Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
RV Trip Planning Discussions

Go Back   iRV2 Forums > REGIONAL CHAPTERS, CAMPOUTS & RALLIES > Southeast Region
Click Here to Login
Join iRV2 Today

Mission Statement: Supporting thoughtful exchange of knowledge, values and experience among RV enthusiasts.
Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 05-25-2019, 10:04 AM   #1
Senior Member
 
Newmar Owners Club
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Lady Lake, FL
Posts: 624
Building an RV driveway on sand

We just got stuck in our yard for the second time. We are new to the wonders of sand but now realize we need some type of driveway to get to the concrete RV pad.

We know the sand goes down over 3 feet so not possible to dig down to a more solid base.

We're aiming for best value - lowest price for best end result. Definitely need something heavy-duty because our coach is heavy.

Anyone done this? Know of anyone who has done it? Looking for ideas, suggestions, and/or starting place.
__________________
2019 Dutch Star 4018 (Spartan) towing 2019 Buick Envision
lce3 is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 RV Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

iRV2.com RV Community - Are you about to start a new improvement on your RV or need some help with some maintenance? Do you need advice on what products to buy? Or maybe you can give others some advice? No matter where you fit in you'll find that iRV2 is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with other RV owners, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create an RV blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 05-25-2019, 10:22 AM   #2
Senior Member
 
LJowdy's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Ontario, California
Posts: 2,429
Short of digging away the sand then filling the hole with compacted dirt, the only other solution I can see is plywood or aircraft landing mat.
__________________
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]2016 Newmar Dutch Star 4369
Newmar Owners Club
USAF 1966-1969,- Law Enforcement 1969 - 2003, Retired since March 2003
LJowdy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2019, 10:32 AM   #3
Senior Member
 
Newmar Owners Club
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Lady Lake, FL
Posts: 624
Quote:
Originally Posted by LJowdy View Post
Short of digging away the sand then filling the hole with compacted dirt, the only other solution I can see is plywood or aircraft landing mat.
Thanks for the input. But wow! That makes it sound impossible. I know they put RV parks in Florida & Arizona and near beaches so it has to be possible. Just haven't figured it out yet.
__________________
2019 Dutch Star 4018 (Spartan) towing 2019 Buick Envision
lce3 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2019, 10:36 AM   #4
Community Moderator
 
TonyDi's Avatar


 
Newmar Owners Club
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Point Pleasant Beach, NJ
Posts: 31,248
We live at the beach and a lot of access ramps use trap rock as their bases.
__________________
Tony & Ruth........... FMCA#F416727
2016 London Aire 4519, Freightliner chassis, Cummins ISX, 2018 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, Blue Ox Avail with AF1. TST 507 TPMS
No amount of money can buy you an extra second of time.
TonyDi is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2019, 10:49 AM   #5
Senior Member
 
LJowdy's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Ontario, California
Posts: 2,429
What they do when building on sand is to dig down to hard pack. Read this article: https://homeguides.sfgate.com/materi...nd-103312.html

They do make mat that you lay down on the sand then pour concrete over it but the concrete will crack under weight and when the sand shifts.

Think about the Landing Mat. It's a short cut to a concrete driveway and won't cost nearly as much as trying to dig out and pour concrete. It may not look pretty but it will be functional.

Google "Landing mat for sale near me"
__________________
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]2016 Newmar Dutch Star 4369
Newmar Owners Club
USAF 1966-1969,- Law Enforcement 1969 - 2003, Retired since March 2003
LJowdy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2019, 11:02 AM   #6
Senior Member
 
Newmar Owners Club
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Lady Lake, FL
Posts: 624
Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyDi View Post
We live at the beach and a lot of access ramps use trap rock as their bases.
I appreciate the input. Will need to check on that.
__________________
2019 Dutch Star 4018 (Spartan) towing 2019 Buick Envision
lce3 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2019, 11:05 AM   #7
Senior Member
 
Newmar Owners Club
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Lady Lake, FL
Posts: 624
Quote:
Originally Posted by LJowdy View Post
What they do when building on sand is to dig down to hard pack. Read this article: https://homeguides.sfgate.com/materi...nd-103312.html

They do make mat that you lay down on the sand then pour concrete over it but the concrete will crack under weight and when the sand shifts.

Think about the Landing Mat. It's a short cut to a concrete driveway and won't cost nearly as much as trying to dig out and pour concrete. It may not look pretty but it will be functional.

Google "Landing mat for sale near me"
Thanks! That's the exact article I read before posting here. We had to have our drainfield replaced and they dug down maybe 4-5 feet and it was all sand. I don't even know how far we'd have to go for the hard pack.

Will give the landing mat some thought. We aren't looking for pretty - just don't want to get stuck again!
__________________
2019 Dutch Star 4018 (Spartan) towing 2019 Buick Envision
lce3 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-26-2019, 06:41 PM   #8
doc
Senior Member
 
doc's Avatar
 
Appalachian Campers
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Dixie !! (north Georgia) USA
Posts: 4,110
Gravel ! No sand in N Georgia, but lots of clay. I might take out 4 to 6 inches of sand and them haul large (2-3 inch length) stone in and then add a layer of crusher run stone. No pea gravel, it will not compact
doc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-26-2019, 06:51 PM   #9
YC1
Senior Member
 
YC1's Avatar


 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: FL
Posts: 11,385
I had a pad built. On sand next to our lake. No way to hard pan.

