Parking RV In Driveway

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bg5
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Parking RV In Driveway

Post by bg5 »

Question......can most driveways support a large RV? I am just curious if I should be concerned with cracking etc. The RV will be large and am not sure if the driveway can handle the weight or not.

Does anyone have any experience with this?
criticalmass
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by criticalmass »

bg5 wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 12:37 pm Question......can most driveways support a large RV? I am just curious if I should be concerned with cracking etc. The RV will be large and am not sure if the driveway can handle the weight or not.

Does anyone have any experience with this?
Not sure how "most driveways" relate to THE driveway that will be under the vehicle. How strong is that pavement? How deep is the surface and gravel foundation under it? What is the condition of the driveway? Can you place heavy plywood or similar under the rear wheels to distribute weight? Don't forget to chock wheels!
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galawdawg
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by galawdawg »

It depends on the weight of the coach and the construction of the driveway. You may wish to look at existing threads on some of the RV forums, like this one: https://www.irv2.com/forums/f258/parkin ... 18739.html
jonballs
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by jonballs »

Depends on the substrate material. I've got asphalt that's in ok, not great, shape and I haven't noticed any additional cracking or indentions from my 25ft travel trailer. A motorhome will obviously be heavier and I wouldn't be surprised to see a big diesel class A leave some imprints on an asphalt surface, especially if you lower your stabilizers at all. I made a separate parking pad for my trailer with asphalt millings about 2 ft deep and after compacting and settling it's solid as a rock. Concrete, if done right, shouldn't cause any issues (big "if", though).
MishkaWorries
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by MishkaWorries »

Concrete or asphalt? Most people I know have a concrete apron for their RV.

Driving an RV on asphalt on a hot day can cause problems and turning the wheels can dig in and cause damage to the asphalt. Longer term storage of an RV can cause depression where the wheels sit on the asphalt. I've seen people put particle board under the wheels. Not sure if that helps.

Any HOA rules or city ordinances forbid this?
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barnaclebob
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by barnaclebob »

MishkaWorries wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 12:58 pm Concrete or asphalt? Most people I know have a concrete apron for their RV.

Driving an RV on asphalt on a hot day can cause problems and turning the wheels can dig in and cause damage to the asphalt. Longer term storage of an RV can cause depression where the wheels sit on the asphalt. I've seen people put particle board under the wheels. Not sure if that helps.

Any HOA rules or city ordinances forbid this?
Particle board under a RV wheel is completely worthless. The stuff is not much better than cardboard if its exposed to water for long periods. Plywood wouldnt be much better either.

I have a pretty crappy/thin concrete driveway and a large truck delivering 10 yards of dirt, 4 yards wood chips, and 2 yards mulch did break off the corner of an already cracked off piece. Id guess that was a few if not several tons of material in addition to the truck weight.
FamilyMan
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by FamilyMan »

On a side note, be mindful of your neighbors too. Is the RV hidden enough on your driveway that it’s not an eyesore for the neighborhood. Sorry to be blunt but I think an RV (especially an older model) or large boat looks awful in most neighborhoods. I would be very annoyed if my next door neighbor had one in his driveway
frugalmama
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by frugalmama »

Mine supports it but it doesn't mean yours does. I however don't keep mine there long term as my city ordinance prohibits it. I only park mine there for a few days to clean it out, make repairs, etc.
SrGrumpy
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by SrGrumpy »

FamilyMan wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 1:14 pm On a side note, be mindful of your neighbors too. Is the RV hidden enough on your driveway that it’s not an eyesore for the neighborhood. Sorry to be blunt but I think an RV (especially an older model) or large boat looks awful in most neighborhoods. I would be very annoyed if my next door neighbor had one in his driveway
+1.
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JoeRetire
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by JoeRetire »

bg5 wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 12:37 pm Question......can most driveways support a large RV? I am just curious if I should be concerned with cracking etc. The RV will be large and am not sure if the driveway can handle the weight or not.

Does anyone have any experience with this?
Some driveways can support some RVs. Other driveways cannot support some RVs.

I have a relative with an RV in their driveway. After 2 years, the place where they park it is falling apart.
I have neighbors with RVs in their driveway. After 5+ years, I don't notice any issues.

Clearly it's a matter of the weight of the RV and the quality of the driveway.
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mkc
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by mkc »

If you are talking motorhome and large, then no, most residential driveways are not designed/built to handle the weight. Trailers don't have the engine/transmission weight and are generally lighter (for the same size) as a motorhome.

With either a fifth wheel or motorhome, you'll need to take into consideration the force of the leveling jacks on the paving and road base media as well. We have seen them punch through paved areas of campgrounds and parking lots.

