Concrete Pad

[RayandPamT]

Is it better to park on the bare ground on a concrete pad for long periods of time.

[powerboatr]

at our rv port its concrete and I put the legos under each tire, so when it rains the treads aren't sitting in water till it drys
if we stay on a gravel spot i try to put the tires on a block of sorts,

[RVDude]

Concrete will be much cleaner... If you are thinking there is some relationship to the old concrete and battery tales, well, that was the old days, not today. If you store it on dirt, ensure you won't sink in. If you are thinking of tire flat-spotting, that too is a thing of the past (when nylon cords were popular). If you block up the tires ensure the ENTIRE tread is in complete and total contact with the blocking to avoid over stressing the tire cord.

Is there something specific you are concerned about either way? That might be a better question to ask....

[RayandPamT]

We keep our RV on the side of the house on the grass and I've been thinking of making 4 concrete pads for it to sit on, I've had it sitting on 2x12's the last 6 months. If I use concrete how thick should I make them? I was thinking 6" with wire mesh in the center.

[Route 66]

IMHO, anything is better than bare ground. Pavement, gravel, plywood, etc.

[GaryKD]

Hi Ray,
I have a concrete pad next to the house. The concrete is 6" thick and reinforced with wire mesh.

When at the house, the coach tires sit on plastic landing strips. This eliminates any tire interaction with the concrete.

[Rich_in_Tampa]

The literature that came with my Winnebago contained a Michelin link that advised against using the Leggos long-term because they put stress on the cords of the tire. Apparently the open design allows the treat to bulge through the holes enough to stress the cord. They also warn against having the tire overhand the board for similar reasons.

I recall they liked big 2x6 wood where the entire width and length of the contact point of the tire is distributed evenly over the whole surface.

No expert here, just saying...

[RVDude]

Originally Posted by RVDude

If you block up the tires ensure the ENTIRE tread is in complete and total contact with the blocking to avoid over stressing the tire cord.

rich / That's also an interesting addendum about the lego blocks... Thanks.

Here's a Michelin guide to RV tire storage.
http://www.michelinrvtires.com/asset...e_June2009.pdf

[Rich_in_Tampa]

Originally Posted by RVDude

rich / That's also an interesting addendum about the lego blocks... Thanks.

Here's a link about the overlap problem, couldn't find the Lego thing on a brief look. Page 10.

[Pusherman]

If you do the concrete pad, I think 6" of reinforced concrete is adequate, but make sure you put an 8"-12" base of stone below the pads, especially where the weight of the motorhome will be sitting - on the tire pads.

[Bob (WA0MQE)]

I buried 2'X2'X 3.5"thick concrete blocks where the tires sit on our motorhome. They are pretty much flush with the dirt, slightly higher when I first put them in. However, over the years the dirt (actually pea gravel) has built up to them so now there flush. For the rear duals there are two side by side. So a total of six blocks.

In any case they've never cracked and I've not had any other problems associated with them.

[Jim28730]

Concrete, gravel grass....ALWAYS put a protective surface between the tires and the ground. What you don't want is your tires to have access to the moisture in any of those surfaces.

[Bob (WA0MQE)]

Jim28730 is right... what I did forget to mention is before I put down the concrete blocks I placed two or three layers of heavy plastic over the dirt and then set the concrete blocks down.