Parking pad size

[sarasafari]

Any mathematicians/engineers who can help me calculate the size of a parking pad for my AS.
Our house is on a deeply sloped lot with a long curving driveway. There is minimal paved parking in front of the house for maybe 3 cars. There is also an AS inaccessible garage, further down the slope, to the back of the house.

There is some room to grade to the side of the current parking pad. Our original thought was to back the trailer down the very curved drive(maybe 40ft, or so,) and back it into a small paved pad. I am now thinking of extending our original parking pad so that we can pull down, turn it around, pull it up and back it onto the smaller AS pad. I have no idea what kind of radius that we will need in order to pull it down, back it into new concrete, pull it up and back onto the originally planned AS pad. I plan to use a portable garage to cover it.

I have a single axle 23 ft. Trailer that I have very limited backing experience, especially with this long curvy drive. It jackknifes easily. I don't want to store it off site, because I plan on using it as a she-cave, guest room, hang out spot. ALL help is appreciated!

[overlander63]

Can you provide us a sketch of your driveway and which way the grade slopes? Also, any trees in the way.

[Protagonist]

It's not for exactly your size of trailer, but here's a drawing taken from "Park Road Standards, the document the National Park Service uses to lay out roads in national parks. It might help…

[SteveSueMac]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

It's not for exactly your size of trailer, but here's a drawing taken from "Park Road Standards, the document the National Park Service uses to lay out roads in national parks. It might help…

I'm not seeing a link or a drawing. I'm on the old version on my iPhone if that makes a difference.

[FreshAir]

We have a similar challenge. Our 100+ foot driveway at 6 and 8 degree slope can test my maneuvering skills. But been doing it for 8 years so it has become a 'natural'. I drive our rig down the drive and pull into to where we park our 24' trailer. I then back (carefully) into a turnaround spur......just deep enough to back into to complete a 3 point turn. I ten pull the trailer up the drive enough to back down to the summer time trailer park spot. Winter storage is up the drive on an RV pad. I still have to make the turnaround at the bottom of our drive to park in the 'pad' up the hill.


Neil

[joqin]

Can you park it 90* to the drive? pull up to where the drive ends nearest the house, then crank the wheels and back up to where you imagine the A/S would be on a pad. the A/S would never be in the way and would be easy to hook up. the pad only has to be as deep as the distance to the wheels;the rear could stick out over an unpaved area. it would be like backing into most campsites,pull past it,then back in-no 100ft snake attack. if you angle the pad a little, it should be even easier. just my 2 cents- my caravel jack-knives real quick, so I'm always looking for easy back-up solutions. joe in Minnesnowda
(at this time,it's only colder in antartica and mars)

[ventport]

Take your AS to a vacant parking lot and with chalk, traffic cones or cardboard boxes mark out a test parking pad. See if you can park in it. Keep adjusting it until it works for you. Take pictures and measurements and make a sketch, so you can duplicate it at home. You can also figure out your turning radius in the lot.

[JimGolden]

12' wide by 25' long.

You would really only need it from the axle to the hitch, but the grass will die under the back of it anyway, and you could make it narrower, but why track in mud. Hence, 12' wide, 25' long.

I saw a really cool radio controlled servo motor thing where you unhitch the trailer, a drive wheel rubs against your tires, you have a castering wheel on your front hitch point, and you could stand back with a radio control transmitter and park your trailer into a super tight spot very easily. A lot of trouble and expense, but a neat toy

[m.hony]

Originally Posted by FreshAir

We have a similar challenge. Our 100+ foot driveway at 6 and 8 degree slope can test my maneuvering skills. But been doing it for 8 years so it has become a 'natural'. I drive our rig down the drive and pull into to where we park our 24' trailer. I then back (carefully) into a turnaround spur......just deep enough to back into to complete a 3 point turn. I ten pull the trailer up the drive enough to back down to the summer time trailer park spot. Winter storage is up the drive on an RV pad. I still have to make the turnaround at the bottom of our drive to park in the 'pad' up the hill.


Neil

I reckon it is a challenge to climb that hill in a long 'n' low Duece and a Quarter- or is that a LeSabre?
Fine ride either way. The best of the 70's.

[FreshAir]

Originally Posted by m.hony

I reckon it is a challenge to climb that hill in a long 'n' low Duece and a Quarter- or is that a LeSabre?
Fine ride either way. The best of the 70's.

Centurion 455. Our Olds 455 and Jeep pickup with a Buick 455 has absolutely no problems either. Before we finally got the gravel driveway paved the Jeep 4x4 was the only thing that could maneuver the Airstream. The trailer would drag/push the cars in the gravel.

Neil

[m.hony]

Delta 88 or 98 Regency Brougham?
Looks like a 9-8.
I love those old cars with no "B" pillar.
Roll down front and rear windows and there is that huge opening-
Big ole long cars with a limousine size back seat-
oh- I see your signature- it is a 9-8.
Cool rides.
I would love to have a green Buick Electra 225 from that era.
They sure made a lot of pale yellow Oldsmobiles in the day-

[kcollins]

Now that brings back memories. 1970 model Buick Electra 225 (sorry for the quality of the images...taken in 1971 with my trusty Kodak Instamatic):

[m.hony]

The image quality is excellent considering they are 41 year old prints probably before 110 film, maybe 120?
Anyway, the green Duece is awesome, as is the Shasta.