20,000 LB Class A on grass & pavers

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Cass Sumrall

Cass Sumrall

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Mar 5, 2012
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136
We're considering purchasing a 30 FT Class A & keeping it next to the house.

The surface to keep it on is 12" square concrete pavers over a packed sand/soil base.

Will that surface & 50 FT of grass yard it will have to cross to get to the paver area be sufficient for the weight of the RV or does it have to be a paved surface?
 
That is a good question. I have driven my coach over grass areas a few times but not until I checked it out to make sure that it wasn't wet or soft? It is your call? I have almost had it stuck too because of it! :(

I dry camp a lot and I will walk a mile or two before I pull in to a area to make sure I can make in and out. Sometimes there might not be room to turn around.

And if the pavers are set the correct way (good base material), then I do feel that you can park on them with know problem at all. ;D

There was a thread awhile ago on this very subject. Look around the forum and use the search to find it if you want.
 
It doesn't have to be paved, and in fact paving is quite likely to crack unless the construction is very high quality, both in the underlying base prep and the strength of the concrete and amount of rebar.

Pavers are fairly brittle but they hold up well enough if the base is firm and no voids underneath. My 33,000 lb coach sits on 8x16x4 concrete blocks laid over sand, and I drive over grassy sand to reach them.  Here in Florida, drainage is a non-issue so the "soil" (actually nearly pure sand) is always dry and remains firm unless I crank the wheel sideways (then all bets are off). In most areas, however, the soil holds water and ruts easily when wet or damp.

The typical paver is only 1.5-2.0 inches thick and not well bonded together. They crack easily under most any pressure at all.  I suggest using the 8x16x4 solid concrete blocks instead - they are much stronger but still inexpensive
 
Gary,

How are your concrete blocks set in the sand - with the flat side up, or are they set with the open sides up filled with sand?

 
I don't know what your soil is like, hard soft or what?  We just built a driveway for our 26000 pound motorhome.  Here we have some clay, it gets really soggy after rain or snow.  I got our 2500 truck stuck in the yard when I turned around and got in the grass before we finished the driveway, it sunk in aways.  I was lucky and had some steel racks I used and got enough traction to get out but that told me something about our yard. We had 4 to 6 inches of grass and topsoil removed, a layer of support fabric put in then I believe its called #23 white rock.  Tom said that as it gets wet its almost like concrete.  We were concerned as we brought the motorhome in after a rain but we have been in and out of the driveway quite a few times and its doing really good.

I think it would depend on your soil.
 
How are your concrete blocks set in the sand - with the flat side up, or are they set with the open sides up filled with sand?
Click to expand...

There is no open side - these are solid blocks rather than the "hole" kind. Standard 8x16 in size and 4" thick with no holes.  They are typically used as a base for a footing or a solid cap for an open block wall.
 
Gary RV Roamer said:
There is no open side - these are solid blocks rather than the "hole" kind. Standard 8x16 in size and 4" thick with no holes.  They are typically used as a base for a footing or a solid cap for an open block wall.
Click to expand...

Ah! Now I get it!

Thanks,
Cass
 
I would be more concerned about the grassy area to get to the pavers.  If you live in a rainy area with soft soil, you might get stuck.  When we visited a friend who lives in a rural area of Michigan we drove the length of his driveway and that was fine, but when it came time to leave it got dicey.  It had rained a lot and the ground was saturated.  I'm afraid we chewed up his yard getting turned around.  He was very nice about it, but we felt bad doing it.  Worse, after getting on the highway it started raining again with fog.  We suddenly realized our Smart Wheel apparently was damaged in the process of the turnaround because we had no windshield wipers, no cruise control, and a few other things.  We spent the next day at the repair shop. $$$ We now avoid grassy areas that might be problematic.

ArdraF
 
Seemingly firm ground can get really mushy when attacked by a wheel carrying 5000 lbs or more. Especially when that wheel attempts to turn.  But you can put pavers on the path the wheels will follow, too.

We can't evaluate the soil conditions where you are, though. Best we can do is warn you to watch out for signs of soft/wet ground (e.g. small furrows when you drive over it, areas that stay damp after a rain or have taller grass than surrounding areas) and suggest that you improve the drainage in those areas and/or do some sort of paving or gravel where needed.
 
Thanks for all the replies!

I am in SE Florida with grass over sandy soil that drains well so I suspect I will be okay on the grass part since it should require no turning - just back straight in & pull straight out.

But I have a feeling my 2" thick pavers over hard packed sand may be suspect under the weight of the RV & may break up. I guess I can wait & see & if they do, replace the traffic areas with concrete 4" thick blocks as Gary suggested.
 
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