We have had both chip and seal and concrete driveways done for storing our RVs at home and the pads have always been "beefier" to support the weight (and the parking pad either out of view of the street or enclosed by a nice RV garage per covenants and restrictions). The link suggested above from iRV2 is a great place to start.
tibbitts
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by tibbitts »

bg5 wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 12:37 pm Question......can most driveways support a large RV? I am just curious if I should be concerned with cracking etc. The RV will be large and am not sure if the driveway can handle the weight or not.

Does anyone have any experience with this?
I'm not sure it matters, in that I don't think it will cost more to upgrade the driveway whether the driveway is already damaged or not. So probably no harm in seeing what happens.
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by Sandtrap »

Properly placed and cured 4 inch slabs are rated at 2000 pounds per sq inch but that is compressive and does not do well with flex unless reinforced with a grid of concrete wire and rebar and also, very importantly, a solid substrate ideally of 4-12 inches of compacted AB Spec fill gravel compacted to 100 percent before the pour. This is how roads are made.
What is the nature of your slab, what is under it, type of soil, prep, age of slab, etc.???
Also how are the edges reinforced and thickened?

No correct answer without knowing this.

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SpinPsycholer
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by SpinPsycholer »

I had a new driveway and pad built 6 months ago specifically for my 25’ Class C Motorhome. The weight loaded is around 13,000 lbs, so not as heavy as a class A motorhome. All the concrete on both driveway and pad are 5” which will double the strength vs 4” of concrete. How much will it hold? I haven’t a clue because of other factors mentioned by others of what is below the concrete. I think a 5” pad will be enough for any heavy motorhome. Total length was 75 feet, with the 30 ft pad behind a 6 foot fence. I am still a little concerned about the HOA, but no one has said anything yet. The deed restrictions (located in Texas) don’t specifically call out motorhomes, but do mention trucks and trailers. I am hoping that once it is there a year, I will be beyond a statue of limitations to keep it there. The motorhome is only a couple years so not an eyesore (in my opinion).
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by suemarkp »

What does the RV weigh, and how many axles does it have. Typical large cars and SUVs are about 2000 to 2500 lb per axle. Trailers can be 3000lb per axle, although some weight is on the hitch. I'd definitely put something under the hitch foot to spread out the weight.

A giant class A motorhome could have dual tires on the rear axles, so its weight is spread out over more area, but the total axle weight is much higher than 3000 lbs.
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Retired2013
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by Retired2013 »

SrGrumpy wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 1:26 pm
FamilyMan wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 1:14 pm On a side note, be mindful of your neighbors too. Is the RV hidden enough on your driveway that it’s not an eyesore for the neighborhood. Sorry to be blunt but I think an RV (especially an older model) or large boat looks awful in most neighborhoods. I would be very annoyed if my next door neighbor had one in his driveway
+1.
Our deed has restrictive covenants for no trailers, RVs in the driveway along with many other items. It's been 28 years now since the homes were built and the new owners are starting to park boats and trailers in the driveways. My understandings is that any homeowner can sue the violators but it would be at our cost.
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galawdawg
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by galawdawg »

tibbitts wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 2:03 pm
bg5 wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 12:37 pm Question......can most driveways support a large RV? I am just curious if I should be concerned with cracking etc. The RV will be large and am not sure if the driveway can handle the weight or not.

Does anyone have any experience with this?
I'm not sure it matters, in that I don't think it will cost more to upgrade the driveway whether the driveway is already damaged or not. So probably no harm in seeing what happens.
I'm not sure I'd recommend just "trying it out to see what happens." :shock: If it is a "close call" whether the OP's driveway will support his particular RV, he may be able to put steel tread plates (perhaps 2ft x 4ft) under each tire to spread the weight over a larger area and thereby reducing the PSI load of the RV. Even using pressure treated plywood sheathing that is primed and painted may be effective in preventing damage to the driveway.

https://www.grainger.com/search/raw-mat ... oryIndex=2

Sandtrap may be more qualified to opine on the effectiveness of such an approach...

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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by iamlucky13 »

FamilyMan wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 1:14 pm On a side note, be mindful of your neighbors too. Is the RV hidden enough on your driveway that it’s not an eyesore for the neighborhood. Sorry to be blunt but I think an RV (especially an older model) or large boat looks awful in most neighborhoods. I would be very annoyed if my next door neighbor had one in his driveway
While this is a tangential topic, since it comes up frequently, I want to note that mindfulness should go both ways. It is certainly in the spirit of being neighborly to try to minimize the way one's property use affects their neighbors.

It is also neighborly to respect the right of the person who paid for a given property to use it, within the constraints of whatever laws and covenants apply, of course. When it is typical in this country to invest years of one's labor value into buying a home, my view is that the utility that investment is intended to provide is proportionately more significant than what someone else thinks about how it looks.

