Question
Hi Marc.  I am putting in a wide driveway/parking area next to my garage.  The purpose is for eventual RV parking, extra car parking, and driveway access to my backyard gate.  The drive/parking area is roughly 1,000 sq. ft.  Cost is an issue, decorative is not.  I think (?) I found the best material (short of a concrete or asphalt driveway) and it happens to be very inexpensive.  Because of the property angle, I am grading it by hand to drain sideways about 1" for every 4 feet, and lengthwise about 1" for every 6 feet.  The material is recycled concrete ($206 delivered for 16 tons for about 3" depth).  If this is a good choice, I have two options.  One is 3/4" largest material, the other is 1 1/2" largest material.  What do you think?

Answer
Slopes you suggested are fine - 2% & 1%, repectively.  I'd go for the 3/4" aggregate, as it should compact more uniformly, and lock together better, over time.  Since you are talking about a larger, 1,000 sf area, I'd even compact the hand-dug subgrade before your dump the aggregate down, AND then compact the aggregate with a vibrating plate compactor after it is layed down...to prevent ruts from forming and to lock the material together better.

I'm not sure how much a ton of crushed concrete will cover, but by the dimensions you gave me - 1,000 sf at 3" deep, you'll need 9.3 cubic yards in volume...If that ends up being close to 16 tons, then great.  You'll get LESS material by weight with the smaller size, too.  With more "bits" of concrete per cubic area, it increases the overall weight of the material (less voids & empty spaces in the bulk material).

It is a great and innexpensive solution, but I think it needs to be "worked" a bit to get a great driving surface.  A compactor is really not that expensive a tool to rent for an afternoon, too.  It will pay off later, when you are not fighting ruts 5 years from now!

~Marc