Previously my trailer was not parked on grass, but at the new boarding facility trailers are parked on grass at the moment. Would parking on stall mats be better? It would be allowed and they’d be easy enough (albeit heavy) to move or sell if I don’t need them anymore.
Can’t do something as invasive as pouring a concrete pad and whatnot. It’s not my property.
Parking with the tires on mats and not on bare ground is better for the tires. Plus it reduces the opportunity for fire ants to build a nest incorporating access to your trailer, if you have fire ants in your area And mats under the tires will keep barn staff with weed whackers away from your tires.You do not need to be concerned about having full coverage of the entire underside of the trailer, though it might have a better appearance. I used 1/2 inch mats instead of stall mats, since I already had them on hand. They are 3x5 and easier to handle tha 4x6 stall mats.
If you are a skilled parker, you really just use one mat under each set of wheels, and maybe another under the jack foot. Here is mine; it has been in use for 8 years. I started with just two mats under the wheels, and the only reason I added more is that the rest of them took up space being stored in the barn.
We use pavers to make “pads” for tires to rest on out of pavers. I imagine it’s similar to throwing mats down.
I’d definitely do mats, and if they don’t weed whip/mow under the trailers I’d do the whole underside to avoid mouse/pest problems.
That’s my plan. Taking advantage of a good deal I found. It’s just a 2 horse gooseneck with dressing/tack room, so it’s not crazy long.
Thank you for the input everyone!
It is going to be a precision parking job. The mats will be just long enough and just wide enough for the trailer. Only a little extra front to back and side to side. Which will have a tidy look I guess. We’ll see just how good I am at parking 
And with mats, you will have marked your territory. No one else can park a trailer there. It’s your special spot.
I have been at several barns where there was almost continuous jockeying to claim a “good” spot to park your trailer. Really great spots were those where you never had to back the trailer at all.
I think I would put my name of those mats just in case there is a question in the future whose mats they are
I have the same size and type of trailer, and park on second hand stall mats I found on craigslist. The seller gave me a deal to take the whole batch (boarding barn replaced mats in some stalls*), so I have a bit extra all the way underneath and extending out from under my trailer (including under the gooseneck nose).
Don’t have to do an incredibly precise parking job, either – just a decent one – and really helps with keeping the grass and weeds down around the trailer, making mowing that much easier. Definitely recommend the mats when keeping a trailer on grass, a complete set if possible.
*although they were already clean (no obvious manure or dirt), I scrubbed and disinfected these mats thoroughly after getting them home, since they were used
Good call. I’ll do that.
Fortunately, all of the parking spots are essentially equal, so we shouldn’t have parking wars, but I know what you mean!
We started parking our new to us (July 2023) trailer on spare stall mats to try to preserve the floor and brand new tires. Our other options are grass and sometimes gravel (the gravel parking spot is also used for tractor and tractor implements storage + material storage when we get rock so isn’t always available). If you have access to them cheap enough I’d say it couldn’t hurt.
Ants will want to set up shop under those mats, IME. You might grab a can of ant powder and treat the area under them from time to time.
To protect trailer tires from deterioration I’d also suggest wheel covers. Mine are not secured with the strap that is supposed to go behind the tires. Using the straps was a hassle. They have remained in place without the straps for years and it takes just about 30 seconds to remove all four and be ready to roll.
Just as another option, you could also do wooden boards.
My ground isn’t perfectly level at my home so I always park (one side) my LQ trailer on wooden boards to help level it better. Nice thing about that is I don’t have to park in the exact same spot each time. I get about where I want to be, then I go out and put the boards behind the wheels and then finish backing up.
I also put wheel covers on the side that gets sun but I am forever putting them back on if we get a heavy wind.
I will add that doing a generous amount on all sides of the trailer would be best to avoid potential damages. My friend had her trailer destroyed by the idiots mowing around her trailer at a boarding barn. She is too nice and never pursued making them pay for repairs like I would have. I would get mats and lay in such a way to have a perimeter all around the trailer. If the trailer parking is going to remain the same all year I would probably spray the grass underneath with a long term weed killer like Roundup 365 when it warms up.
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