I don't mean to simply dismiss your suggestion. I guess I just want to push back against the tendency I often see for a limited group of people's expectations to define how everyone else should use their property. A normal part of life is learning to accept that some things that annoy us are outside our control and learning to accept them.
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by Jack FFR1846 »

I parked a 2100 pound double axle car trailer with a 1600 pound racecar on my relatively new asphalt driveway for a few weeks. One wheel was near the edge. It was during the middle of the summer in New England. When I moved the trailer, the tire had sunk in about an inch and a half.

I have a neighbor with a large motor home. I notice he never parks on the driveway. It's on the lawn.
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by surfstar »

iamlucky13 wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 2:57 pm
FamilyMan wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 1:14 pm On a side note, be mindful of your neighbors too. Is the RV hidden enough on your driveway that it’s not an eyesore for the neighborhood. Sorry to be blunt but I think an RV (especially an older model) or large boat looks awful in most neighborhoods. I would be very annoyed if my next door neighbor had one in his driveway
While this is a tangential topic, since it comes up frequently, I want to note that mindfulness should go both ways. It is certainly in the spirit of being neighborly to try to minimize the way one's property use affects their neighbors.

It is also neighborly to respect the right of the person who paid for a given property to use it, within the constraints of whatever laws and covenants apply, of course. When it is typical in this country to invest years of one's labor value into buying a home, my view is that the utility that investment is intended to provide is proportionately more significant than what someone else thinks about how it looks.

I don't mean to simply dismiss your suggestion. I guess I just want to push back against the tendency I often see for a limited group of people's expectations to define how everyone else should use their property. A normal part of life is learning to accept that some things that annoy us are outside our control and learning to accept them.
and then there's local Zoning, HOA, etc regulations - whether the neighbors care or not, you may be in violation and you may or may not get enforced on.
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by mkc »

suemarkp wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 2:25 pm What does the RV weigh, and how many axles does it have. Typical large cars and SUVs are about 2000 to 2500 lb per axle. Trailers can be 3000lb per axle, although some weight is on the hitch. I'd definitely put something under the hitch foot to spread out the weight.

A giant class A motorhome could have dual tires on the rear axles, so its weight is spread out over more area, but the total axle weight is much higher than 3000 lbs.
On a large class A (not a Prevost bus conversion):

Front axles are generally in the 13,000 to 20,000 lb range.
Drive axles 20,000 lbs
Tag axles 10,000 to 14,000 lbs

Most will have an OCCC of 5000-10000 lbs, so you're looking at a typical empty weight in the 40,000 to 45,000 lb range.

(and depending on the state you're licensed in, you may need a Class B non-CDL license for anything weighing over 26,000 lbs)
rlchambers
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by rlchambers »

FamilyMan wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 1:14 pm On a side note, be mindful of your neighbors too. Is the RV hidden enough on your driveway that it’s not an eyesore for the neighborhood. Sorry to be blunt but I think an RV (especially an older model) or large boat looks awful in most neighborhoods. I would be very annoyed if my next door neighbor had one in his driveway
I really was beginning to think that I was the only one that feels that way. RV's, boats, trailers, too many cars, parking on the lawn will kill a neighborhood quicker than anything. That is why most HOA's don't allow them. Be kind to your neighbor's and rent a storage facility for it to rest in 90% of the time.
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by squirm »

Just park it on the driveway and keep an eye on it. If it starts depressing, then worry about how to deal with it. Otherwise nobody here knows.
Teague
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by Teague »

Jack FFR1846 wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 3:03 pm I parked a 2100 pound double axle car trailer with a 1600 pound racecar on my relatively new asphalt driveway for a few weeks. One wheel was near the edge. It was during the middle of the summer in New England. When I moved the trailer, the tire had sunk in about an inch and a half.

I have a neighbor with a large motor home. I notice he never parks on the driveway. It's on the lawn.
They have the choice to park a vehicle on their driveway or on their lawn, and they choose the lawn? Sounds like the makings of a Jeff Foxworthy joke.

