave5Cs]

But Ed you live in Arizona and basically you are putting concrete on top of concrete.....

[DoubleEagle]

The quality of the materials under the concrete is very important, and they have to be compacted well. Trees nearby can send their roots far underneath and lift the slabs inches creating unsupported spaces that will crack more easily. There are heavier sizes of rebar, and there are stronger levels of concrete (like 4,000 lb). Six or more inches of concrete would be best on clay soils, maybe you can get by with less out west. Even blacktop has its limitations. I rescued an Eagle bus recently that sat on a commercial blacktop parking lot for twelve years in the same spot. The tires sank down into the blacktop 3-4 inches. That is an unusual situation, but on a hot summer day a heavy bus can make a depression in someone's new driveway. Scott is lucky that he has good friends and relatives.

[Dave5Cs]

In Roseville and Sacramento area I park at home on Gravel but in winter or when parked more than a month I put her on rubber mud flaps or Jack stands on plywood if more time is needed. Here in summer you can use a pick to dig a hole in summer and it will make a black mark on the dirt. In winter after rains you can stand in same spot and sink to your ankles so concrete has to have 3 inches of gravel with 4x4" hog wire laid in it and at least 6 inches to support a bus or heavy rig. I have parked on asphalt in the summer and sank in. Was able to get out but it was not that easy.

[gg04]

All we have used for the last 20years has been 8" of cement stabilized earth then topped with either 4" of asphalt for roads, or 3 1/2 -4"s of 3500 concrete with 2 bags of long filament per yard. For parking spots.. Works great in wet or dry areas...rdw

[mmanning]

What is the average weight on each axle?  I might be able to get some scrap fiberglass grating that could potentially be used to spread the weight out a little bit.

[luvrbus]

Concrete is only as strong as the sub base ,most residential drive ways have no sub base for the water to pass through,lol my bus ate up 160ft x 20ft x 4in thick drive way in Scottsdale and enjoyed doing it I think.
I went back with 8 inches of agg base material and 5 inches of 4000 lb concrete rebar is not that important on a flat drive way in AZ rebar is more for flexing of the concrete do to expansion in certain high expansive soils. Don't let someone cut the joints 2 inches deep or it will break 2 things about concrete it gets hard and will break,most concrete you buy now is filled with fly ash not cement to keep the price down

[kyle4501]

I'd like to keep the bus I eventually purchase in my driveway (its allowed by the city), but I am worried that my driveway cement is not thick enough to hold the weight.  Do you have issues with cracking pavement?  If this is an issue, how did you solve it?

You may not have any problems. However, if the concrete cracks, then you will have an idea of what you will need - worst case is you end up with a recycled gravel driveway.