Gravel / Road Base for Parking Pad

[DavidInWilmNC]

Currently, I park my bus on the grass.  Well, it used to be grass, it's pretty much just sand and black soil now.  I live on the coast and, while not pure sand, our soil isn't as stable as what's found further inland.  A concrete pad isn't in the budget at the moment, and I'm not sure I want something so permanent anyway.  Asphalt would work, but I don't want my tires sticking in it in the summer.  I'm considering using relatively fine gravel or road base.  Part of my driveway is road base, which was put there by the previous owners of that lot about 5 years ago.  I park my cars on it daily, and it's about as hard as concrete.  No loose bits come out of it in tires or when I mow over the edges of it.  I'm wondering how that would work for a bus parking pad. 

I'm thinking that having the area scraped down about 4", framed with treated 2X6's, pinned in place by pipe, and filled with road base or some other gravel.  I'm thinking that having it 1-2" above grade would help with drainage tremendously.  Have any done this successfully or unsuccessfully?  I realize that it won't be as firm as concrete, but surely it'll be better than parking on the ground, having sand and dirt splash up on the tires, wheels, sides, and underneath.  I haven't checked on prices of gravel or road base lately.  Pluses are that there will be less prep work (more time to work on the bus), cracks obviously won't be an issue, animals won't use the ground under my bus as a litter box, and it won't be as permanent as concrete; it's a separately deeded lot and I'm sure I'll sell it one day when I move out of the city limits.  Thanks for any input or experiences.

David

[edroelle]

You will want to consider the drainage in the area and the soil.  If the soil drains good, then digging down may be a consideration.  You do not want a "bath tub" filled with gravel, which could be a slurry. 

I would like the parking site to be higher than the surrounding for good drainage.

In Michigan, a popular gravel is called a limestone mix - fines and course rock less than 2".  This packs very hard.  Michigan road gravel has a lot of clay in it which is terrible  when it gets wet.

Ed Roelle
Flint, MI

[Brian Diehl]

I've used a 3/4" Class V limestone base at both places I've lived and really like the product.  It becomes very hard after a few months and supports the weight of the bus great.  I have 6" of limestone down on about 8" of class V recycle mix.  No problems ....

[DavidInWilmNC]

Ed, I'm planning on digging down to allow for more gravel, but having 1-2" above grade.  Our sandy soil drains so well here that immediately after a hurricane's rain stops, there is no standing water... at least in the immediate area where I live.  Other parts of town stay wet for days or weeks.  I'll check on that limestone, that sounds like what I need.  Thanks guys.

David

[Jeremy]

My bus is parked on limestone too, which I did myself. The base is '2" to dust', and the top layer is '1"'. Limestone is by far the cheapest option here at least, and I personally like the simple white appearance. I did enquire about some of the fancy and expensive decorative gravels (every colour you can think of is available, plus slate, glass and all sorts of stuff), but was advised that most of them were not suitable for taking anything more than the weight of a car. I hired a wacker machine to pack mine down, and sp far there is no sign of the bus causing the gravel to sink.

Jeremy

[Ace]

Davis first off I know by now your left leg is much larger than your right leg! LOL

I did exactly what you want to do with our old house. I dug out a parking pad about 45-50'  long and about 12' wide. After that I found out I had access to my main water supply so I opted to tie into it for my water hookup and easy fill when parked. Also at that time I had an electrician come out and put in a 50 amp service mounted on the 4x4 post that had my water spigot mounted. Now after that was done I went around it with landscaping timbers, two timbers high and staggered the joints. I then drilled thru both layers of timbers and hammered in 2' long rebarb to keep the timbers in their place and tied together. After they were in, I had a local stone and gravel company deliver 6 yds. (I think) of the same stone that us used on RR tracks. It's kind of gray/blue in color. I didn't pack the dirt nor did I treat it in any way. I didn't wait for it to settle and have parked the bus on it since (still there as a matter of fact). It (the stone) has settled only slightly and could probably use another half of original order to bring it up to the top of the top timber. It never really was level with the top but it would have made it nice I think!
Again I am in Florida and your soil may be different than ours but for the most part should be close! Total cost of project was about $400.00 which included a high priced electrician, the stone, the timbers, the rebarb, the pvc pipe and the guy with the tractor to grade it out for me! Oh and he even went and got the stone for free and pretty much graded it out. I had to fill in here and there by hand!

Good luck...
and you might want to try using your right leg for a change to push the clutch in!

Ace

[Barn Owl]

I am using used railroad ties. They are not my first choice, but there is a place here that gives them away for free. It fits my budget and works well enough

[DavidInWilmNC]

David first off I know by now your left leg is much larger than your right leg! LOL

Well Ace, I guess it'll balance out with my larger right arm...umm.... from all that shifting I mean!     Actually, I haven't driven the bus on the road since the get-together in Timmonsville.  I do have a trip planned over Easter.  We'll be tightening up that steering, correcting the power assist leak, and checking all those damned lug nuts AGAIN this time.

David

[ArtGill]

David,
I'm just up the road from you in Morehead City and have similar soil.  My neighbor  allowed me to park my bus on his lot if I would cut the grass.  I just had a couple loads of rock spread on top and had no problem with my coach sinking or water standing as I have the same soil as you.  Digging down and putting a frame it will make it look better and easier to cut around.

Art