My well compacted gravel driveway sitting on top of some of the most sandstone-like hardpan known to man seems to support anything indefinitely with no detrimental effect, an example of how the specifics matter, and probably a testament to the importance of a good base layer.
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by alpenglow »

rlchambers wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 4:12 pm
FamilyMan wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 1:14 pm On a side note, be mindful of your neighbors too. Is the RV hidden enough on your driveway that it’s not an eyesore for the neighborhood. Sorry to be blunt but I think an RV (especially an older model) or large boat looks awful in most neighborhoods. I would be very annoyed if my next door neighbor had one in his driveway
I really was beginning to think that I was the only one that feels that way. RV's, boats, trailers, too many cars, parking on the lawn will kill a neighborhood quicker than anything. That is why most HOA's don't allow them. Be kind to your neighbor's and rent a storage facility for it to rest in 90% of the time.
Besides that, if it is visible from the road and people are paying attention, you may as well hang up a huge "I'm away - Please break into my house" sign when you're using the RV.
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by willthrill81 »

Good, solid concrete will not be damaged by an RV being parked on it. Obviously, neither will dirt or gravel. But asphalt probably will be damaged, and so will thin concrete. Heck, the tire of an old Ford Focus we had once sunk into asphalt on a hot summer day in Memphis.

We have our 24' motor home parked on our concrete driveway. Our only concern was our HOA, which approved it as long as we put up a short fence on one side next to it, adjacent to a neighbor.
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bg5
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by bg5 »

FamilyMan wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 1:14 pm On a side note, be mindful of your neighbors too. Is the RV hidden enough on your driveway that it’s not an eyesore for the neighborhood. Sorry to be blunt but I think an RV (especially an older model) or large boat looks awful in most neighborhoods. I would be very annoyed if my next door neighbor had one in his driveway


Very good point and it sounds like my driveway would also get destroyed so I think I will find some place else to park it :)
bi0hazard
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by bi0hazard »

iamlucky13 wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 2:57 pm
FamilyMan wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 1:14 pm On a side note, be mindful of your neighbors too. Is the RV hidden enough on your driveway that it’s not an eyesore for the neighborhood. Sorry to be blunt but I think an RV (especially an older model) or large boat looks awful in most neighborhoods. I would be very annoyed if my next door neighbor had one in his driveway
While this is a tangential topic, since it comes up frequently, I want to note that mindfulness should go both ways. It is certainly in the spirit of being neighborly to try to minimize the way one's property use affects their neighbors.

It is also neighborly to respect the right of the person who paid for a given property to use it, within the constraints of whatever laws and covenants apply, of course. When it is typical in this country to invest years of one's labor value into buying a home, my view is that the utility that investment is intended to provide is proportionately more significant than what someone else thinks about how it looks.

I don't mean to simply dismiss your suggestion. I guess I just want to push back against the tendency I often see for a limited group of people's expectations to define how everyone else should use their property. A normal part of life is learning to accept that some things that annoy us are outside our control and learning to accept them.
Sorry, the others are correct. The neighbors do and should care about the look add cohesiveness of their neighborhood. RVs, boats, broken vehicles, etc. look extremely tacky, and do not belong in the driveway (or the front lawn).
Disclaimer: I'm not very smart, and this is just my hypothesis.
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by F150HD »

Retired2013 wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 2:27 pm
SrGrumpy wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 1:26 pm
FamilyMan wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 1:14 pm On a side note, be mindful of your neighbors too. Is the RV hidden enough on your driveway that it’s not an eyesore for the neighborhood. Sorry to be blunt but I think an RV (especially an older model) or large boat looks awful in most neighborhoods. I would be very annoyed if my next door neighbor had one in his driveway
+1.
Our deed has restrictive covenants for no trailers, RVs in the driveway along with many other items. It's been 28 years now since the homes were built and the new owners are starting to park boats and trailers in the driveways. My understandings is that any homeowner can sue the violators but it would be at our cost.
+++1

people start w/ an RV in the driveway....then before you know it theres a few old Ford trucks rusting out there. When you reach the clawfoot bathtub in the yard phase - sell.
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by F150HD »

bg5 wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 12:37 pm Question......can most driveways support a large RV? I am just curious if I should be concerned with cracking etc. The RV will be large and am not sure if the driveway can handle the weight or not.

Does anyone have any experience with this?
is your driveway concrete or asphalt? (you don't state). Asphalt could be questionable ('soft', esp in heat), concrete- depends on thickness and what kind of support it has (rebar, mesh, fiber etc)
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F150HD
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by F150HD »

bg5 wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 12:37 pm Question......can most driveways support a large RV? I am just curious if I should be concerned with cracking etc. The RV will be large and am not sure if the driveway can handle the weight or not.

