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-   -   Newbie with gravel road/ driveway questions (https://www.truckconversion.net/forums/f104/newbie-gravel-road-driveway-questions-4625/)

biere 03-05-2005 09:30 PM

Total newb to rv travel and what not but I have turned wrenches on heavy duty trucks, suspension, brakes, and kingpins mostly, and I also drove a school bus for a year so I figure these would make wonderful rv vehicles.

And for those who actually know how to pronounce mariemont, ohio that is where I did my high school goofing off time. I was surprised to see it mentioned here.

Anyway I started off thinking a 4x4 pickup and a slide in camper would be neat but after checking weights I wound up with a ford 550 on paper. Then I decided an international medium duty would be more fun since it is bigger and comes with factory 4x4 and that just seems like too much fun until you get stuck. But I always wanted a heavy duty rv ever since I saw a picture of someone who mounted an air stream trailer onto a stretched kenworth class 8.

Anyway I hate the burbs and now live in the country. I am planning to sell my current place since I want more land than my current 9 acres. I like being able to hunt and fish and walk on my own property. The rv is great for traveling to see mother nature's doodles as well, but I really am thinking about making it my only home for a while.

I would have some land in a northern state and a southern state and might wind up with a middle state as well. A well would provide fresh water and a septic system would be installed to handle grey and black water from the rv while staying there. I don't like building cabins on land if I won't be around since I have seen too many things broken into or damaged while folks were not around to deal with the vandals and burglars.

Anyway, I was wondering if I could get some posts about gravel roads and maybe some posts about folks who either have a gravel driveway or park on gravel part of the time.

I know that when things are dry the dirt is good enough. But I read a few posts about stucks on this site today, been reading the site all day, and I am wondering what people acutally have dealt with.

My school bus saw very few gravel parking lots and when it was on gravel it was a dry time so that means little.

As far as what I am thinking vehicle wise I really liked how a school bus handled and I am thinking about something like a box truck or maybe a dump truck with the dump body removed and a trailer dropped onto it. I am also wondering about mounting a flatbed so that I would roll a pull behind trailer onto the flatbed and drive on the highway and then unload it when I got where I was going. With a proper deck height for unloading this seems feasable and I would be able to do other stuff with the flatbed of the truck but then I wind up needing a sleeper to get the rv title.

Well, this is all yet to be decided.

Right now I am wondering about how far you folks get from concrete and asphalt. Maintained gravel roads should be easy. Lousy gravel roads that are rarely maintained should be ok in decent weather.

And I am really wondering about driveways and what everyone has.

And actually, it you have concrete or asphalt how has it held up?

Gary Atsma 03-06-2005 10:53 AM

Hey biere!
Welcome to the fold! I think you will find many like-minded(for those of us who still have one!) folks on this board. You might want to check the "archives" to find notes about most any subject you might imagine. Otherwise post whatever question(s) you may have, and answers (some of them even relevant) will appear.
Have fun and happy truckin'!
Gary Atsma

John (C-IL) 03-06-2005 07:56 PM

Well, gravel road and driveways are the scourge of the HDT. That being said I live on a well traveled but not well maintained gravel road and have a gravel driveway. The last month has been a a real challenge, and saturday was the first time I moved the freightliner in a month because the road was so soft. It also creates a cleaning problem in the suspension and frame area.

Because I farm I built my driveway with 3 inch limestone rock so it will support the weight of an 80,000# grain truck. I used a 12" plastic culvert 20 foot long and the driveway is a similar width and about 250 feet long. It works pretty good and has enough room for parking when harvest isn't in full swing.

KAYE RIVERCITY 03-06-2005 09:46 PM

......well biere....next time you get to Mariemont stop up by the Old Hospital-[where I'm sure you took your girls/women/wine/smokes when it was closed] and stop in at the end of the exit driveway just by the speed bump where It exits back onto Rowan Hill Drive-look to your right!....I should be there in the afternoons and If you call first You can take a ride in my Volvo and try out your gravel driveways for yourself.....geof kaye class of '63....1-888-513-5293...voice mail

biere 03-07-2005 03:13 AM

Thank you very much for the offer of a ride. I live in adams county these days but will free up some time in a week or two and give you a call to see if we can set something up.

Where are the archives located? I am still reading the info on escapees but when I looked around this site I did not see any archives.

The local farmers here are having fits with their gravel driveways but the actual roads seem to have a solid enough base that they manage to hold up well. Of course the farmers also generally have a big tractor or something to pull themselves out with as well.

I dug out an old book I have called "moving the earth" And it has some great info on making new roads and now I am starting to see exactly what I might be getting into.

Of course I think I would have similar problems if I just had a pickup and a fiver or a medium duty.

Gary Atsma 03-07-2005 02:22 PM

I guess I used the wrong term. All you really have to do is click on the general subject at the first page of this board and start looking around. You can see notes that go back quite a ways in time. Just snoop around and you will find plenty of info.
Gary

KAYE RIVERCITY 03-10-2005 09:47 PM

......so as not to snoop,- GARY-what happened to your buddy "RV TRUCKIN"...? Haven't heard any of his Cowboy Cadillac crap lately so I guess you pizzed him off and he left in a huff?.....Gary, you just got to be careful how you respond those who are sensitive.....God only knows- It's my job to pizz off those more sensitive than we are!....geof kaye


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