Parking on Grass?

[Airstream Dad]

Streamers,

Any advice on how to park an AS in a backyard on a lawn? I thought of creating a 30' x 9' "pad" out of mulch then getting flat boards or other hard surfaced materials for the wheels, hitch jack, and stabilizer bars. Then I'd nuke the mulch with Round Up periodically.

Thoughts? I assume parking the rubber wheels directly on the lawn/ earth and leaving it there for weeks/ months is bad for them?

Best

Jim
Arlington, Virginia

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by JBSVirginia

Streamers,

Any advice on how to park an AS in a backyard on a lawn? I thought of creating a 30' x 9' "pad" out of mulch then getting flat boards or other hard surfaced materials for the wheels, hitch jack, and stabilizer bars. Then I'd nuke the mulch with Round Up periodically.

Thoughts? I assume parking the rubber wheels directly on the lawn/ earth and leaving it there for weeks/ months is bad for them?

Best

Jim
Arlington, Virginia

Your correct about the damage.

But, instead of an extensive, expensive pad, you can also create small concrete pads for just the tires, the front jack, and the stabilizer jacks.

Andy

[newroswell]

I've never heard of problems with tires from sitting on dirt. I would be concerned about spraying them with weed killer and/or pesticides though. The biggest issue would be the Sun's UV. Keep them clean and covered.

[CanoeStream]

From the "They All Leak" department: We can all review our histories of dealing with leakage & moisture issues. You seem to be on the right track to be concerned about long grass growing up around the belly pan. High grass growing up under a trailer purportedly keeps humidity higher under the belly, retarding things drying out. Some people say this accelerates floor rot problems. Whether it does that exactly, I'd probably say we would all gain from any extra time spent trying to make sure leaks from the rooftop to the rubrail are diagnosed and treated in the first place.

Are you within city limits? Rental housing around colleges (5 cars in the yard kind of stuff) has tended to push city ordinances that require that all vehicles, RVs & boats be parked on a paved pad. Might be worth a call to your city offices to check before you go too far into your planning.

[Jim Foster]

I created a "pad" next to our home by removing the grass, laying down a fabric "weed barrier" and covering with gravel. After a three or four years of Sacramento Delta dust settling on the area, some weeds started above the fabric weed barrier. Now I spray the area with Round-up Extended Control growth inhibitor once in December and again in March. The spray only makes it to the top of the gravel, but the winter rain washes it down onto the fabric weed barrier and nothing grows.

I have been doing this for five years now with great results. I get the Round-up Extended Control growth inhibitor from home Depot.

[Airstream Dad]

Small pads for the wheels and such are good ideas. Perhaps i can just arrange attractive 12 x 12 pavers under those points, sitting on the mulch, plus maybe a 3x3 paver area at the bottom of the steps. Main reason I'm thinking mulch is that it's more attractive in a back yard, matching up with my planting beds ... plus the county will deliver truckloads at no charge.

I've also read about UV light and tires - I guess I should invest in some of those wheel covers.

Cheers
Jim

[Jim Foster]

No reason you couldn't use the fabric weed barrier under the mulch to keep down growth and the pavers under the tires, step area and perhaps tongue jack. That way no mowing of grass necessary. Having to move your trailer every week or so just to mow grass would soon grow old. You could also use the Round-up that I use to be sure that nothing comes up.

I think I would kill or remove the grass first. You only want to do this one time.

Done this way it will look nice and neat and will stay that way.

[withidl]

Consider using "Trailer Blocks" which are 16"X16"X4" 65+ pound solid concrete blocks readily available from Home Depot.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by JBSVirginia

Any advice on how to park an AS in a backyard on a lawn? I thought of creating a 30' x 9' "pad" out of mulch then getting flat boards or other hard surfaced materials for the wheels, hitch jack, and stabilizer bars. Then I'd nuke the mulch with Round Up periodically.

Thoughts?

I park in a grassy location for 8 consecutive weeks a year. The main problem is that the trailer will tend to sink somewhat into the soil particularly in wet weather. I had it sink several inches one year. This makes it difficult to pull out when the time comes and can also result in having to re-level fairly frequently if you're using the trailer.

I assume parking the rubber wheels directly on the lawn/ earth and leaving it there for weeks/ months is bad for them?

Maybe that was a problem in the 1940s but with modern tires it doesn't make much difference. I used to farm and would leave some equipment outside on the grass. The tires would still make it 20 years.

[dkottum]

I would also be concerned about the moisture in the soil under the trailer. It seems the air under the trailer would be at a high moisture content unless there was a good breeze moving through. Good conditions for accelerated frame corrosion/underside wood floor damage.

I've had to store it on the grass and put a green tarp under the trailer. Had to weight it down in the center because of the wind, and hosed off the debris from time to time. Try to find an area where the rain would drain away, not onto the tarp.

doug k

[MrUKToad]

Originally Posted by CanoeStream

Are you within city limits? Rental housing around colleges (5 cars in the yard kind of stuff) has tended to push city ordinances that require that all vehicles, RVs & boats be parked on a paved pad. Might be worth a call to your city offices to check before you go too far into your planning.

Good point, Canoe. It my part of Canada the trailer has to be on a pad or driveway when it's out front; just to prevent the front yard from becoming a boggy field covered in cars I guess. If you can get the trailer out back then there are no such restrictions.

[JimGolden]

I cut the grass to it's usual height....about 3".

I then put down two 12' long 2x12's for the triple axle and parked on them.

The grass will die out completely in a month, and in three months you'll just have a dirt pad under the trailer.

After that, you can pour concrete if you want.

I have found that I get about five years out of a 2x12 and then it's time for a new one

Lotsa luck!