Trailer Parking In Yard

[Fueco]

So, I’m planning to relandscape the front corner of our yard. The basic idea is to move our fence line up to the street (to match the neighbor’s fence on that side), and get our trailer parked behind the fence.

There are two aspects of this project relevant to this forum that I’d like to seek advice on.

1. The ground is currently a bit soft: our trailer has dug into the ground about an inch over the winter. Is there a good resource you know of that does a clear job of explaining how to lay a crushed gravel parking pad that will hold up to use?

2. Is wiring an RV power station reasonably straightforward? It would be about a 75 foot run of wiring from our breaker box. I’m thinking about one of those power posts you see at campgrounds that have 50/30 and household power).

I should add that we’re in an area with few building restrictions since we’re outside the city limits, in rural Boulder County.

 

[Fueco]

Here’s what the area looks like now after having some trees and a tangle of juniper bushes cleared out. The Sienna is parked about eight feet from the driveway, on gravel.

 

[Bigblockyeti]

For maximum durability a heavy duty landscape fabric should be laid down first then gravel on top. This serves to prevent weeds and keep your gravel from eternally sinking into the earth.

Wiring is pretty straightforward, the required depth varies based on whether or not you use conduit and what kind. A run of that length in only 30A would require 10ga THHN or similar direct burial wire should you go that route. A 50A circuit would require 6ga wire and that is quite bit more expensive nowadays but certainly worth it if you're likely to need it in the future.

 

[Rollin Ollen]

So, I’m planning to relandscape the front corner of our yard. The basic idea is to move our fence line up to the street (to match the neighbor’s fence on that side), and get our trailer parked behind the fence.

There are two aspects of this project relevant to this forum that I’d like to seek advice on.

1. The ground is currently a bit soft: our trailer has dug into the ground about an inch over the winter. Is there a good resource you know of that does a clear job of explaining how to lay a crushed gravel parking pad that will hold up to use?

2. Is wiring an RV power station reasonably straightforward? It would be about a 75 foot run of wiring from our breaker box. I’m thinking about one of those power posts you see at campgrounds that have 50/30 and household power).

I should add that we’re in an area with few building restrictions since we’re outside the city limits, in rural Boulder County.

For ground stability you need to remove the top soil. Clay (or bedrock) for a base will keep your gravel pad firm

Darrell

 

[Neal]

Keep in mind what's overhead, that tree is going to drop all kinds of yuck and also be a path for critters.

 

[Rosy]

I would do a base of road crush tamped down firm. You can probably rent a mechanical tamper from Home Depot.

 

[Dan_Frisbie]

I had to scrape my top layer of dirt off to achieve clearance and then laid down a few inches of “millings” which is ground up asphalt and/or concrete. If you can run a skid-steer, you can smooth it out yourself, then rent a compactor and pack it down tight with lots and LOTS of water. The concrete Millings set up pretty hard, asphalt not quite as hard.
Millings are the road surfaces that are scraped off when a road is being resurfaced.
Get the 1” and below for a good driveway surface.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

For maximum durability a heavy duty landscape fabric should be laid down first then gravel on top. This serves to prevent weeds and keep your gravel from eternally sinking into the earth.

Wiring is pretty straightforward, the required depth varies based on whether or not you use conduit and what kind. A run of that length in only 30A would require 10ga THHN or similar direct burial wire should you go that route. A 50A circuit would require 6ga wire and that is quite bit more expensive nowadays but certainly worth it if you're likely to need it in the future.

A common mistake here! The electricity run is 150 feet when calculated for wire size. To avoid voltage drop I would use 6awg for 30 amp. That only ups the wire size one wire size.

Better yet if you want both 30 and 50 amp service, consider bringing wire for 50 amp (calculate) to the post,and install breakers for the two service outlets. This then eliminates the need for two complete runs of wire.

Road base compressed for the pad, above grade is better.

 

[Scooterfan]

No sure about Colorado...but in our neck of the woods one wouldn't do a project like yours without laying down "gopher wire". YouTube the laying down of road base (various options here) and you get the idea. For your wire run, go heavy

 

[Fueco]

No sure about Colorado...but in our neck of the woods one wouldn't do a project like yours without laying down "gopher wire". YouTube the laying down of road base (various options here) and you get the idea. For your wire run, go heavy

There are prairie dogs in the area, but only across the Main Street in the open space areas. There are too many dogs in the neighborhood for them to be active. I’ve only seen squirrels, foxes and rabbits around (and a bear). Our dogs tend to chase them all away.

I’ll ask my neighbor about gopher wire. He installed a gravel parking area a few years ago and hasn’t had any problems.

As for wiring, I’ll certainly use good stuff. I’ll bury it with conduit as well. I’ve cut through live a wire buried in a yard before. Am I correct in understanding that I’d need 100 A fuse and high enough rated wiring for this to be able to run power for the trailer and regular power at the same time?