Grading Grading 1/4 mile driveway

[nyone]

Hi mwayne and airbiscuit. Thank you for the Andrew Camarata info. I just watched the youtube link airbiscuit added and he makes it look so easy, so I have hope. Our driveway used to be EXTREMELY bad and the gravel would wash down the driveway leaving long ruts (hubby was pissed every time it rained hard and he saw all the gravel rushing down the drive). Because we're using surge stone, there is no gravel run off, but now there are numerous potholes.

The uneven driveway is not good for my car either. Last week, I was hearing an occasional thumping noise when I drove and when I took it to the Honda dealer, they found a 3" x 3" rock by my control arm and told me that my skid plate had numerous dings on it.

I have added a picture of my car and you can see that it's about a 20'ish degree slope (looked up the difference between slope and grade).

A 3x3in stone is nearly rip rap stone. Either way 3in stone is not a top surface that you should be driving on. 3in is good for a base then you need to top it and crown it with a finer stone. Item 4 is a nice stone mix to top a driveway with.

 

[Tennsawdust]

A good quality HEAVY Rear Blade would be a good start for you.

If you are cutting ditches with it then, yes, a heavier duty rear blade is the key. If you can find one that swings to the side then all the better. That said, for routine maintenance I'm thinking about buying a box blade so I can pull stone around as I need it.

 

[airbiscuit]

I have a:
Rear Blade
Box Blade
Pony Grader
Grooming Drag

Each has its strengths. That said, I use the grooming drag the most (for maintenance), and the Pony grader for forming/shaping/smoothing. If I could only have one, it would be the pony grader. Here is my road drag in action.

 

[Binx]

Thank you guys for all this information. I know the majority of you guys are recommending a rear blade, but would it be possible to use either a box blade or York rake to make the ditch? A rear blade costs about the same as a box blade and we were trying to watch our budget because the attachments are adding up.

We were planning to use the box blade on our future homesite to smooth all the uneven ground and maintenance of another 1/4 mile driveway and the York rake to clean up all the debris from the forestry mulching that was done last year as well as clearing trails. Is this possible?

We will hopefully only be at our current home for another 2 years before moving to our retirement home.

 

[cholland]

Yes you can use a box blade. Adjust the side link to get a good angle. They make a decent shallow ditch. I have a hydraulic side link. Makes it really easy to adjust on the fly.

 

[nyone]

A box blade is prob the best 3pt attachment for removing material and bringing it to another location.

I owned a back blade until I got a box blade. Shortly after I sold the back blade and haven't missed it...It's been 5yrs. Moving gravel from the edge of the road to the center can be done just fine with a York take.

When your using your take on larger material like wood chips and mulching junk take of every other tine on the take. It acts less as a plow this way and allows the fines to flow through.