Road maintenance - Tuffline v. Grademaster v. Roadboss

[Charlesaf3]

It always seems easier to work roads when they have a bit of moisture in them, though maybe you've thought of that?

 

[scesnick]

It always seems easier to work roads when they have a bit of moisture in them, though maybe you've thought of that?

Yes, I usually wait for a slight rain to work my road. It does do a bit better when damp but nothing like the pics earlier in this post.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Thanks Brian - how important is the spilllover?

Great idea RFB!

With spillover, you can basically just keep on going, the blade only gets so full as long as you have things adjusted properly.With no spillover and most tractors will have to dump the load to be able to keep going. The problem with this would be that when you are dumping your load, you will no longer be cutting the surface as you can be with a multi edge road grader blade. Then you would need to go back and grade where you had dumped your material. Does this make sense? :confused2:

I should go and grade our road now.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I have been looking at various models of these graders for a while now. I have a 2.5 mile driveway/road that I have to maintain but unlike most of the pics here, my road is VERY hard packed. Some of it if a gravel mix and some is a material called Red Dog. I do use a box blade with the rippers down to fix problem pothole areas but it takes a while to even scratch the surface on some occassions.
My question is, will one of these graders work for my road or will they just skip over the road doing next to nothing? Or will it require several passes to see any results. Which I would be OK with if it did, in fact produce results.

Scesnick, you need a Road Boss Grader. Expensive, but the BEST fixed blade grader out there at this time that I know of. I can not even imagine maintaining that much road without one of these types of graders.

 

[Compact1]

Jeff Compact1
How did you find a Land Pride GS1572 for under 1K. I just priced their
66" scarifier (Only a scarifier nothing else) and got List price $849
my price $750.
I could not find a GS1572 for under $1800 so I ended up making my
own much simpler version for about $750 which I thought was a good deal
but now I'm not sure.

Gordon Gould,

I called my dealer a couple of days ago to check current prices. He will sell a new Landpride GS1572 for $1,100. I would like to give him a plug (if the rules allow). He always gives competitive prices and quick delivery.

 

[RFB]

scesnick,

I have 2 miles of road to maintain. There are some areas where the base mix (small gravel and fines that pack into a good driving surface) is gone and the rock base covered with clay is all that is left. That surface is literally rock hard, and the Road Boss struggles and hops even at crawl. There is only so much a blade can do when a surface is that hard and a road has not been serviced for a decade or more. The road in question has been neglected for years, and it will now take quite a while to re-cut the crown and rehab it. From my initial pass yesterday, I am confident that the Road Boss can do it. An important technique is not to overly disturb the surface (according to the dealer, too "fluffy" is as bad as too rough). Do a couple of good passes, let the road see some traffic for a while, then hit it again. Over time, the rehab of the road will occur.

 

[RFB]

Brian,

RG Manufacturing (the mfr of Road Boss) mentioned that the dealer in Texas has been quite ill.

I contacted RGM directly and they put me in touch with the dealer that delivered mine (same process, they deliver and you try it before you buy it.)

RFB

 

[BFreaky]

Bfreaky, really impressive work! And your english is perfectly comprehensible, quite good. If you have not used a box blade of some sort before, keep in mind what mtnview said, they can easily stop even big strong heavy tractors. I like your plans, but I worry they might be too big.

Well, I've already managed to get some material for my grader, but I still don't have time to start working on it... For now, the plan is the width of 8' (2.4 m). I believe my tractor can pull it and we will see what will hapen when it comes to that...:confused2:

The box section is ment to help spread the piles of additional gravel on the road, so that should not be to much for 80 HP tractor...

Is the angling of blades really necessary? Land Pride states that the angle of blades is 5 degrees...I kinda think that's not sufficient for the material to go to one side to fill the potholes or to make a crown on the road...or is it?
So now I have a dilemma...totally straight position of the blades or a bigger angle...? Any experiences with that matter?

 

[RFB]

Bfreaky,

The Road Boss dealer explained to me that the angle design of their product is to enhance the "cutting or slicing" action of the blades as well as providing directional movement to the graded material. After using it and watching it do just that, I do not think that I would opt for straight blades.

 

[BFreaky]

So, greater angle would be better for cutting of the surface... Then I will make it variable...so that the baldes can be straight and angled... Something like the Dura-grader, but with some differences...