Storing RV in low area - grass/dirt in our yard

[Lael Engstrom]

Hi RV'ers. I need assistance to know how to get my tires up off the dirt in my yard where I store my RV. I just bought a THOR 27.2 and want to not only use my stablizer jacks to take weight off my tires, but I need to roll my wheels onto something to get them off a dirt/leaf ground - and this season in Florida- wet.
Can you help me know what to buy? We have cracked cement pavers - and we can't lift the heavy RV pavers from Home Depot. Is there something plastic I can use? Thank you for your help, Lael in Bradenton FL

[JamJanTan]

Originally Posted by Lael Engstrom

Hi RV'ers. I need assistance to know how to get my tires up off the dirt in my yard where I store my RV. I just bought a THOR 27.2 and want to not only use my stablizer jacks to take weight off my tires, but I need to roll my wheels onto something to get them off a dirt/leaf ground - and this season in Florida- wet.

Can you help me know what to buy? We have cracked cement pavers - and we can't lift the heavy RV pavers from Home Depot. Is there something plastic I can use? Thank you for your help, Lael in Bradenton FL

You could have a trucking company bring in a few tons of 3/4 inch crusher run gravel ad pour a pad

[Lael Engstrom]

I'm renting this property - so that's out. Good idea, and If it were mine, I'd do something more permanant.

[JamJanTan]

Not sure but Amazon has a large selection of rubber mats. At one time I kept mine off the ground with a couple of heavy duty mats from the back of a two horse trailer.

[Joe-FL]

Possibly the cheapest way would be some cut treated 2x12 pieces of wood. If you didn't want to buy treated lumber you could just buy construction grade and paint it with an exterior deck paint.

[philvickie]

I used two different things. Used plastic leveling blocks. Have also cut 3 ft long pieces of 2x10 pieces of wood one piece for each tire.

[philvickie]

Leveling blocks work best.

[Travelin' Texans]

In that soggy Florida soil my opinion on the best solution would also be lengths of 2 x 12 planks possibly longer than the 3' mentioned, possibly 5-6' per tire. There in Florida it would definitely have to be treated & painted, in 1 winter season termites ruined the blocks I was using. If you want to get real creative go to Tractor Supply or some farm store & get some 1/2" stall mat & cut to attach to the lumber.

[tnedator]

You guys just through my short term (at least until next year) parking problems into flux. I was intending to lay plastic turf reinforcement in an area on the side of my house to allow me to drive and park on a section of grass without rutting/getting stuck.

As this is our first coach, we didn't want to make major changes to our house, such as paving this area, especially since if we decide long term we like this whole RV thing (this will be our first), we will likely build a large exterior building/garage to house an RV and some other things.

So, the question is how much damage, not just tires but undercarriage rusting and stuff, should I worry about over say 12 months?

[Travelin' Texans]

Originally Posted by tnedator

You guys just through my short term (at least until next year) parking problems into flux. I was intending to lay plastic turf reinforcement in an area on the side of my house to allow me to drive and park on a section of grass without rutting/getting stuck.

As this is our first coach, we didn't want to make major changes to our house, such as paving this area, especially since if we decide long term we like this whole RV thing (this will be our first), we will likely build a large exterior building/garage to house an RV and some other things.

So, the question is how much damage, not just tires but undercarriage rusting and stuff, should I worry about over say 12 months?

You're not in Florida where stuff will rust overnight, but it's most likely wet & soggy there.
I don't know what the plastic turf you're referring to is , but you need some long/wide enough to not sink from the weight If the grounds wet. Setting the tires on wood is even recommended if parking on concrete, so lumber is probably your cheapest solution. Or whether you keep the rv or not, add crushed rock to the area then lay lumber down & should you decide against the rv just let the grass grow over it.

[tnedator]

Originally Posted by Travelin' Texans

You're not in Florida where stuff will rust overnight, but it's most likely wet & soggy there.
I don't know what the plastic turf you're referring to is , but you need some long/wide enough to not sink from the weight If the grounds wet. Setting the tires on wood is even recommended if parking on concrete, so lumber is probably your cheapest solution. Or whether you keep the rv or not, add crushed rock to the area then lay lumber down & should you decide against the rv just let the grass grow over it.