Does anyone have any experience with this?
is your driveway concrete or asphalt? (you don't state). Asphalt could be questionable ('soft', esp in heat), concrete- depends on thickness and what kind of support it has (rebar, mesh, fiber etc)
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by jdb »

FamilyMan wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 1:14 pm On a side note, be mindful of your neighbors too. Is the RV hidden enough on your driveway that it’s not an eyesore for the neighborhood. Sorry to be blunt but I think an RV (especially an older model) or large boat looks awful in most neighborhoods. I would be very annoyed if my next door neighbor had one in his driveway
Total digression. This takes me back many years. Bought house in Miami during 1980s drug craze. We were told that the house directly across street was owned by older South American couple and occupied by their son and his wife, but had not met them. These neighbors had weird habit of many visitors picking up large potted plants in enclosed vans at all hours. We figured they ran some type of plant business. Our family from Wisconsin visited with large RV with dark glass on side. Parked on our driveway for week with large dark glass sides facing neighbor. Before our visitors left the neighbors had vacated their house which was later sold. We finally figured out what was probably in the large pots underneath plants. So there can be advantages to parking RV in driveway. Good luck.
Last edited by jdb on Wed Mar 17, 2021 7:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jack FFR1846
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by Jack FFR1846 »

Teague wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 4:56 pm
Jack FFR1846 wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 3:03 pm I parked a 2100 pound double axle car trailer with a 1600 pound racecar on my relatively new asphalt driveway for a few weeks. One wheel was near the edge. It was during the middle of the summer in New England. When I moved the trailer, the tire had sunk in about an inch and a half.

I have a neighbor with a large motor home. I notice he never parks on the driveway. It's on the lawn.
They have the choice to park a vehicle on their driveway or on their lawn, and they choose the lawn? Sounds like the makings of a Jeff Foxworthy joke.

My well compacted gravel driveway sitting on top of some of the most sandstone-like hardpan known to man seems to support anything indefinitely with no detrimental effect, an example of how the specifics matter, and probably a testament to the importance of a good base layer.
Most driveways in my area are asphalt. We're in the salt band, so concrete doesn't like cars at all.

The people with the RV I mentioned are retired with money and toys. New, very nice 4000 sq foot single story house on a fairly small lot (maybe 2 acres). Besides the RV on the lawn (on the side, back along a tree line), there's a boat too. He's got a 3 wheel Harley in the garage. I forget what their car is but they've got a huge pickup to pull the boat.
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quantAndHold
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by quantAndHold »

My driveway is fine, but I had it built for parking an RV.

At our last house, a small truck with a load of firewood destroyed the driveway.

So, it might go either way.
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by iamlucky13 »

bi0hazard wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 6:55 pm
iamlucky13 wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 2:57 pm
FamilyMan wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 1:14 pm On a side note, be mindful of your neighbors too. Is the RV hidden enough on your driveway that it’s not an eyesore for the neighborhood. Sorry to be blunt but I think an RV (especially an older model) or large boat looks awful in most neighborhoods. I would be very annoyed if my next door neighbor had one in his driveway
While this is a tangential topic, since it comes up frequently, I want to note that mindfulness should go both ways. It is certainly in the spirit of being neighborly to try to minimize the way one's property use affects their neighbors.

It is also neighborly to respect the right of the person who paid for a given property to use it, within the constraints of whatever laws and covenants apply, of course. When it is typical in this country to invest years of one's labor value into buying a home, my view is that the utility that investment is intended to provide is proportionately more significant than what someone else thinks about how it looks.

I don't mean to simply dismiss your suggestion. I guess I just want to push back against the tendency I often see for a limited group of people's expectations to define how everyone else should use their property. A normal part of life is learning to accept that some things that annoy us are outside our control and learning to accept them.
Sorry, the others are correct. The neighbors do and should care about the look add cohesiveness of their neighborhood. RVs, boats, broken vehicles, etc. look extremely tacky, and do not belong in the driveway (or the front lawn).
That's not really responsive to what I said.

Neighbors often do care, and it is neighborly to consider their opinions and make some effort to respond to their concerns.

Beyond the degree to which local codes or covenants back them up, however, they are opinions only.

To hold an opinion that an RV on someone else's property looks tacky, and conclude that therefore it does not belong there does not follow. Investing an emotional response in what should be done with a property does not outweigh investing what these days is usually hundreds of thousands of dollars and holding title to the property.
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by TierArtz »

One more data point: We allowed a family to park their lived-in 36’ Class A motorhome on our driveway (the concrete slap beyond the RV gate) for 9 months. No problems occurred. We’re the 2nd owner so we have no clue how the ground under the driveway was prepared. All were thankful the original owner installed an RV electrical hook-up and septic dump port next to the pad. Neighbors on both sides have RVs so nobody complained.
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by toofache32 »

SrGrumpy wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 1:26 pm
FamilyMan wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 1:14 pm On a side note, be mindful of your neighbors too. Is the RV hidden enough on your driveway that it’s not an eyesore for the neighborhood. Sorry to be blunt but I think an RV (especially an older model) or large boat looks awful in most neighborhoods. I would be very annoyed if my next door neighbor had one in his driveway
+1.
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by criticalmass »

bi0hazard wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 6:55 pm
iamlucky13 wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 2:57 pm
FamilyMan wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 1:14 pm On a side note, be mindful of your neighbors too. Is the RV hidden enough on your driveway that it’s not an eyesore for the neighborhood. Sorry to be blunt but I think an RV (especially an older model) or large boat looks awful in most neighborhoods. I would be very annoyed if my next door neighbor had one in his driveway
While this is a tangential topic, since it comes up frequently, I want to note that mindfulness should go both ways. It is certainly in the spirit of being neighborly to try to minimize the way one's property use affects their neighbors.

