A motorhome, a loaded boat trailer or a truck in a detached garage puts its weight on a few square inches of tire, so a pad for them is 5 to 6 inches thick with edges thickened by an inch or two, rebar set mid-slab on chairs, a compacted base and a slope that drains.
One independent, insured North Texas contractor will call or text within one business day to set a time to look at it. You get a written quote with the pattern, color, stone and slab spec on it.
Updated November 10, 2026
A 4-inch car-driveway spec is the wrong starting point.
Industry guidance is plain: 4 inches is sufficient for passenger vehicles in the 3,000-to-6,000-pound range, and heavier loads from trucks or large RVs call for 5 or 6 inches. Contractors often thicken the edges by 1 to 2 inches because edges carry more load with less soil support. The extra inch from 4 to 5 can raise load-carrying capacity by nearly half, which is why the pad is quoted at its own thickness rather than matched to the driveway.
Source: ConcreteNetwork, how thick should concrete be
Rebar in the middle of the slab holds a cracked pad together under a 20,000-pound coach. Fort Worth's parkway spec of #3 bars at 18 inches on center both ways on 3-to-3½-inch chairs is a sensible floor; #4 bars or tighter spacing where leveling jacks and the rear axle will sit is a reasonable upgrade to ask for. The quote should name bar size, spacing and chairs.
Source: City of Fort Worth, Parkway Standards
A long pad on Blackland clay moves with the seasons unless it sits on a compacted base over scarified, conditioned subgrade. Ask for the base material and depth, compaction to a stated standard, and a cross-slope so water leaves the pad instead of sitting under a parked vehicle for months. A pad that drains toward the house or the garage slab is a wet foundation later.
Source: Texas Parks & Wildlife, Blackland Prairie ecoregion
A 14-by-50-foot RV pad is the shape most likely to crack randomly. NRMCA guidance is joints at 24 to 36 times the thickness, panels close to square and no more than about 15 feet apart; on a 6-inch pad that is roughly 12-to-15-foot panels with a joint down the middle if the pad is wider than 15 feet. Saw cuts within 4 to 12 hours of finishing.
Source: NRMCA Concrete in Practice CIP 6, joints in concrete slabs on grade
Where the pad connects to the street, the approach is on public property and most DFW cities permit it and set the spec; Fort Worth requires the whole approach, including the sidewalk section, to be at least 6 inches thick. Some cities permit all flatwork: Sachse requires a permit and a pre-pour inspection for every type, with thickness, rebar and PSI on the site plan and no flatwork within a foot of the property line except required driveways. Verify your city's rule and your HOA's before the layout is set.
Source: City of Sachse, residential flatwork permits
A detached garage slab is an RV pad with walls on it: thickened edge or turndown per the building plan, anchor bolts to the plan, and a vapor retarder if the garage will be conditioned or finished inside. In Fort Worth a new residential accessory structure such as a detached garage is permitted through the city's online system with fees based on square footage. Verify whether your city wants an engineered foundation for the size you are building.
Source: City of Fort Worth, new residential accessory structure permit guide
Five to six inches with thickened edges and rebar on chairs. Four inches is a car spec.
It can, but it is not what we quote; a gravel pad ruts under a parked coach on clay and is a different trade.
Yes, slightly, away from the house and the garage, so water does not sit under a parked vehicle.
The approach at the street almost always; the pad itself depends on the city and the HOA. Verify both before the layout is set.
Pattern, color method, sealer, stone and joint, or field thickness, edge, steel, base and membrane: one independent, insured North Texas contractor looks at the lot and writes it all down with dates.
Residential and acreage, in eight DFW counties. No price on this site, because the lot and the drawing decide the price.
One independent, insured North Texas contractor will call or text within one business day to set a time to look at it. You get a written quote with the pattern, color, stone and slab spec on it.