How Much Gravel Do I Need for an RV Pad?

The short answer

Gravel is ordered by the ton. Find your volume first: length × width × (depth in inches ÷ 12) ÷ 27 gives cubic yards, then multiply by 1.4 — a cubic yard of gravel weighs about 2,800 lbs, or 1.4 tons. A 12×40 ft Class A pad at the standard 6-inch depth: (12 × 40 × 0.5) / 27 = 8.9 cubic yards, × 1.4 = 12.4 tons. With 10% overage for compaction and grading, order 13 to 14 tons and you will cover it in one delivery. Size the pad to the rig: about 12 ft wide by 30, 35, or 40 ft long for travel trailers, 5th wheels, and Class A motorhomes respectively.

Tons and cubic yards by rig class

Find your rig class below and read across to your target depth. Each cell shows cubic yards, then tons. Figures assume a flat rectangle — add 10% for compaction loss and grading, and more for soft soil that needs a thicker base.

Delivery reality check: most dump trucks haul 15 to 20 tons per load, so every pad in this table arrives as a single delivery — even the Class A at 8 inches (16.6 tons) just barely. That makes per-ton delivered pricing the number to compare, and it makes ordering your 10% overage on the first truck the cheapest way to get it.

Choose the right depth first

4 inches works as a refresh layer over an existing firm base — or for occasional overnight parking on ground that is already solid. 6 inches is the standard for a dedicated pad with a rig parked on it full-time: deep enough to spread concentrated tire loads and drain freely. 8 inches is the spec for a brand-new pad over soft, clay-heavy, or wet soil — and at that depth, build it as two layers (below), not one thick pour. An RV concentrates 10,000-plus lbs onto four to six small tire footprints, so depth is doing far more structural work here than it does on a walkway.

Two layers: base stone vs top stone

A pad that survives years of parked weight is two materials with two jobs, each compacted before the next goes down:

The base layer's big angular stone bridges soft spots and drains freely. The top layer's rock-dust fines are the whole trick — they compact into a dense, almost pavement-like surface that tires sit on instead of sinking into. If the full rundown of every stone size would help, see our gravel size chart before you call the quarry. And the one stone to never use: round pea gravel, which rolls and migrates every time a tire turns on it.

Landscape fabric on soft soil

If your ground is clay, low-lying, or holds water after rain, lay woven geotextile fabric on the graded soil before the first stone goes down. It is a separator, not a weed barrier: it keeps the base layer from being pushed down into the mud and the mud from pumping up into the stone. Under RV weight, an unprotected base layer can lose 2 to 3 inches into soft earth in a single wet season. On firm, well-drained ground you can skip it — but the fabric costs far less than replacing a swallowed base.

Drainage slope: the invisible half of the pad

Grade the finished pad at about a 2% slope — roughly ¼ inch per foot — away from where the rig sits, so rain runs off instead of pooling under the tires. On a 12×40 pad, that is about 10 inches of fall end to end; most builders slope along the length and slightly across the width. Never let roof downspouts or uphill runoff discharge onto the pad — intercept it with a shallow swale first. A flat pad is a pond, and a pond under 12 tons of RV is a rut factory.

What it costs (typical 2026 US)

Crusher-run gravel typically runs $30 to $55 per ton delivered (typical 2026 US). That 12×40 Class A pad at 6 inches needs 12.4 tons — at $40/ton, about $500 delivered. Add a plate-compactor rental ($50–$80/day) and a roll of geotextile fabric ($50–$120) if you're doing the full build. Budget one full day: excavate and grade in the morning, fabric and base layer by midday, top layer and compaction in the afternoon.

Ordering and delivery tips

Buy loose by the ton from a quarry or landscape supplier — bagged gravel costs several times more and only makes sense for patching. Confirm delivered per-ton pricing up front, and ask whether the driver can tailgate-spread the load across the pad area — a slow-moving truck laying the stone saves hours of wheelbarrow work. Check access: a loaded tri-axle needs about 12 feet of width and 14 feet of overhead clearance, and soft lawns rut under it in spring — have the driver dump on the street or a firm pad if the yard will not take the weight. Also finalize where hookups, drain lines, and the entry door land before grading, so you are not trenching through a finished pad.

Common mistakes

Pea gravel anywhere tires go. It migrates from day one. One thin layer over clay. Four inches over bare clay is a stone-flavored mud patch under a 12,000-lb rig — build the full depth. No fabric on wet soil. The ground will eat your base layer. Flat grading. Standing water under tires means ruts; give it the 2% slope. Forgetting the hookups. Electric, water, and sewer runs go in before the stone, never after.