About ten inches of sand was removed. I used 8x8 treated to make an end and side line. Then back filled with whatever rock the guy had delivered. His little bucket loader compacted it well and then he added about 6 inches of recycled asphalt. It compacted well and has held up perfectly for several years. My forty footer sits fine and the jacks have never pushed through.

Weed growth has been minimal and a little spray takes care of them quickly. I believe the cost was a bit less than 2K. The project took about 6 hours.

Fortunately I had a place to dump the sand but it probably won't cost much to haul it away.
__________________
Certified Senior Electronic Technician, Telecommunications Engineer, Telecommunications repair Service Center Owner, Original owner HR 2008

.
YC1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-26-2019, 07:02 PM   #10
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 4,985
I would check with a couple of local driveway contractors and see what they advise. They would know what materials are available locally and how to deal with your driveway to support a heavy MH.
grindstone01 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-26-2019, 07:05 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Beaver Dam, Wisconsin
Posts: 5,038
I am tempted to give you advice, but I don't live in Florida. I live in south central Wisconsin. We have a lot of clay soil here, but a short drive away it is deep sand. We have deep freezing you do not. These conditions and more matter a lot.

The best way to start is to contact several road/driveway contractors in your neighborhood/city/county. I always try for three or more. This step is usually free. Their advice will be far superior to mine and to others not in your area. The difficulty will come when the contractors propose different solutions and different costs.

There is usually a cheap one in the group as well as a very expensive one. Look at the proposed solutions. Do they seem plausible. Then consider the price. Ask around for which is likely to be the best. Search for expert advice on the internet. Again use multiple sources and compare advice.

I recently went through this process for a basement wall repair. In the end it was not which of several processes to use, but an alert and experienced contractor who correctly identified maple tree roots as the cause of the cracked wall.

The process needed to fix it needed to remove the roots. It cost almost double two other plans that would not have removed the roots. The outrageously expensive plan would have fixed it also, but most of it was unnecessary.

Good luck!
__________________
Paul Bristol
Kodiak Cub 176RD
Nissan Pathfinder 2015
Persistent is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-26-2019, 07:12 PM   #12
Senior Member
 
jacwjames's Avatar
 
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 14,455
I built a driveway for the new B&S we built. We have lots of clay, which is hard as a rock when dry bu when it rains it like pudding. I did some investigating and decided to put down a layer of driveway fabric before putting down crushed stone. After dozens of heavy delivery trucks during the house build the driveway has held up well and I can drive my coach on it without a problem.
__________________
Jim J
2002 Monaco Windsor 38 PKD Cummins ISC 350 8.3L
2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee w/5.7 Hemi
jacwjames is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-26-2019, 07:41 PM   #13
Senior Member
 
Newmar Owners Club
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Lady Lake, FL
Posts: 624
Quote:
Originally Posted by doc View Post
Gravel ! No sand in N Georgia, but lots of clay. I might take out 4 to 6 inches of sand and them haul large (2-3 inch length) stone in and then add a layer of crusher run stone. No pea gravel, it will not compact
Thanks for suggesting that option. We were more used to clay from when we lived in PA. A sand yard is a new experience!
__________________
2019 Dutch Star 4018 (Spartan) towing 2019 Buick Envision
lce3 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-26-2019, 07:43 PM   #14
Senior Member
 
Newmar Owners Club
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Lady Lake, FL
Posts: 624
Quote:
Originally Posted by YC1 View Post
I had a pad built. On sand next to our lake. No way to hard pan.

About ten inches of sand was removed. I used 8x8 treated to make an end and side line. Then back filled with whatever rock the guy had delivered. His little bucket loader compacted it well and then he added about 6 inches of recycled asphalt. It compacted well and has held up perfectly for several years. My forty footer sits fine and the jacks have never pushed through.

Weed growth has been minimal and a little spray takes care of them quickly. I believe the cost was a bit less than 2K. The project took about 6 hours.

Fortunately I had a place to dump the sand but it probably won't cost much to haul it away.
That's just the RV pad, isn't it? Sounds like a good way to do that. Would that work for a driveway also?
__________________
2019 Dutch Star 4018 (Spartan) towing 2019 Buick Envision
lce3 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
driveway, rv driveway, sand yard



Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Electrical ??? / Building New RV Metal Storage Building jd956jd956 MH-General Discussions & Problems 47 12-29-2017 09:32 PM
Need advice on building a new stone driveway Manzfam iRV2.com General Discussion 7 05-27-2016 02:30 PM
Sand, sand, and more sand.... fansill Camping Locations, Plans & Trip Reports 3 08-08-2011 07:05 PM
Anyone been to the Great Sand Dunes National Park? Letsgoagain Monaco Owner's Forum 7 08-26-2007 02:21 PM
"Sand" Balancing Ronald Smith MH-General Discussions & Problems 20 11-23-2006 03:59 PM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 10:09 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.