It is also neighborly to respect the right of the person who paid for a given property to use it, within the constraints of whatever laws and covenants apply, of course. When it is typical in this country to invest years of one's labor value into buying a home, my view is that the utility that investment is intended to provide is proportionately more significant than what someone else thinks about how it looks.

I don't mean to simply dismiss your suggestion. I guess I just want to push back against the tendency I often see for a limited group of people's expectations to define how everyone else should use their property. A normal part of life is learning to accept that some things that annoy us are outside our control and learning to accept them.
Sorry, the others are correct. The neighbors do and should care about the look add cohesiveness of their neighborhood. RVs, boats, broken vehicles, etc. look extremely tacky, and do not belong in the driveway (or the front lawn).
If there are covenants that prevent recreational vehicles, don’t park recreational vehicles. Easy.
If there are no such covenants, it is fine to park what is allowed in your own driveway.
It is tacky when folks act like busy bodies and dictate their personal requirements of what type of vehicles their neighbors may park, absent legal restrictions to the contrary.

“Cohesiveness” is another way of saying “look like me” and “do what I do.” People are unique. Diversity is honorable.
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by willthrill81 »

criticalmass wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 9:43 pm
bi0hazard wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 6:55 pm
iamlucky13 wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 2:57 pm
FamilyMan wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 1:14 pm On a side note, be mindful of your neighbors too. Is the RV hidden enough on your driveway that it’s not an eyesore for the neighborhood. Sorry to be blunt but I think an RV (especially an older model) or large boat looks awful in most neighborhoods. I would be very annoyed if my next door neighbor had one in his driveway
While this is a tangential topic, since it comes up frequently, I want to note that mindfulness should go both ways. It is certainly in the spirit of being neighborly to try to minimize the way one's property use affects their neighbors.

It is also neighborly to respect the right of the person who paid for a given property to use it, within the constraints of whatever laws and covenants apply, of course. When it is typical in this country to invest years of one's labor value into buying a home, my view is that the utility that investment is intended to provide is proportionately more significant than what someone else thinks about how it looks.

I don't mean to simply dismiss your suggestion. I guess I just want to push back against the tendency I often see for a limited group of people's expectations to define how everyone else should use their property. A normal part of life is learning to accept that some things that annoy us are outside our control and learning to accept them.
Sorry, the others are correct. The neighbors do and should care about the look add cohesiveness of their neighborhood. RVs, boats, broken vehicles, etc. look extremely tacky, and do not belong in the driveway (or the front lawn).
If there are covenants that prevent recreational vehicles, don’t park recreational vehicles. Easy.
If there are no such covenants, it is fine to park what is allowed in your own driveway.
It is tacky when folks act like busy bodies and dictate their personal requirements of what type of vehicles their neighbors may park, absent legal restrictions to the contrary.

“Cohesiveness” is another way of saying “look like me” and “do what I do.” People are unique. Diversity is honorable.
:thumbsup

People that don't want their neighbors to park RVs, boats, etc. in their own driveway on their own property should be in an HOA that prohibits that. Otherwise, they should mind their own business.

We should be as neighborly to each other as we reasonably can, but if it came down to me having an RV on my property that my neighbors didn't care for or not having an RV at all, I'd take the first every time.
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by bg5 »

The other part of the equation I forgot to add is that this RV is my wifes father. He is a great guy and I could not ask for a better inlaw but I am afraid this will upset him when I tell him no. He lives in a place where an RV is not allowed in the driveway. Is there any advice that this wise board can add to help me break the bad news ?????
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by LadyGeek »

^^^ Sorry, but relationship issues are off-topic. See: Acceptable Topics and Subforum Guidelines
This is an investing and personal finance forum. We also maintain a subforum that allow our members to discuss consumer goods and services and recreational activities. Anything else is considered "Off Topic" and is not acceptable on this forum.
Let's stay focused on the driveway itself.
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by Broken Man 1999 »

bg5 wrote: Wed Mar 17, 2021 7:25 am The other part of the equation I forgot to add is that this RV is my wifes father. He is a great guy and I could not ask for a better inlaw but I am afraid this will upset him when I tell him no. He lives in a place where an RV is not allowed in the driveway. Is there any advice that this wise board can add to help me break the bad news ?????
Does he have an HOA? If so, perhaps they have a storage lot for RVs, boats, ATVs, and other vehicles. Probably not as secure as parked on a driveway.