Yea, grass is gong to die anyway, so laying down some rock makes sense.

FYI on the plastic, it's this stuff that I was going to use.

https://tenaxfence.com/store/tenax-yard-protection-3-35-x-20-green-64313308yp.html?gclid=Cj0KEQjwkN3KBRCu2fWmy9LLqN4B EiQANP9-Wg3aZXj2_AWFCjh_aP2noJ_yCHntqPojfZEm9Rjcy4caAnKQ8P 8HAQ

[blw2]

I'm not sure I see the advantage of wood over sandy soil. The wood will hold moisture....the sand will drain it away.

Plastic almost as bad perhaps.... the water would just stand on top of it.....and long term, will there be an leaching of plasticizers to or from the tires? .....
depending on the plastic or horse mat rubber surface chosen, that's star trek engineering there...."going where no man has gone before".

If mine were parked someplace where water stands long term, I would either get some paver blocks to lay down or lay some gravel to elevate the surface. Tires are obviously engineered to sit on concrete and rock..... even if not a gravel pad, just a few bags of stone from home depot placed strategically under each tire...or concrete pavers under each tire.....

[Lael Engstrom]

Thanks for your suggestions...I'm going to try this...

[Lael Engstrom]

I saw the bags of rocks at home depot yesterday and wondered if that might be a good idea...thanks

[Lael Engstrom]

Thanks Joe for your suggestions. Rainy season is here~

[gmc]

Originally Posted by Lael Engstrom

...and we can't lift the heavy RV pavers from Home Depot.

Have a link for those?? I tried searching and didn't find anything like that...

[Travelin' Texans]

Originally Posted by blw2

I'm not sure I see the advantage of wood over sandy soil. The wood will hold moisture....the sand will drain it away.

Plastic almost as bad perhaps.... the water would just stand on top of it.....and long term, will there be an leaching of plasticizers to or from the tires? .....
depending on the plastic or horse mat rubber surface chosen, that's star trek engineering there...."going where no man has gone before".

If mine were parked someplace where water stands long term, I would either get some paver blocks to lay down or lay some gravel to elevate the surface. Tires are obviously engineered to sit on concrete and rock..... even if not a gravel pad, just a few bags of stone from home depot placed strategically under each tire...or concrete pavers under each tire.....

The reason for the lumber is to create as large a footprint as possible so tires don't sink or rut up the area pulling in/out.
I totally agree about the plastic causing more moisture. As far as wood on concrete, most all tire manufacturer recommend storing on wood if storing for long periods such as winter seasons.
Those bags of rock at home improvement centers get very expensive in a hurry as a bag doesn't cover a very big area so LOTS of bags are needed.

[tnedator]

My link didn't post very well from the phone earlier, I'm going to try again. In case anyone is interested, this is something you put down ideally in the spring before the grass starts growing, or after cutting it very short. After a short time, the grass/roots integrate with the plastic mesh, not only hiding it, but more importantly, spreading out the load of cars, RVs, etc. that drive on it.

https://tenaxfence.com/store/tenax-y...4313308yp.html

[Joe-FL]

Originally Posted by Lael Engstrom

Thanks Joe for your suggestions. Rainy season is here~

I agree that storing on a gravel base would be great. In my area the soil is extremely sandy, as is much of Florida. IMHO if you throw down a couple bags of rock from Home Depot under each tire in about 2 weeks of this rainy season all that rock will be gone because it sinks down into the sand pretty fast. If putting down any type of aggregate material instead of wood I would use shell base. It packs hard and tends to sink into the sand less. Visit a landscape place and ask them about it, most will provide it in bags if you don't have a way to haul some baulk. Over the past couple of years I have done extensive landscaping around our home and it has been an education when it comes to that Florida soil.

[Lael Engstrom]

These were found inside -NOT OUTSIDE IN THE GARDEN SECTION- by the cinder blocks. They say - For Trailer Storage - I found the link for the ones 1/2 the size - at least you might be able to lift these - the 16 X 16 weigh a ton:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/16-in-x-8...5803/100350254