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how big a pad ?
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how big a pad ?
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how big a pad ?
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04-21-2008, 01:04
Post: #1
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how big a pad ?
My wife and I have a small campground here in Hogansville, ( see http://www.campground.flatcreek.us )
The place is fairly old and we're doing some fixing up. All of the sites are presently gravel/grass and a little on the small side, since the park was built a long time ago when rigs were smaller I guess. We're working on some new pull-thru sites with poured concrete pads, and I was hoping to solicit opinions about how big a pad would be big enough? Concrete is ridiculous around here ( sometimes over $100/yard ), so we don't want to overbuild them, but we don't want them to be too small either. Any opinions in this very unscientific poll welcome  Regards, Dorn Hetzel 77FC35 Hogansville, GA |
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04-21-2008, 01:19
Post: #2
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how big a pad ?
Dorn,
Rather than putting down a pad costing you $$$ each, running the length from entrance road to exit road (pull through), why not just put down a patio pad? Are you expecting people to stay long term (weeks/months/seasonal), or short term? Assuming the gravel driveways are reasonably level and in good repair, I would rather see you spend the $$$ necessary to make sure each spot has 30/50 amp service (properly sized and positioned), water, and sewer. Gary SOB ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dorn Hetzel" To: "wanderlodgeforum" Sent: Monday, April 21, 2008 9:04 AM Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] how big a pad ? > My wife and I have a small campground here in Hogansville, ( see > http://www.campground.flatcreek.us ) > > The place is fairly old and we're doing some fixing up. All of the sites > are presently gravel/grass and a little on the small side, since the park > was built a long time ago when rigs were smaller I guess. > > We're working on some new pull-thru sites with poured concrete pads, and I > was hoping to solicit opinions about how big a pad would be big enough? > Concrete is ridiculous around here ( sometimes over $100/yard ), so we > don't > want to overbuild them, but we don't want them to be too small either. > > Any opinions in this very unscientific poll welcome > > Regards, > > Dorn Hetzel > 77FC35 > Hogansville, GA > > ---------------------------------------------------- > This message has been processed by Firetrust Benign. > > > > E-mail message checked by Spyware Doctor (5.5.0.178) > Database version: 5.09660 > http://www.pctools.com/spyware-doctor/ > |
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04-21-2008, 02:26
Post: #3
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how big a pad ?
Dorn, I personally dont care if you have a concrete pad or not; good level small gravel works well. Unless you pour 6" concrete, you will wind up with a crumbled mess. A good tractor with a blade to level would be a better investment. Small pad to sit apicnc table on would be good. Also, if people put down levelers, that really is a lot of force on any concrete. Gary Smith Dorn, Wallace Craig 95 WLWB 42 Azle, Texas
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04-21-2008, 02:44
Post: #4
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how big a pad ?
I personally do not have any problems with a level gravel parking area with a nice concrete pad large enough for a table and BBQ, say about the size of the main awning. These pads can be concrete or asphalt. A concrete pad for the bus would need to be 6" thick or the bus traffic will crush it. Just my opinion.
My coach sits on asphalt here at home. Leroy Eckert 1990 WB-40 Smoke N Mirrors Dahlonega, GA Royale Conversion Dorn Hetzel
Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. [url=http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=51733/*http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR...o8Wcj9tAcJ ] Try it now.[/url] |
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04-21-2008, 04:11
Post: #5
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how big a pad ?
Actually, the two pads I'm pouring for "easy in - easy out" nightly spots will be 6" at the thinnest spot and 12"+ at the edges.
I'm mostly trying to decide if 40 feet is long enough for the wheelbase of most rigs or if they need to be longer. The terrain in my campground has some slope to it, so it's always a war keeping the gravel sites properly level over time. Folks that are setting up for a month don't seem to mind spending some time setting level, but I wanted to make a couple of guaranteed dead-level pads for the one night campers (we're quite close to I-85, so when we turn the exit signs back on we know we'll get some of those). I have a limit on the number of sites with water I am allowed to put on my well without paying for a state-mandated metering system, so the "one night" spaces will be electric only for now (though I'm setting pipes for water and sewer for the future). Thoughts? Dorn Hetzel 77FC35 Hogansville, GA On Mon, Apr 21, 2008 at 10:44 AM, Leroy Eckert <"jwasnewski@yahoo.com"> wrote:
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04-21-2008, 04:39
Post: #6
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how big a pad ?
The three years I spent in an RV park was on a concrete pad 10 foot wide and 40 foot long, 6" thick and all was well.
I would love to own and live in an RV park. Leroy Eckert 1990 WB-40 Smoke N Mirrors Dahlonega, GA Dorn Hetzel
Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. [url=http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=51733/*http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR...o8Wcj9tAcJ ] Try it now.[/url] |
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04-21-2008, 04:44
Post: #7
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how big a pad ?
I agree with the others. I'm not at all bothered by gravel spaces, if they're reasonably level and have plenty of gravel so there's no dirt to track into the coach. The idea of a 'patio' pad makes sense, if you want to do that. It would use a lot less concrete and can be about 1/2 the thickness you'd need to handle a heavy coach like a recent BB.
