Seneca off pavement

[Mark S]

When my Seneca arrives my plan is to park in my back yard where I park my travel trailer now. To get to the the pad I have to drive about 300 feet through grass. Another post just got me thinking, will this beast be able to drive through the grass or will it sink?

[Robbbyr]

Without knowing the makeup of your property I guess I have to say "it depends". Is it soft soil or hardpack? Do you have to cross any culverts or drain tiles (like a septic leach field)? Anything not buried deep may be susceptible depending on the material involved. What does the path look like after a heavy rain? I heard a rumor it sometimes rains hard in Florida!

Any chance you can put down a gravel path to aid drainage and spread out the tire load?

[mikew968]

Just keep in mind it weights like 21,000 empty. Make sure you don't let the wheels "sink" once you get to your parking spot. You could always get some 2'x8'-3/4" plywood sheets and create a path but you would need 5-10 sheets to keep shuffling one in front of another. That would be a lot cheaper than a heavy duty wrecker. what happens it you drive a car or truck to where you need to go?

[Mark S]

I drive my truck back there frequently. I have no problem with my travel trailer and I park on a built up brick paver pad. I really don't want to cut up my yard with gravel. I think the size and weight of the Seneca is just sinking in, pardon the pun.

[Mark S]

Ok, so in the light of day maybe this won't be a problem. I think I have worried avout every aspect of getting this motorhome that I am now looking for things to worry about. This is Jayco's fault. I have too much time waiting for this thing to be delivered. I need my Seneca to arrive and waiting is making me crazy. Thanks for your patience with me as I have none.

[jimp]

I have to drive my 08 GH thru a portion my yard when parking the RV or getting it out for a trip. I just plan around the weather, the unit may have to sit on the driveway longer than I prefer at times.

I only have to go about 100' at the most in the yard/grass, and have not created any issues or damage to my yard yet. My GH is lighter than your unit, but I still move it when the ground is on the dry side if all possible.

[Jopopsy]

When we were having our inground pool put in, I got to witness cement trucks and dump trucks hop the curb, drive over the sidewalk, and proceed down the side of my house to the back yard. My yard held up surprisingly well to the weight of those things; only the loaded dump trucks cracked the sidewalk. I wouldn't sweat your rig unless you live in a area w/ clay (clay is awful when its been raining a lot).

I've considered parking my rig on the side of my house to save storage fees, but the place where I currently keep it is covered; keeps the sun off my rig and most of the rain/snow/etc. My biggest concern however would be how do I hop the curb? Would I have to have some cutouts made (will my township even allow that?)? Is there some sort of curb hop hoo-ha that can help take some of the punishment off my tires? Will my sewer pipes, levelers clear?

[memphis02]

Originally Posted by Mark S

I drive my truck back there frequently. I have no problem with my travel trailer and I park on a built up brick paver pad. I really don't want to cut up my yard with gravel. I think the size and weight of the Seneca is just sinking in, pardon the pun.

We currently park ours in a gravel-floor storage building. Directly adjacent to us is about a 30' travel trailer. In his bay, you cannot see any tire marks/ruts in the gravel where he comes and goes. In our bay, we have compacted the gravel a good 3-5 inches. The gravel seems relatively well-packed, but our weight is apparent.
Someone else mentioned using some 3/4" plywood runners to help get across to your pad. -Might be cheaper than a tow bill!!! :-)

[Mark S]

I think at this point I will have to wait to see what happens the first I drive through the yard. I sure hope I don't have to use plywood. I hope even more that I don't get stuck. I appreciate all the advice.

[pconroy]

My niece's family was kind enough to let us park our 32' Greyhawk on their lawn over spring break. Even with thawed ground and rain, we didn't sink in. We did kill our fair share of the grass and make some ruts, but we drove in and out several times.

