Trailer Parking -- Need Suggestions

[gt40mkii]

OK -- so this isn't DIRECTLY garage related, but it does prevent me from keeping a trailer in my garage...

I need a place to store my race car's trailer. Until now I'd been storing it in a warehouse, free of charge. That is going away soon and I need to find anpther place to store it.

A local storage place charges $59/mo to store trailers. I'm trying to avoid another monthly bill to worry about.

Turns out I can park the trailer in the side yard, behind a fence. As long as it can't bee seen, both the city and the HOA are OK with it, as are my neighbors on that side. There's plenty of room (I planned for this when I built the house.)

So what I want to do is build a 25'x10' pad to park the trailer on. I don't want t park it on the grass since the grass will die off and I'd end up with bare dirt or worse yet, mud.

So what are the pros/cons of different pads? I'm thinking of:

• Compacted, crushed stone -- I'm seeing a lot more of this used in landscaping, but a lot of it I do see looks intidy. The stone gets scattered by foot traffic and just doesn't look nice. Mowing the lawn and hitting the scattered stones isn't appealing either.
• Concrete -- I'd probably have a contractor do this, si it's likely to be expensive.
• Pavers -- The material cost for just the pavers ends up being between $500 and $1000, so this is expensive, too. Asthetically speaking though, this is my first choice.
• Bricks -- I have a LOT of brick left over from building the house (approx 2 pallets, maybe a little more.) Perhaps I can use these like pavers? They're Acme brick, about 12 years old, with holes through the center. They SEEM to hold up well, buried in the yard (my masons didn't clean up very well when they built the house and I'm still digging up bricks in the yard -- they seem to be in perfect condition.)

Any thoughts? Any other suggestions?

 

[NUTTSGT]

While using the bricks you already have would be the cheapest, it may not look the best. If I were to go that route, I'd fill between the bricks and holes with sand.

Pouring a pad 25'x10'x6" deep (going thick since it'll sit out by itself) will take just over 4.5 yards and still need stone under it as prep work.

The pavers would look nice yet like the home brick usually not be seen while the trailer is sitting on it. Both brick and paves may have the tendency to settle and become unlevel over time/winter.

Spending a few more bucks for concrete in the beginning may be the best choice. Move the trailer and you can use it as a makeshift patio, future foundation for a yard barn if you give up racing. Forming and pouring a small pad like that wouldn't be too hard with the help of some friends that have done some concrete work before.

 

[kbs2244]

A border of some kind.
RR Ties, bricks, patio stones, etc.
Then the crushed stone.

You are not talking a lot of traffic, so the “scattering” should be minimal.
It will much cheaper than concrete.
You will not get the rain runoff problems you would with a solid surface.

 

[Cardboard Man]

^^^ This exactly.

 

[JamieK]

I saw lots of these type of parking pads in Europe...

Its just brick with topsoil and grass seed in the voids.

It would be cheap and easy, and the pad blends into the rest of the yard.

 

[gabedad]

If you have the bricks - use them. I just put a small pad for my 4x8 trailer and some outdoor stuff. Worked out great.

 

[BD1]

I saw lots of these type of parking pads in Europe...

Its just brick with topsoil and grass seed in the voids.

It would be cheap and easy, and the pad blends into the rest of the yard.

These have been used for emergency vehicle route access . They will support fire trucks.
What about blacktop ??? Concrete last, looks goods, and will serve multiple uses later.

 

[MoonRise]

Concrete:

Pros: done right, flat, durable and neat. Keep trailer from sinking into the ground.

Cons: prep work needed, possible permits needed, cost, done wrong it may not be flat or durable or neat.

To do it 'right', you dig down a bit, put in a nice thick layer of crushed stone, put in forms so you get a neat perimeter and proper elevation/slope settings, pour concrete, screed/float/level concrete, apply desired surface finish to concrete (broom finish is a common one for outdoor concrete like sidewalks and pads), put in control (sometimes called 'expansion ' but it's not really expansion but rather contraction that is usually happening with concrete as it 'dries'/cures) cuts/grooves, possible apply a sealer or other surface coating.

Not rocket science, but it is a bit of labor.

Pavers:

Pros: done right, flat, durable and neat. Keep trailer from sinking into the ground.

Cons: prep work needed, possible permits needed, cost, done wrong it may not be flat or durable or neat.

The prelim prep work for pavers is even more work than most concrete pads. Dig down farther, install the various layers of sub-base materials (more than one), compact/tamp them down and level the stone-dust layer that the pavers actually sit on. Install all the pavers, then apply the polymeric sand into the joints to help lock it all in place.

Crushed stone:

Pretty much just making a gravel driveway. Dig down far enough, apply geotextile fabric, apply layer(s) of crushed stone tamping/compacting them as you go. Probably should have some sort of 'hard' border to deliminate the transition from grass/weeds/lawn to the driveway/gravel.

Bricks:

Bricks just laying on the ground WILL sink into the ground. Especially if there is a trailer on them, and then add in rain, freeze/thaw, etc, etc. And -most- bricks are not quite as 'durable' as pavers.

