You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Casa _h is raised a fair bit from the road and currently has a parking bay for one car cut into the front garden. In the interests of making more parking spaces and considering the practicalities of getting older (the things that come to mind in your mid-50s) I've pondered the idea of digging out the garden in front of the bay to create a sloped drive up to the side of the house.
A bit of rough measurement with a tape measure and school boy maths, it works out around a 15/16 degree slope to take the drive right up to the house. I reckon if I brought it up lower with a couple of steps up from the drive to the house from the drive, I could probably get it down to around 12 degrees.
Anyone here got a steep driveway? Do you know how steep yours is? Am I on an impractical hiding to nothing here?
Obviously there'll be foundations to worry about, etc. Just bouncing the concept for now.
We've a steep drive - I'm guessing 15* or a bit steeper.
I manage to reverse the camper up and park a car on it. Water flows off quickly. So it works.
But, I would do anything to get rid of it. Icy in winter. Car handbrakes need to be at the top of thier game. Opening car doors needs a foot against them or they slam on your shin.
We've managed one rolling car, handbrake not on tight enough and it rotated the engine as well and still rolled into the road.
Second incident was the camper - it had been parked 'bows up' on a frosty night. At 9pm the handbrake was right enough on hot discs and left in gear. At 8am next morning I took it out of gear and started it to defrost...next thing I know the van moved a few feet back slowly, the front door was nearly ripped off on the gatepost and I was nearly crushed between van and gatepost. £1k repair bill.
I've just measured - ours is 14* on the middle next to the car tyre.
I've just measured - ours is 14* on the middle next to the car tyre.
Think about where water will go as it flows off the drive.
Steep drive here. Had it re-paved and lowered as much as possible at the house so we have two spots at the top that are fairly level which is important to me for jacking them up safely.
In the main it's around 12 degrees, the steepest bit in the middle is 14 degrees. We tend to reverse up as we don't like backing across the pavement onto the road. It is easier to drive up forwards though as it's a long drive. It's about 12 metres of steep incline before the flat spots so if yours going to be shorter then obviously the struggles below will not be as notable.
Visitors sometimes reverse up because we do, they can struggle without a bit of practise and tend to give their clutch a hard time. The trick is to give it some welly and drive up briskly with the clutch fully engaged (not slipping).
We've got an Iveco Daily camper and it needs a bit of a run up, if it's not warmed up it needs a thrash (revs, dump the clutch which sometimes results in a bit of wheelspin) to not bog down and stop halfway up. Our old 2005 Daily would chug up at idle but this 2014 doesn't seem to have the grunt to do that despite being more powerful.
If you'll be parking on the slope (as we did before getting it re-laid) you'll need some decently heavy rubber chocks, we always chocked everything unless we put full lock on so that it would roll into the raised lawn instead of the living room opposite. Sometimes a car would move slightly and wedge the chock so you couldn't kick it out so you'd have to drive uphill slightly.
We had a petrol Punto that would chug down the drive in gear if we released the handbrake.
Electric cars/vans and hybrids in electric mode just stick two fingers up at the slope and are easy, and electric handbrakes had no trouble holding.
why is the new forum not showing my reply?! (test)
Thanks Matt, appreciate the effort you’ve gone to. Had thought about the risk of hand brakes, etc but hadn’t considered the practicalities of doors and just getting out.
Feels like it might be too steep to bring it right up to the house. Maybe need to consider bringing lower - still get the parking but not right up to the house.
Question back to the collective … who’s got a steep drive that’s usable and how steep is it?
The inlaws have a steep drive, its horrible. Bricks under the wheel, hand brake and in gear. Im guessing 12 to 14 degrees.
All the neighbours have dug out and made proper bays with steps up, or more recently a ramp
Mine is about 12 on average, it's fine for the most part (I got my mx5 stuck on it in the snow, but frankly that was probably for the best, normal cars don't struggle). Working on it feels a wee bit sketchy when it's up on stands sometimes.
Mine slopes down from the road which is probably worse, you have to deal with ground clearance and stuff much more.
Don't know if this'll appear twice or not!
Just went and checked, mine is average about 12 degrees, but downwards from the road which is more problematic for draining and ground clearance. You might still have to think about clearance though, scraping bumpers or exhaust tips, depends on the shape of the car.
I did get my mx5 stuck on it in the snow, but frankly that was probably a blessing, normal cars have never struggled (and I could have got it out if I had to). Working on cars on stands can feel a little sketchy, I prefer to have a set of wheels on the ground if I possibly can just because wheels don't fall over. But other'n that I've never had a problem, even the mx5's terrible handbrake is more than enough but if in doubt there's always leaving it in gear.
Ours is about 14 degrees but diagonally across the slope of the ground which makes for some very interesting angles. The main problem is the car thinking the road I'm reversing towards down the drive is actually a wall, and jamming the brakes on. In snow and ice, the car can easily slide down the drive under its own weight. Ten minutes with a snow shovel is always time very well spent.
Fortunately there is a flat standing area at the top, so the car does not have to be parked on the slope.
All in all, it's a bit of a pain but part of the price you pay for living on the edge of the Peak
Im with 'thols2'