There could be commercial storage areas available.

I'm sure your FIL is a great guy, but don't let his problem become your problem.

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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by tibbitts »

bg5 wrote: Wed Mar 17, 2021 7:25 am The other part of the equation I forgot to add is that this RV is my wifes father. He is a great guy and I could not ask for a better inlaw but I am afraid this will upset him when I tell him no. He lives in a place where an RV is not allowed in the driveway. Is there any advice that this wise board can add to help me break the bad news ?????
I have personal experience with the in-law RV parking situation. It won't change anything if you say no and nobody gets upset, unless they have other issues. He bought the RV knowing he wouldn't be able to park it, and had (still has) a choice to move where parking is allowed. Now, if he had bought this RV contingent on your promise that he could park it at your house, that's a different story. But if parking at your house is just an afterthought then it's a non-issue.

I didn't read the entire discussion but what kind of house do you have where having this in the driveway isn't a nuisance to you? When I parked my RV in my driveway it blocked half the garage. The convenience advantage to keeping the RV at home only applies to having it at your home, not someone else's, unless maybe you live next door. There is no advantage vs. at least the better commercial storage facilities in terms of security, unless you have an unusual level of perimeter security at your house.
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by smitcat »

bg5 wrote: Wed Mar 17, 2021 7:25 am The other part of the equation I forgot to add is that this RV is my wifes father. He is a great guy and I could not ask for a better inlaw but I am afraid this will upset him when I tell him no. He lives in a place where an RV is not allowed in the driveway. Is there any advice that this wise board can add to help me break the bad news ?????
How will your homeowners insurance policy look upon this vehicle parked semi permanently in your driveway in cases of liability and/or injury?
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by smitcat »

willthrill81 wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 10:02 pm
criticalmass wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 9:43 pm
bi0hazard wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 6:55 pm
iamlucky13 wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 2:57 pm
FamilyMan wrote: Tue Mar 16, 2021 1:14 pm On a side note, be mindful of your neighbors too. Is the RV hidden enough on your driveway that it’s not an eyesore for the neighborhood. Sorry to be blunt but I think an RV (especially an older model) or large boat looks awful in most neighborhoods. I would be very annoyed if my next door neighbor had one in his driveway
While this is a tangential topic, since it comes up frequently, I want to note that mindfulness should go both ways. It is certainly in the spirit of being neighborly to try to minimize the way one's property use affects their neighbors.

It is also neighborly to respect the right of the person who paid for a given property to use it, within the constraints of whatever laws and covenants apply, of course. When it is typical in this country to invest years of one's labor value into buying a home, my view is that the utility that investment is intended to provide is proportionately more significant than what someone else thinks about how it looks.

I don't mean to simply dismiss your suggestion. I guess I just want to push back against the tendency I often see for a limited group of people's expectations to define how everyone else should use their property. A normal part of life is learning to accept that some things that annoy us are outside our control and learning to accept them.
Sorry, the others are correct. The neighbors do and should care about the look add cohesiveness of their neighborhood. RVs, boats, broken vehicles, etc. look extremely tacky, and do not belong in the driveway (or the front lawn).
If there are covenants that prevent recreational vehicles, don’t park recreational vehicles. Easy.
If there are no such covenants, it is fine to park what is allowed in your own driveway.
It is tacky when folks act like busy bodies and dictate their personal requirements of what type of vehicles their neighbors may park, absent legal restrictions to the contrary.

“Cohesiveness” is another way of saying “look like me” and “do what I do.” People are unique. Diversity is honorable.
:thumbsup

People that don't want their neighbors to park RVs, boats, etc. in their own driveway on their own property should be in an HOA that prohibits that. Otherwise, they should mind their own business.

We should be as neighborly to each other as we reasonably can, but if it came down to me having an RV on my property that my neighbors didn't care for or not having an RV at all, I'd take the first every time.
"We should be as neighborly to each other as we reasonably can, but if it came down to me having an RV on my property that my neighbors didn't care for or not having an RV at all, I'd take the first every time."
Yes - we would do the same, and then make sure that we had a full time surveilence camera trained on that RV or boat.
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by willthrill81 »

