Risk of Cracking my Driveway With a Moving Van
 

Good morning,
We are moving into TV tomorrow! The driveway is15 years old and does not have any cracks in it. The moving van is a fully loaded Penske 26 footer. Do you routinely see these vans unloaded from the street or on the driveway?

Thank you

Our Penske 26’ truck unloaded on the street. The driveway was too short to unload cleanly.

Watching recent construction, the driveways here are minimum thickness with no reinforcement, I wouldn't risk it.

Our moving van was unloaded in the street. However at our new build, our Pod was delivered to our driveway, sat for 2 days then picked up. No damage to the driveway.

Street, you won't fit in the driveway without blocking the street.

By asking, you already know the answer...............there is a risk.

Will fit in ours.

I would definitely advise unloading in the street if at all possible, just watch out for the sprinkler heads when you park, they typically do noy like trucks and I am sure you do not have the donuts installed yet. Also, unloading from the street will give you room onn the drive way for staging your stuff for a more orderly move into the garage or house.

Thanks
 

Hello everyone,
I’ll be unloading from the road. Thanks to all who have provided your considered advise. I really appreciate.
Frank

Good idea. If moving company damaged your driveway good luck making them responsible for repair

Watching the comings and goings in our neighborhood, I see that professional movers ALWAYS load and unload from the street.

Why would they park in the driveway?

Good luck and WELCOME TO THE VILLAGES!

my moving van parked on the street, as yours should be

Unless you’re moving into a prestige home the driveway is usually not long enough for a 26’ truck. It should park in the street

Agree

I parked a 26 ft Uhaul on our new drive (10yrs ago) with no problem
I was more worried about parking overnight in the street until the movers came to unload on day two

Yes, unloading from the street.

Street!

I have never seen a big truck in anybody drive away. Whether they move themselves or have movers the van stays on the street.

Definite risk. I recently had a new roof placed on my house. One roofing company I quoted alerted me to the fact that occasionally the shingle delivery trucks have broken the concrete in the driveways in the villages. I ended up contacting the engineer responsible for design/installation of concrete driveways in the villages. He confirmed the risk and said he had seen failures. He made two recommendations 1) street unload if possible 2) if the equipment must unload on the driveway then keep the equipment in the center of the drive and do not drive on the edge of the concrete … he also recommended placing plywood sheets on the driveway prior to allowing the equipment to enter as this helps distribute load

Really good info!
Thanks,
Frank

You are correct. They are poured right on the sand (which was not compacted). They don't even put a gravel base or rebar down!

I had seven fully loaded PODS in the driveway and didn't have any damage after the PODS were removed.

I’m moving next week and I’m going to have them put our pods on the street.

Because some people, especially those who might labor all day in the hot sun, might prefer a shorter distance from the truck's ramp to the front door. Maybe, they can angle the ramp just right so it goes up any steps and directly into the house thereby easing their workload and the time needed to complete it.

That being said, I wouldn't recommend it. If the driveway is 4 inches thick I'd be shocked. More likely the minimum 3 inches with little to no rebar. If there is rebar, can't assume it was lifted properly during the pour and isn't sitting on the bottom of the pour to cure.