[SloPoke]

Originally Posted by Jopopsy

I've considered parking my rig on the side of my house to save storage fees, but the place where I currently keep it is covered; keeps the sun off my rig and most of the rain/snow/etc. My biggest concern however would be how do I hop the curb? Would I have to have some cutouts made (will my township even allow that?)? Is there some sort of curb hop hoo-ha that can help take some of the punishment off my tires? Will my sewer pipes, levelers clear?

We park our Seneca on the side of the house, on a concrete pad we poured for our old Motorhome. It is the absolute best convenience having it right here at home for security and for loading / unloading.

We take our Seneca right up our 8" curb from the street. I drop some old 4x4 lumber in the gutter and drive right over it - Everything clears just fine!

[jschulz1720]

This will solve any issues getting it to your backyard. This was at the Jayco factory. It's on a 4x4 chassis.

[Jopopsy]

Originally Posted by SloPoke

We park our Seneca on the side of the house, on a concrete pad we poured for our old Motorhome. It is the absolute best convenience having it right here at home for security and for loading / unloading.

We take our Seneca right up our 8" curb from the street. I drop some old 4x4 lumber in the gutter and drive right over it - Everything clears just fine!

All those 90 degree edges from the lumber and the curb block play nice w/ your tires?

[Mark S]

Originally Posted by jschulz1720

This will solve any issues getting it to your backyard. This was at the Jayco factory. It's on a 4x4 chassis.

Yeah, that's what I need. It's only money, right? LOL

[Robbbyr]

Originally Posted by jschulz1720

This will solve any issues getting it to your backyard. This was at the Jayco factory. It's on a 4x4 chassis.

Robby like! DW say "No way"!

I noticed NY plates like it is a customer's rig. If it were a factory demo I would expect Indiana plates. Just imagine if it had a 450 hp Cummins, heavy-duty Allison, and 4-wheel drive where one could go.........!

[memphis02]

Originally Posted by Robbbyr

Robby like! DW say "No way"!

I noticed NY plates like it is a customer's rig. If it were a factory demo I would expect Indiana plates. Just imagine if it had a 450 hp Cummins, heavy-duty Allison, and 4-wheel drive where one could go.........!

That was what I was thinking, too. "So they do custom jobs?!" Makes me want to go out and get a M2 106 w/ the ISL and a 3000 Allison! Have at it, boys!

[Mark S]

Originally Posted by Robbbyr

Robby like! DW say "No way"!

I noticed NY plates like it is a customer's rig. If it were a factory demo I would expect Indiana plates. Just imagine if it had a 450 hp Cummins, heavy-duty Allison, and 4-wheel drive where one could go.........!

Robby, did you explain to DW that you want it only for her safety? That used to work for me. Actually, no, it never did.

I think we would need heavy duty dishes too.

[rgolding]

We do lots of rodeos with the kids and grandkids. Rains at least once a year. No concrete around those cows and horses when camping. Got a set of front tow hooks from Freightliner. Parts guy said you'll just tear up the front end without them. Personal plan is to never use them. ;-)

[SloPoke]

Originally Posted by Jopopsy

All those 90 degree edges from the lumber and the curb block play nice w/ your tires?

We spend 75% of our camping / travels off the pavement... you should see the rocks, ledges and stuff we roll over on the way to the campsites... On places we have not driven before, we take the 4x4 out and scout out the campsite... and then plan out how we are going to get the motorhome back there without dragging/damage. We are true boondockers, and get our rig as far back into the canyon as possible. The tires Jayco put on our Seneca's are the best we can get, (except for deep snow and mud... we have already had to work at getting unstuck out of that once)

[SloPoke]

Originally Posted by Robbbyr

Robby like! DW say "No way"!

I noticed NY plates like it is a customer's rig. If it were a factory demo I would expect Indiana plates. Just imagine if it had a 450 hp Cummins, heavy-duty Allison, and 4-wheel drive where one could go.........!

It would still need a Front and Rear locker, and Mud Terrain tires... We would rock it if it were a FK floorplan.