Driveway trailer ruts

[kj3]

We have a trailer that weighs in around 2 tons and used Monday through Friday, at the end of the day about 50 gallons of water is drained out. Between that daily dose of water plus any rain it doesn't help our situation. Over the years I've tried different solutions and using a hose from the trailer so it drains out 10 feet away and down the slope. But the ruts still come back pretty soon. My last effort was using 4" thick 16" wide blocks to part the trailer on but you can see they ended up sinking in on one site or the other. You can see how that looked after a season.

The driveway is a couple hundred feet long and gravel, fairly level and been in place for a couple of decades. Ideally the best solution won't involve a drastic change in appearance or create a big lip changing from one material to another. I'm open to any good ideas, nothing is out of question except but I hope something less costly than just pouring a 14x20' concrete pad. Even with concrete there would still be some concern about drainage and the slope just beyond the parking area, having it crack off.

Do we need to add more gravel, big gravel then a layer of smaller? How thick. What about geogrid? Anyone who's fixed a parking area in front of their barn or whatever I'd love to hear what worked or even did not work so I can avoid mistakes. Thanks in advance!

 

[just_Dave]

dig it out, install base 3x4 rock geoteck fabric gravel. small French design would help.

what do you mean by 50 gallons water drain out?

 

[jaxs]

We have a trailer that weighs in around 2 tons and used Monday through Friday, at the end of the day about 50 gallons of water is drained out. Between that daily dose of water plus any rain it doesn't help our situation. Over the years I've tried different solutions and using a hose from the trailer so it drains out 10 feet away and down the slope. But the ruts still come back pretty soon. My last effort was using 4" thick 16" wide blocks to part the trailer on but you can see they ended up sinking in on one site or the other. You can see how that looked after a season.

The driveway is a couple hundred feet long and gravel, fairly level and been in place for a couple of decades. Ideally the best solution won't involve a drastic change in appearance or create a big lip changing from one material to another. I'm open to any good ideas, nothing is out of question except but I hope something less costly than just pouring a 14x20' concrete pad. Even with concrete there would still be some concern about drainage and the slope just beyond the parking area, having it crack off.

Do we need to add more gravel, big gravel then a layer of smaller? How thick. What about geogrid? Anyone who's fixed a parking area in front of their barn or whatever I'd love to hear what worked or even did not work so I can avoid mistakes. Thanks in advance!
]

There's nothing unusual about weight sinking if sitting in a mudhole. Look at those craters where wheels set. Raise the parking spot above grade,cap it with asphalt (new or recycled) or concrete so that water is shed when it rains and drain daily 50 gallons elsewhere before parking.

 

[Rebeldad1]

why does the trailer get 50 gallons (a day) in it in the first place?
looks like your road has no base to it.

 

[old and tired]

Wrong gravel, IMO. You need something that locks together to shed water away. Crusher Run / Crush and run - you have so much air space between the rocks I would consider a dirt layer on top of what you have, compact it, then add 4" of Crusher Run on top of that. Right now you have a muddy pond under your gravel and it will continue to sink when it's wet.

 

[kj3]

dig it out, install base 3x4 rock geoteck fabric gravel. small French design would help.

what do you mean by 50 gallons water drain out?

Well its used for work and at the end of the day fresh water is filled and the dirty water is drained. Thanks.
What is 3x4 rock, google has let me down on this one? Did you mean 3/4"? Definitely thinking some deeper channel of gravel at the edge might help with drainage. Thanks again.

 

[ruffdog]

I would scrape off the small gravel dig down and put in 8+" of 3-4" rock. Put the small gravel back on and top it off with clean gravel.

 

[PandDLong]

I would scrape off the small gravel dig down and put in 8+" of 3-4" rock. Put the small gravel back on and top it off with clean gravel.

I second this suggestion. I had a school bus coming into my yard and turning around twice a day - it created a real mess. All the levelling and road crush made no difference.

Scraping off the top and putting in a layer of 3-4” rock and then road crush / small gravel fixed it. Never had another problem.

 

[jaxs]

Haven't y'all ever heard advice that say's "when you find yourself in a hole,stop digging"? I believe that applies here. It is universally agreed that present rock is too large and need's airspace filled with smaller material. Digging out present rock just stir's up loose soil and mixes dirt with existing rock. Next time it rains, all that dirt turn's to mud and sinks. No need to spend time digging,put a layer of pea gravel on top of what's there to fill gaps,put a layer of fines over that to fill gaps in pea gravel and finish off with material that set's up to shed water. Collectivly,those layers will raise pad above grade.

 

[4570Man]

When I want to build a good road I put down a base of 1-3” rock and top with crusher run. If the ground is already pretty solid I just dump crusher run or clean 1” down.