RV Stabilizer Jacks Denting Asphalt

Stabilizer jacks and landing gear are small feet under a heavy coach. On hot or thin asphalt they punch in, tilt the RV, and leave cups. Boards spread the load, and they do not upgrade a light driveway.

Open free asphalt tonnage calculator →

Stabilizers are not a foundation

Landing gear and stabilizer jacks are there to steady a parked recreational vehicle, and the vehicle maker specifies how they should be used. The driveway sees a set of small steel feet. In July, or on asphalt that is new or thin, those feet creep downward. The coach tilts, people re-level by adding pressure, and the feet go deeper. Slide-outs and steps can bind when the unit twists. A sealcoat film is irrelevant under a jack, and coating the parking spot does not increase thickness. If this driveway was built only for cars, a stored coach may be beyond what the base can carry even with boards. Boards are load spreading. They are not a thicker pavement. Confirm the coach's requirements with the manufacturer rather than inventing a pad stack.

A board stack that actually spreads weight

Use sound lumber or commercial pads large enough that the foot sits fully on them, stacked if the maker of the jack recommends that, and place them before the feet touch the mat. The boards should not cup or split. Check them after the first day of heat and after you extend a slide, because the load shifts. Do not put the foot half on the asphalt edge where the base is weakest. Keep a slight drainage path so a cup, if one starts, is not also a pond under the vehicle. Stay off a freshly paved spot until the paver says concentrated loads are reasonable. A measuring wheel can lay out a parking stall so the coach is not hanging into the street. It is not a survey and it does not rate the pavement section.

Dents and the bigger rut

Patch a water-holding cup as a small squared repair with hot mix when available, or cold patch as a temporary fill. If the coach's tires have rutted the same area, stop parking it there. The repair is a thicker base and asphalt section designed for that weight, not another board. Estimate asphalt tons for the rebuilt pad with AsphaltTons.com using the pad's length, width, and compacted thickness, and confirm density around 140 to 150 pounds per cubic foot and the price with the plant. Stone under that pad is a quarry conversation, with about 1.4 tons per cubic yard as a planning figure for compacted crushed stone. Until that pad exists, park the coach where the surface was built for it. Do not expect crack filler around the jacks to stiffen the ground. Filler does not carry landing gear.

A practical sequence

Place rated pads or sound boards under every jack before it touches asphalt.
Recheck level after heat and after slide-outs move the load.
Patch cups that hold water, and do not keep using a deepening dent.
Rebuild the parking section if the tires themselves are rutting the driveway.

The mistake to skip

Dropping bare stabilizer feet onto hot asphalt and cranking until the coach looks level.

Questions people ask

Do boards void the RV warranty?

Follow the jack and coach instructions. This paving note is about the driveway. The vehicle maker sets how the rig should be supported.

Is a concrete paver under the jack enough?

A single brittle paver can crack and then point-load the asphalt. Use a pad that spreads the load and stays intact.

As an Amazon Associate, AsphaltTons.com earns from qualifying purchases. Product links below are sponsored.