Driveway Width Calculation Exercise
Thread Starter
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 109
Likes: 25
Driveway Width Calculation Exercise
I have a fun exercise I think. In the next few months, we will hopefully be putting in a driveway at a piece of property we are looking at buying. Aside from hooking up our camper and going to a parking lot with cones and chalk, does anyone know if there's some math I can use to figure this out? I want to be able to hit the driveway fully with the van and trailer. I didn't know if there's a way to use the wheelbase of the van, distance to the axels of the van, and the width of the road to figure this all out.
We have 2006 E350 with a 6.0L Diesel and a 37' travel trailer.
Anyway, I'm excited to hear.
We have 2006 E350 with a 6.0L Diesel and a 37' travel trailer.
Anyway, I'm excited to hear.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 1,670
Likes: 668
From: DeMotte, IN
If you can drive on the property just drive in with the trailer and mark the tire marks.
DOT or county websites have regulations available to read online with road regulations that can give you good information on dimensions.
DOT or county websites have regulations available to read online with road regulations that can give you good information on dimensions.
Thread Starter
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 109
Likes: 25
Unfortunately, with the depth of the ditch, a 2wd van, and a heavy trailer, I can't pull into the yard.
I'm kind of a math nerd, so I was really hoping someone had a calculation that would help me figure up the width based off how much the trailer tires would drift in from the rear vehicle tires and how much the rear vehicle tires would drift in from the front.
I'm kind of a math nerd, so I was really hoping someone had a calculation that would help me figure up the width based off how much the trailer tires would drift in from the rear vehicle tires and how much the rear vehicle tires would drift in from the front.
Thread Starter
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 109
Likes: 25
I'm in the construction industry, so I couldn't agree more.
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More Turbo
Joined: Aug 2021
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Different turning radius of different vehicles is going to require new math every time.
maybe take some cones or painters tape to an empty lot and see what you come up with. I would trust that more than some math equation.
maybe take some cones or painters tape to an empty lot and see what you come up with. I would trust that more than some math equation.
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Thread Starter
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 109
Likes: 25
Really, the only purpose of this exercise for me is just to see how wide the drive might end up being. I don't need to know yet, I just wanted to see if anyone had the math already. When someone calls a driveway contractor saying we are looking for a trailer and the wheels will be about x distance behind the tow vehicle that has a wheelbase of y, is there an answer for, "how wide should my drive be if the road width is z?"
FTE Legend
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 30,856
Likes: 4,106
From: Angier, NC
When laying out the parking lot you need to take in how wide the road is you will be turning off of into this drive.
Try going into this drive from both directions. How much traffic is on this road?
When entering the drive from either directions you need to hug the edge of the road with out going off and remember tail swing.
If you know the side of the road is solid you may have to use it to turn into drive.
Coming into the drive from the right you may ( most likely) need to drive into on coming traffic when clear. Again may need to use off the side of the road if safe.
Square off the turn into the drive. Wait till the vary last minute before turning in. This will make your turn wider and less likely to drop the trailer tires into a ditch.
I drove a long wheel base tractor pulling a LP tanker (10,000 gallons) or bulk cement (80,000 lb) trailers where the axles were at the vary rear of the trailers.
Some of bulk LP plants I off loaded at were on back roads in the middle of no where with ditches on either side of the road and drives.
Cement also went to new housing construction sites to shore up the roads before black top was put down. They never made the roads or driveways for long trailer trucks but it had to get in and back out.
Dave ----
Try going into this drive from both directions. How much traffic is on this road?
When entering the drive from either directions you need to hug the edge of the road with out going off and remember tail swing.
If you know the side of the road is solid you may have to use it to turn into drive.
Coming into the drive from the right you may ( most likely) need to drive into on coming traffic when clear. Again may need to use off the side of the road if safe.
Square off the turn into the drive. Wait till the vary last minute before turning in. This will make your turn wider and less likely to drop the trailer tires into a ditch.
I drove a long wheel base tractor pulling a LP tanker (10,000 gallons) or bulk cement (80,000 lb) trailers where the axles were at the vary rear of the trailers.
Some of bulk LP plants I off loaded at were on back roads in the middle of no where with ditches on either side of the road and drives.
Cement also went to new housing construction sites to shore up the roads before black top was put down. They never made the roads or driveways for long trailer trucks but it had to get in and back out.
Dave ----
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jan 2022
Posts: 1,410
Likes: 712
If I were in your shoes I'd make it wider, maybe twice as wide, as the rest of your driveway and roll with that. My driveway is at a 90 on a narrow road and I don't get on the grass all that much and my wheels are further back on our 38 camper than most. If the drive way twice the size at the road I have no doubt I'd be on the gravel the whole way easily. Let's not over think what you're trying to do here....
Thread Starter
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 109
Likes: 25
If I were in your shoes I'd make it wider, maybe twice as wide, as the rest of your driveway and roll with that. My driveway is at a 90 on a narrow road and I don't get on the grass all that much and my wheels are further back on our 38 camper than most. If the drive way twice the size at the road I have no doubt I'd be on the gravel the whole way easily. Let's not over think what you're trying to do here....
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jan 2022
Posts: 1,410
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I've not measured but my driveway is probably ~10 ft wide and my road is probably double that width. I call my road a narrow road because it's got a whole 3 houses on it, there's room to pass each other going opposite directions but not much wiggle room between each other, I typically pull over if there is oncoming traffic.