Small amount of rain washout on my gravel drive?

[MossflowerWoods]

Gents,

It has been raining, and raining here in VA for days.

I've been praying it would go to TXinstead, but no luck...

This morning I discovered one side of the loop going up the hill has some pretty good (2-3" deep) washout in one or the other tire ruts.

I do NOT have a box blade yet, and I'm off to my day job regardless.

It is supposed to dry out for a couple days starting tomorrow.

My question is what CAN I DO? Should I shovel'rake the loose gravel back in the holes as best I can and just go get a couple bags of gravel, or???

Longer term I suspect I need to dig out the edges for better drainage but???

I'm a noob here with my first gravel drive.

I will try to take pics and post later today.

Thanks in advance,
David

 

[lockhaven]

this rain event was not normal, I would just use the FEL to scoop up the gravel then pile it back into the rut. After it is piled up float the bucket over it while backing up then run over it with the tractor a few times to pack it in. I just finished doing this to the neighbor ladies driveway.

 

[EagleTDL]

this rain event was not normal, I would just use the FEL to scoop up the gravel then pile it back into the rut. After it is piled up float the bucket over it while backing up then run over it with the tractor a few times to pack it in. I just finished doing this to the neighbor ladies driveway.

I did my own drive, exactly as you described, before the rains hit... Glad I did!

 

[RDrancher]

I've been praying it would go to TXinstead, but no luck...

Appreciate the gesture! :thumbsup:

As far as the driveway goes...All gravel driveways require maintenance, but there are ways to make any repairs last longer. Ideally you would use the rippers on a box blade or land plane to loosen up the adjacent gravel to below the bottom of the ruts, mix the different size aggregates back together, grade it out and then re-compact the area back in by wheel rolling. The same can be accomplished by back-dragging the area in the same direction of the rut with an FEL or using a rake and shovel to the desired depth. The key is the "depth" of the repair. Filling in the ruts with loose gravel will result in the same thing happening again much sooner than the rip-mix-compact method. The same holds true for potholes and washboard.

 

[acme97]

Have to agree, just pull the gravel back in and pack down with the tractor. If you have the road crowned you should be ok. Worst case look to see if you need ditch to channel run off.

BTW, looks like you got the same setup as I do. I'm up in DC (wife is in AF) but our place is in SC. Make the trip down every 6-8 weeks to get seat time. Talk about miss it! Let me know how you like the stump grinder.

Keith

 

[MossflowerWoods]

Have to agree, just pull the gravel back in and pack down with the tractor. If you have the road crowned you should be ok. Worst case look to see if you need ditch to channel run off.

BTW, looks like you got the same setup as I do. I'm up in DC (wife is in AF) but our place is in SC. Make the trip down every 6-8 weeks to get seat time. Talk about miss it! Let me know how you like the stump grinder.

Keith

Keith,

VERY Similar. No cab for me though

I'm still waiting for the stump grinder.

Most certainly, I will talk about it once I get it. :thumbsup:

David

 

[MossflowerWoods]

All, here are 2 shots of the worst spot (not that bad really).

One is looking up, the other looking down.

David

 

[Zxyrthe]

It looks well-crowned. Practice the backdrag in the center of the drive a few times. That's a sparse amount of gravel so I would be careful not to "smear" too much of it into the ditch.

It's amazing what water will do to rocks.

Consider investing in a drag harrow too. My box blade is good for major repair but it's more of a hammer than scalpel. I made a harrow from about 8 feet of chain link fencing, a 4x4 and a cinder block. (Although I had to purchase 50' of the fencing). A few quick passes with it and gravel is nice and smooth.

When I'm done, I drive the tractor down my driveway a full speed with my tongue sticking out. If I don't end up biting my tongue in half, I've done it right.

 

[EagleTDL]

When I'm done, I drive the tractor down my driveway a full speed with my tongue sticking out. If I don't end up biting my tongue in half, I've done it right.

Now that's funny! :laughing: If you get the chance, post a pic of your homebrewed implement, would like to see it...

 

[MossflowerWoods]

It looks well-crowned. Practice the backdrag in the center of the drive a few times. That's a sparse amount of gravel so I would be careful not to "smear" too much of it into the ditch.

It's amazing what water will do to rocks.

Consider investing in a drag harrow too. My box blade is good for major repair but it's more of a hammer than scalpel. I made a harrow from about 8 feet of chain link fencing, a 4x4 and a cinder block. (Although I had to purchase 50' of the fencing). A few quick passes with it and gravel is nice and smooth.

When I'm done, I drive the tractor down my driveway a full speed with my tongue sticking out. If I don't end up biting my tongue in half, I've done it right.

I am planning a drag chain harrow for the pastures.

Long ago I rented a SCUT with a FEL to move 22 (or was it 44?) yds of excellent black topsoil into my brand new sub-dvision, brand new backyard. All it had was a FEL. So in order to smooth the soil out I dragged a chain-link gate with cinder blocks on it around the yard...

I had totally forgotten that story until you said "I made a harrow from about 8 feet of chain link fencing, a 4x4 and a cinder block." :laughing:

You and I, we could be brothers!

So the land to both sides of the drive way is VERY steep, one side drops, the other rises. I cannot get the tractor sideways on the drive. I'm worried about knocking down the little crown I currently have... Am I crazy?

Be well,
David