My asphalt driveway occasionally has heavy trucks. What's the right thickness to prevent damage?

For a standard residential asphalt driveway, you typically see 2-3 inches of asphalt over 6-8 inches of compacted crushed stone base. However, for occasional heavy vehicles, you need at least 3-4 inches of asphalt and a significantly thicker, more robust base layer—often 10-12 inches or more of properly compacted aggregate. A licensed paving contractor should assess your specific soil conditions and the actual weight/frequency of the heavy loads to design the correct sub-base and asphalt layers; guessing wrong causes premature cracking and expensive failures.