Your call. And your wallet.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Remove the sod before laying the stone and compacting. You should plan for 4-6" and do it in 2 lifts.

 

[Bobf]

One thing I don't think anyone mentioned is the moisture coming up from the ground on dirt, grass, brick w/gaps or gravel. It can do a job on suspension and anything else made of rustable metal.

 

[gandyj]

I made a pad about 30 X 10 for my racecar trailer by removing the grass and making a border using landscape timbers and filling it in with rocks. Because I didn't put down some type of sheeting under the rocks grass has a tendency to grow up around the edges. No grass grows under the picture because there's no sunlight. The cost was minimal.

 

[Dick in Wisconsin]

I saw lots of these type of parking pads in Europe...

Its just brick with topsoil and grass seed in the voids.

It would be cheap and easy, and the pad blends into the rest of the yard.

I've seen this too. Where do you get these kind of bricks. Would they freeze and crack in Wisconsin winters (down to say 10 or 15 below)? I suppose there is too much moisture coming up through the grass to park a trailer on them ... underside would corrode. But would make a good "driveway" from the main driveway back to the concrete pad with the trailer.

 

[Nowater]

If cost is a big concern, have you considered just paving or bricking the path the trailer wheels would follow. Isn't that where the weight would be anyhow? Just a thought.

 

[Zeke]

Crushed or chipped granite is what Talledega Raceway uses in the infield for roadways. It supports tractor/trailer rigs and drains immediately. Alabama red mud is nasty stuff and will get you stuck easily. It seems to compact to the point that vegetation does not grow. I wasn't in AL but a year and that stuff was one of bigger impressions on me. We don't see this in CA.

I can't think of a better product for a parking pad given the cost. I think I'd go 3-4 inches but deeper where the wheels travel and sit.

 

[Krash Kadillak]

Are you storing the trailer only? If that is the case, then there wouldn't be much of a load on the trailer. Why not just use a few pavers over a sand base, just for the tracks of the trailer tires (and maybe the tongue post) - and put grass in between? Expense would be minimal.

 

[Eagle Point]

Concrete. Do it once and get it over with. No maintenance and you will have a solid surface for other purposes. Plus you may want to leave the car on/in the trailer and this would support it better plus it is easier to push the trailer around on concrete.

 

[gt40mkii]

Why not just use a few pavers over a sand base, just for the tracks of the trailer tires (and maybe the tongue post) - and put grass in between? Expense would be minimal.

Because the grass would die and I'd end up with dirt/mud.

 

[gt40mkii]

Plus you may want to leave the car on/in the trailer and this would support it better plus it is easier to push the trailer around on concrete.

No need to push anything around. Plus, the race car will NEVER be stored on the trailer. It goes directly into the garage and then the trailer goes into storage.

 

[Dustball]

Dig down 6 inches, put down 6x6 treated lumber as a border and backfill with class 5 and compact. We did this for an RV parking pad and it's working fine.

 

[srmofo]

if it was mine....concrete. I cant stand the look of crushed (think of all the weeds growing up through it), plus a concrete pad might have functionality besides just a place to park

 

[FreddiFiche]

One thing I don't think anyone mentioned is the moisture coming up from the ground on dirt, grass, brick w/gaps or gravel. It can do a job on suspension and anything else made of rustable metal.

This would be my reason from staying way from gravel and stone...Think about how many cars, after a period of time, stored in a dirt floor barn, are destroyed.

The dirt never really sees direct rain, but just the moisture coming up from the sub-soil does take it toll.

If your changing trailers every 5 years I wouldn't worry about it, but if its a keeper, I'd just go concrete with a slight crown to the slab, to make sure it stayed dry under the trailer.

 

[Boost Creep]

I've seen this too. Where do you get these kind of bricks. Would they freeze and crack in Wisconsin winters (down to say 10 or 15 below)? I suppose there is too much moisture coming up through the grass to park a trailer on them ... underside would corrode. But would make a good "driveway" from the main driveway back to the concrete pad with the trailer.

they're called permeable pavers if you want to look into these more

 

[Leevon]

As a commercial construction project manager I've worked on a few projects which for various purposes (usually sustainability goals) using "permeable paving" aka "porous paving" or "gravel paving". It is highly effective at stabilizing the surface and providing parking. One particular project was a fire lane at a hospital with grass in the grid, meant for 60,000 lb fire trucks. The FD tested their biggest rig by point loading one outrigger and it worked flawlessly. I recently did a good sized lot for a college building that used this product:

http://www.invisiblestructures.com/gravelpave2.html

It comes in large rolls, the subgrade must be prepped, then it's pinned in place and a non-degrading gravel (talk to your aggregate supplier) is placed with a vibratory plate. It's friendly enough to install you can do it yourself no problem. It's cheaper than a concrete pad and has the added benefit of maintaining your current draining.

Sounds like an ad, I know but I will do something like this at my house for sure when the need comes and there are lots of these products out there now...I suggest calling your building supply house and seeing what they rep.