RV pads & foundations, built for real weight.

An RV pad, a shop slab, or a footing for an outbuilding is not just a thicker driveway — it carries concentrated weight that will find every weak spot in a base or a reinforcement plan. Do it right and it holds a loaded coach or a metal building for decades; do it cheap and it cracks under the first jack stand. This guide covers what heavy pads and foundations actually need, how Utah's frost line changes the footing work, what it costs, and how to vet the crew. Our on-site estimates are free.

Why a heavy pad is not just a thick driveway

The difference between a standard slab and a load-rated pad or foundation is the weight it has to carry — and how that weight is concentrated. An RV's jacks and a trailer's tongue put point loads on the surface that will crack a thin slab poured on a weak base. So a real heavy pad steps up on every spec that matters.

For sheds, shops, and garages, that often means a monolithic slab with thickened edges, or footings and a stem wall for a full structure. Reinforcement and slab-on-ground design standards from the American Concrete Institute are the backbone of getting it right. A crew that asks what you are parking or building before quoting is on the right track.

Utah County ground, frost, and heavy loads

Heavy loads magnify every weakness in the ground, and south Utah County has a few that a pad or foundation has to be built around. This is where cutting corners on the base or the footing depth catches up with you fastest.

• Expansive clay under a point load. The clay soils common on the valley floor already move with moisture; add the concentrated weight of an RV or a building and a thin, poorly based slab settles and cracks. A deep, well-compacted base spreads that load.
• The frost line. Utah County's frost depth runs on the order of 30 inches, and footings for any real structure have to reach below it. A footing poured too shallow heaves as the ground freezes and thaws, taking the wall or post with it — which is why foundation depth is not a place to save money.
• Freeze-thaw and drainage. Air-entrained concrete and a pad graded to shed water keep the surface from scaling and keep water from collecting under the slab and freezing.

One more local note: a simple RV parking pad usually does not need a permit, but structural foundations — footings and stem walls for a shop, garage, or addition — generally do, and sometimes an engineer's stamp. It is worth checking with the Spanish Fork building department before the pour, and a good crew will tell you when a project crosses that line.

What a proper pad or foundation includes

A pad or foundation that carries real weight is built in a sequence, and the cheap bid usually saves money by shorting the base depth, the edge thickening, or the steel:

• Soil and grade check. The crew looks at the ground and how the pad will be loaded, then sets depth and drainage.
• Deep compacted base. Road base is placed and compacted in lifts, deeper than a standard slab, to support concentrated loads.
• Correct thickness. Five to six inches or more, sized to the RV, trailer, or building it will hold.
• Thickened or turned-down edges. The slab edge is deepened where loads concentrate, or footings are formed below the frost line for a structure.
• Heavy reinforcement. A #4 rebar grid on chairs, at tighter spacing than a driveway, tied so it sits inside the slab.
• Freeze-rated mix, proper joints, full cure. Air-entrained concrete, control joints where they belong, and a full 28-day cure before heavy weight goes on.

For structural foundations, permitting and any required engineering are handled before the pour, so the work passes inspection the first time.

What drives your RV pad or foundation quote in Spanish Fork?

There is no honest flat price for a load-rated pad or a foundation, because the whole point of this work is carrying concentrated weight — and the specs that make it hold are exactly what move the number. Any figure quoted before a crew has seen the site and knows what you are parking or building is a guess. Here is what they are actually weighing:

• Size and slab thickness — the footprint sets the baseline, and a load-rated pad steps up from a standard four inches to five, six, or more, which changes both the concrete and the steel.
• Base depth and excavation — point loads from jacks and tires need a deeper, well-compacted base than a driveway, so how much dirt comes out and how much road base goes in moves the number early.
• Reinforcement — a tighter rebar grid on chairs, and thickened or turned-down edges where weight concentrates, cost more than the light mesh in a basic slab.
• Footings, permits, and engineering — a shop, garage, or addition needs footings below the frost line, a permit, and sometimes an engineer's stamp, and that review is part of the job for anything structural.
• Tear-out and access — removing an old slab and getting trucks to a back-lot pad both add labor before any concrete is placed.

When you compare bids, get each one in writing and make sure they cover the same scope — the same thickness, the same base depth, the same rebar size and spacing, and any footings and engineering called out. A pad is where a low number usually hides a thinner slab or a shallower base, and on load-rated concrete those are the corners that fail the expensive way.

The only number that truly applies to your project is a written estimate after a crew has seen the site and knows the load, which is why the on-site estimate is free — you get a clear, no-surprises figure before any concrete is poured.

How to vet any concrete crew (including us)

Before you pour something that has to carry real weight, ask:

• How thick will the pad be, and what rebar size and spacing, for the load I described?
• How deep is the compacted base, and will you thicken the edges?
• For a structure, how do you handle footings below the frost line?
• Does my project need a permit or engineering, and who pulls it?
• How long before I can park the RV or load the slab — and are you licensed, insured, and quoting in writing?

A crew that asks detailed questions about what you are parking or building, and talks openly about base depth and frost, is the one you want on a load-rated pour.

Spanish Fork RV pad & foundation questions, answered