RV Parking Pad — Gravel or Pavers for a Camper or Boat
The camper has been sitting on the lawn making ruts, or the city sent a letter about parking on grass; this is the pad it belongs on, built to take the weight and drain.
JMB Builders builds an RV parking pad beside the house for a camper, boat or trailer across the Twin Cities metro. The sod comes out, the ground is cut to grade, class 5 is compacted in lifts to a driveway depth, and the pad is finished in clean crushed rock inside a timber or steel edge, or in pavers on the same base. Sized to the rig, graded to drain. Priced per project from photos.
- Priced per project, quoted from photos and the rig's length
- Base compacted to driveway depth, not patio depth
- Gravel with an edge, or pavers on the same base
- Graded to drain away from the house
- Licensed MN contractor BC809005
A camper, a boat on its trailer or a utility trailer parked on the lawn does the same thing every year: the tires sink through the topsoil in spring, the grass dies in stripes, and the jacks tip when the ground gets soft. Many metro cities also require recreational vehicles to be parked on an improved surface, and a letter from the city is what starts a lot of these calls. A parking pad fixes both.
The build is a driveway, not a patio. We strip the sod and topsoil, cut the pad to grade so it drains away from the house and the neighbor, lay woven fabric, and compact class 5 in lifts to a depth that takes axle weight. A gravel pad is finished with clean crushed rock inside a treated timber edge or a steel landscape edge that keeps the rock off the lawn. A paver pad uses the same base with bedding sand, pavers and a spiked edge restraint, and matches the driveway or patio it sits next to.
We size the pad to the rig: its length with the tongue or the hitch, its width with the awning side, and a strip to walk around it. Where the pad meets the driveway we blend the grade so you can back in without a lip. Where it meets the lawn it gets an edge you can mow against. If the city's rules on where a camper can sit are unclear, we help you read them before the layout is set.
What you supply
- The rig's length, width and approximate weight, and how you back it in from the street or driveway
- Where the pad goes, and a look at your city's rules on RV parking surfaces and setbacks; we can help read them
- Gravel or pavers, and the paver color if pavers
- Access for a skid loader and a dump truck, and any sprinkler lines or buried wires you know about
What JMB supplies
- Layout sized to the rig and squared to the driveway or house, and the utility locate before we dig
- Sod and topsoil stripped, ground cut to grade, spoils hauled or spread
- Woven fabric and class 5 compacted in lifts to driveway depth
- Gravel pad: clean crushed rock top layer inside a treated timber or steel edge
- Paver pad: bedding sand, pavers set with a slight fall to drain, spiked edge restraint, polymeric sand
- A blended transition where the pad meets the existing driveway
- Grading so water runs off the pad and away from the foundation
- Photos of the finished pad in your job folder
How it is priced: per project
Quoted in writing from your photos within one business day. What moves the number:
- Pad length and width, set by the rig plus a strip to walk around it
- Gravel with an edge vs. pavers on the same base
- Base depth for the rig's weight, which sets the class 5 tonnage
- How much the side yard slopes and whether the low side needs a block edge
- Removing a fence section, shrubs, a tree stump or an old slab to make room
- Blending into an asphalt or concrete driveway vs. a stand-alone pad off the street
- Skid loader access from the street vs. a tight side yard
Send a photo from the street showing the side yard and driveway, one along the slope, and the rig's length. If the city sent a letter, send that too so we size and place the pad to what it asks for.
How long it takes
A gravel RV pad: one to two days, weather permitting. A paver pad: two to four days depending on size. Spring and fall book fastest; a frozen yard waits for the thaw.
How your project works
- 1
Send photos, get a written quote
Send three photos of the space and a sentence about what you want. You get a clear, itemized quote within one business day. We only come out to measure first when the job needs a tape measure — no pressure, no games.
- 2
Pick materials, or bring your own
We help you choose profiles and materials that fit the house and the budget, or match your existing millwork exactly — or you buy the door or trim yourself and we install it. Everything is confirmed before the crew is scheduled.
- 3
Clean, precise installation
The crew shows up on time, protects floors and furniture, and installs with tight joints and consistent reveals. Photos of the finished work go in your job folder.
- 4
Walkthrough and invoice
We walk the finished work with you. If anything is not right, we fix it before we call the job done. Then one invoice, paid by check or direct deposit — no card fees, no payment links.
Situations and options
Gravel pad with timber edge
The most common build. Compacted class 5 to driveway depth, a clean crushed rock top, and ground-contact treated timbers pinned with rebar along the lawn side so the rock stays put and the mower has an edge.
Gravel pad with steel edging
The same base with a low steel landscape edge instead of timbers. Cleaner look, nothing to rot, and it follows a curve where the pad meets a bed or a walk.
Paver parking pad
Pavers on the driveway-depth base, set with a slight fall to drain and held by a spiked edge restraint. Matches a paver driveway or patio, and the rig's tires do not track rock onto the driveway.
Boat and trailer pad
Shorter and narrower than a camper pad, sized for a boat on its trailer or a utility trailer, often tucked along the garage wall. Same base build, because a trailer tongue jack still punches through a thin pad.
Extension of the existing driveway
A strip added beside the driveway, blended at the edge so you pull straight off the drive onto the pad without a lip. In gravel or pavers; a new asphalt or concrete strip is a paving contractor's job and we say so.
RV Parking Pad — Gravel or Pavers for a Camper or Boat: questions, answered
Can I park my camper in my side yard in Minnesota?
It depends on the city. Many Twin Cities suburbs allow a recreational vehicle in a side or rear yard if it sits on an improved surface such as gravel or pavers, with setbacks from the lot line and sometimes a limit on how far forward of the house it can sit. Some cities restrict the driveway or the front yard. Check your city's zoning page or call the planning desk; we help read it before we lay out the pad.
Is gravel or pavers better for an RV pad?
Gravel is the lower-cost build, drains well, and is easy to top up; the trade-off is rock migrating to the lawn and the driveway, which the edging mostly controls. Pavers cost more, look like part of the house, and keep tires clean, and they need the same compacted base. Both hold a camper if the base is built to driveway depth. Pick by budget and by what the pad sits next to.
How deep does the base under an RV parking pad need to be?
Deeper than a patio and in the range of a driveway, because an RV puts its weight on four small tire patches and a jack. The depth depends on the rig's weight and the soil; clay and a heavy fifth-wheel mean more, sandy soil and a pop-up mean less. We set the depth from the rig's weight and what we find under the sod, and the quote states it.
How wide and long should a camper pad be?
Long enough for the trailer plus the tongue or hitch, wide enough for the body plus a strip on each side to walk and to drop the stabilizer jacks on solid ground. If the awning side faces the yard, some people add width there for chairs. Send us the rig's length and width and we lay out the pad on the photos before we dig.
Will the pad drain, or will water pool under the camper?
It drains. The pad is cut with a slight fall away from the house and toward the yard or the street, the class 5 is compacted so it sheds water, and the top layer of clean rock or the paver joints lets the rest through. A pad that is cut flat in a clay yard holds water, so grading is part of the build.
Can you build the pad right up against the driveway?
Yes, and most of them are. We cut the pad to meet the edge of the asphalt or concrete at the same height and blend the transition so you pull off the driveway onto the pad without a lip. The far side and the lawn side get the edge that holds the rock or the pavers in.
Recent JMB work, from our job log
59 installs recorded across 30 Twin Cities communities since Dec 2025. Window and door installs for homeowners and for the builders and dealers we sub for. Counts come straight from our job log; no customer names.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough. You hear back within one business day. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
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Read morePage reviewed September 27, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All pavers pages
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