smitcat wrote: Wed Mar 17, 2021 9:05 am
bg5 wrote: Wed Mar 17, 2021 7:25 am The other part of the equation I forgot to add is that this RV is my wifes father. He is a great guy and I could not ask for a better inlaw but I am afraid this will upset him when I tell him no. He lives in a place where an RV is not allowed in the driveway. Is there any advice that this wise board can add to help me break the bad news ?????
How will your homeowners insurance policy look upon this vehicle parked semi permanently in your driveway in cases of liability and/or injury?
Our insurance company said that their premiums are lower for RVs kept on your own property. My presumption is that there less risk of damage and theft when it's by your home as opposed to kept off site.
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by tibbitts »

willthrill81 wrote: Wed Mar 17, 2021 9:24 am
smitcat wrote: Wed Mar 17, 2021 9:05 am
bg5 wrote: Wed Mar 17, 2021 7:25 am The other part of the equation I forgot to add is that this RV is my wifes father. He is a great guy and I could not ask for a better inlaw but I am afraid this will upset him when I tell him no. He lives in a place where an RV is not allowed in the driveway. Is there any advice that this wise board can add to help me break the bad news ?????
How will your homeowners insurance policy look upon this vehicle parked semi permanently in your driveway in cases of liability and/or injury?
Our insurance company said that their premiums are lower for RVs kept on your own property. My presumption is that there less risk of damage and theft when it's by your home as opposed to kept off site.
I'm surprised, given the relative security of being locked in a building (even one you don't own) vs. sitting outside. Where I live there are always reports of vehicle break-ins for vehicles parked outside. Ironically almost everyone has a garage, and one motivation for vehicle break-ins seems to be to access garage-door-openers. Because an RV is more "mysterious" I could see there being more motivation for breaking into it for the contents in addition to looking for a garage door opener.
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by willthrill81 »

tibbitts wrote: Wed Mar 17, 2021 9:33 am
willthrill81 wrote: Wed Mar 17, 2021 9:24 am
smitcat wrote: Wed Mar 17, 2021 9:05 am
bg5 wrote: Wed Mar 17, 2021 7:25 am The other part of the equation I forgot to add is that this RV is my wifes father. He is a great guy and I could not ask for a better inlaw but I am afraid this will upset him when I tell him no. He lives in a place where an RV is not allowed in the driveway. Is there any advice that this wise board can add to help me break the bad news ?????
How will your homeowners insurance policy look upon this vehicle parked semi permanently in your driveway in cases of liability and/or injury?
Our insurance company said that their premiums are lower for RVs kept on your own property. My presumption is that there less risk of damage and theft when it's by your home as opposed to kept off site.
I'm surprised, given the relative security of being locked in a building (even one you don't own) vs. sitting outside. Where I live there are always reports of vehicle break-ins for vehicles parked outside. Ironically almost everyone has a garage, and one motivation for vehicle break-ins seems to be to access garage-door-openers. Because an RV is more "mysterious" I could see there being more motivation for breaking into it for the contents in addition to looking for a garage door opener.
While we have many storage companies around us, very few store large RVs in buildings. They are nearly always parked outside behind a gated fence.

Good point about the garage door opener. We park our motor home in our driveway but don't keep a garage door opener in it and won't.
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by tibbitts »

willthrill81 wrote: Wed Mar 17, 2021 9:38 am While we have many storage companies around us, very few store large RVs in buildings. They are nearly always parked outside behind a gated fence.

Good point about the garage door opener. We park our motor home in our driveway but don't keep a garage door opener in it and won't.
Around here I think a good part of the motivation for off-site storage is protection from the UV exposure and extremely high temperatures from having the RV sitting in the sun. Certainly there is outside commercial RV storage at the low-end of the market, but the high-end is for individual garages. The majority of RVs definitely don't stand up to the sun, at least not cosmetically, as well as cars or trucks (not that they don't suffer as well.)
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Re: Parking RV In Driveway

Post by willthrill81 »

tibbitts wrote: Wed Mar 17, 2021 9:51 am
willthrill81 wrote: Wed Mar 17, 2021 9:38 am While we have many storage companies around us, very few store large RVs in buildings. They are nearly always parked outside behind a gated fence.

Good point about the garage door opener. We park our motor home in our driveway but don't keep a garage door opener in it and won't.
Around here I think a good part of the motivation for off-site storage is protection from the UV exposure and extremely high temperatures from having the RV sitting in the sun. Certainly there is outside commercial RV storage at the low-end of the market, but the high-end is for individual garages. The majority of RVs definitely don't stand up to the sun, at least not cosmetically, as well as cars or trucks (not that they don't suffer as well.)
Indeed, UV rays will eventually damage an RV. But one must question the value of that damage vs. the cost of interior storage. Around us, it would cost close to $2,500/year to store our motor home in a garage. Over a decade, that's $25k, far greater than the likely damage that would be due to UV rays. Waxing an RV, while certainly laborious, goes a long way toward protecting from UV rays.

Different strokes for different folks.
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