I also agree that 30/50 amp service, and perhaps cable TV might be a better area to invest in. Pete Masterson '95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42 El Sobrante CA "aeonix1@mac.com" On Apr 21, 2008, at 7:26 AM, Wallace Craig wrote:
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04-21-2008, 05:18
Post: #8
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how big a pad ?
I'm planning on 50a/240v service to the new "nightly" spaces. All of the existing ones have 50a/240v service.
I will probably put in some 30a/120v spaces, since not everyone needs 50a/240v and the cost of copper (and therefore wire) is out in space nowadays. The other thing we're doing is building the new spaces quite a lot farther apart than the old spaces so it feels a little more "campground" and a little less "parking lot" Dorn Hetzel 77FC35 Hogansville, GA On Mon, Apr 21, 2008 at 12:44 PM, Pete Masterson <"aeonix1@mac.com"> wrote:
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04-21-2008, 07:43
Post: #9
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how big a pad ?
On Apr 21, 2008, at 9:11 AM, Dorn Hetzel wrote: Actually, the two pads I'm pouring for "easy in - easy out" nightly spots will be 6" at the thinnest spot and 12"+ at the edges. My 42' coach has a wheel base of about 30' or so. I doubt that even a 45' will be much longer. So a 40' pad would allow plenty of room to position even the longest RV all on the concrete. Do leave another 25' or so space at the back of the site so a toad can stay hooked up. (i.e. the pull through is best if it's 65-70 feet in length. The main problem I've had is a site that has a poor placement of the utilities. While RVs will all have different utility locations, most coaches can accommodate hook-ups that are about 2/3 or so toward the rear end of the pad. But, I don't have a clue how this matches up to the typical fifth-wheel unit or larger travel trailer that might also use the space. <snip> If you have a separate dump station, be sure that it is actually reasonable for a big coach to get to it. One of the main reasons I use an RV park (rather than a Walmart lot) while I'm enroute somewhere is so I can dump my tanks. I've been at a few water/electricity only sites where the dump station required a maneuver that a large coach simply couldn't make. (Those when into my never again file.) The dump station should be reasonably accessible _on the way in_ since that's when I'm usually most "desperate" to dump. The 'electric only' might prove to be a problem as many RVers will be using an RV park because of its water availability. Once we get there, then it depends on how much of a discount for the inconvenience is offered. While dumping the storage tanks only takes a very short time, it can take 30-40 minutes to fill my fresh tank, if it is way down. Not really for making a 'happy camper' if I have to hang around after a day on the road to take on water. I'd suggest getting water to the sites would be worthwhile, even if there is some additional certification of water quality required. I've stayed in a fair number of water & electricity only sites and been perfectly happy. Indeed, there are times when I've stayed overnight in a full hook-up site and simply didn't bother with dumping the tanks at all... However, I realize that nearly all RVs have smaller tanks than my 'bird. Pete Masterson '95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42 El Sobrante CA "aeonix1@mac.com" |
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04-21-2008, 08:29
Post: #10
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how big a pad ?
The pull thru has plenty of overall length, perhaps 80 feet or more. The level area is a little close to the road for a long rig pulling a toad to pull straight in, but since it's a pull-thru connected to a loop, if one doesn't want to drop a toad, it's possible to pull around the loop and park coming the other way. To move the level area farther away from the road would pretty much mean regrading the whole site or moving the road, either one of which would probably cost more and damage more trees than we could bear. I'm thinking I may put electric in on both sides to simplify things. On my 77FC35, the electric and water are on the drivers rear corner and the sewage is about 1/2 way back on the drivers side. On my old fifth wheel, the electric was center rear, water drivers rear corner, sewage drivers 2/3 rear.
The dump station is pull-thru and lots of room. Of course, most days we have pull-thru full hook up sites available, but most of them are a little small and many have trees close so that parking in one after dark in a big rig has been more adventure than some visitors have found to their taste. (When it's dark here, it's dark, we're in the middle of a 500 acre farm and there are no streetlights on the campground (and only a couple across the street) We want camping to be like camping, not like parking at wal-mart )Hence the couple of super flat, super easy, sites for folks with poor vision, arriving long after dark, in huge rigs My experience has been that the 11pm arrivals rarely plug into anything but electric that night, at least here. With a big and very very level (1/16" in 40' or so) concrete slab, I'm hoping folks won't even have to do anything but set their brake, plug in, and go to sleep, if they don't want to do more The trouble with certification for more water outlets is the things the state would make us do to get certified might add as much as $5-10K or more. They seem to have stopped differentiating between a site with 10+ faucets and a small city  Our other option is a new well for every nine sites or waiting until county water reaches us someday. It's all really stupid, the campground has been here fifty or sixty years and our well water is wonderful, but I don't have the money or time to argue with the state Dorn Hetzel 77FC35 Hogansville, GA On Mon, Apr 21, 2008 at 3:43 PM, Pete Masterson <"aeonix1@mac.com"> wrote:
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