Spreading gravel

[picker77]

I maintain about 800' of private lane for me and two neighbors. Last time I had gravel delivered it came in a pair of belly-dump semis, and they laid the gravel down in two very long skinny piles by cracking the belly doors part way and driving slowly away. Except for a bit of a dicey balancing act on top of the piles to shear off the top of the piles with the box blade (go very slow and watch the steering!), those long continuous piles made spreading a piece of cake, and I was done in two or three hours.

Yesterday, when 52 tons of crusher run arrived in two trucks from the same outfit, they had upgraded to brand new Peterbilt tractors (nice trucks, btw) with end gate trailers instead of belly dumps. I asked if they could crack the end gate, partially elevate the bed, and spread the gravel by driving slow like tandem axle dumpers can do. No such luck, they considered that too dangerous (rollover concerns), so instead dumped it in a seemingly endless series of piles about 30' apart the entire length of the lane. There were 20+ piles. The before photo shows a few of them. Spreading from piles like this was much more time consuming--but probably somewhat safer--than the old way. Had to put six hours on the 3032E's meter and a serious crick in my neck, but it's pretty much done except for some minor smoothing to do later after it packs down a little from rain and traffic. And as a bonus the lane has a decent crown again.

Having Top and Tilt made a world of difference in repairing the crown of this lane. This job gave the loader and box blade their first serious workouts since new, and the JD 3032E performed in stellar fashion.

 

[yooper1]

Looks good.

One way to look at the 6 hours needed to get it done is to say you got 6 hours of seat time, and everyone knows any seat time is good seat time

 

[wedge40]

I asked if they could crack the end gate, partially elevate the bed, and spread the gravel by driving slow like tandem axle dumpers can do. No such luck, they considered that too dangerous (rollover concerns), so instead dumped it in a seemingly endless series of piles about 30' apart the entire length of the lane.

I'm no expert, but roll over concern? Your driveway looks pretty straight and flat to me.

Wedge

 

[tcartwri]

The drivers had no clue what they were doing then. The last two loads of gravel I had put down, I didn't have to touch except with a rake at the very end of the run where there was a very small hump.

 

[RadarTech]

The drivers had no clue what they were doing then. The last two loads of gravel I had put down, I didn't have to touch except with a rake at the very end of the run where there was a very small hump.

I agree... I have seen this same thing done on 3% grades.. And he did it quick....

 

[Johnbro]

The drivers had no clue what they were doing then.

+1

Our gravel guy routinely "spreads" with his rear dump by cracking the tailgate and driving slowly forward, gradually lifting the bed. It's a lot easier to work with then big piles, that's for sure!

Nice work, BTW. Now if you had a roller you could really lock it down...

 

[jinman]

Nice job on your spreading, but I think I would have told them after the first load that I would get the rest delivered with a bobtail and pup or belly-dump. They make their money on how many loads they can haul in one day and big piles is quicker for them to get dumped and back on the road.

 

[Runner]

The way it was explained to me, particularly with crusher run, they are mostly concerned with the truck tipping backwards. I have seen drivers very reluctant or simply refuse to spread crusher run if it was the lest bit wet.

Larger crushed rock doesn't seem to be as much of a concern, presumably because it doesn't stick together and to the inside of the truck quite as bad.

 

[picker77]

Yes, the concern they explained--which made sense to me--was having a large "stuck" clump of wet stuff at the front suddenly turn loose while the bed was high up. 10 or 12 tons of wet gravel suddenly sliding down a 45 degree slope and hitting the tailgate of a bed that's already 30 feet in the air (these were full length semi trailers) would provide some excitement, I'm sure. They might not have that same concern with a load of 2"-3" coarse gravel, but they sure were careful handling this crusher run, which does tend to be sticky when a bit wet because of all the fines in it.

 

[harpoonalt]

Dump spreading can be done, but it can be dangerous. If the rock hangs up while they are lifting, the whole load can shift to the back of the trailer at once and cause the front to come right off the ground. A friend had a load delivered in a regular dump and the driver forgot to unlatch the gate. It all shifted at once and the front end of the truck went right up in the air and stayed there. Must have been quite a ride Nice job on the road!