implement to put gravel back on driveway?

[rhunt]

I have a gravel driveway about 175 feet long. I have a roller that I hook to my garden tractor and make quite a few passes back and forth to compact the gravel about once a month and as recommended above, drive on the sides to help keep the gravel from crowning. This has helped, it does not eliminate the problem entirely but it does improve it. What I could really use is a much heavier roller. My present one comes in at about 400#, could use 800 lb'er. Best regards, Bob

 

[SPYDERLK]

Seems to me that the box blade would also gather up the sod grass etc.
My guess is that a sweeper broom or rotating brush would be more appropriate.

Think this is a prevention rather than cure situation, like letting a base form B4 plowing or blowing snow.

You need to train yourself and others using the road to stop driving down the middle. If you drive on the edge of a properly sized crowned road, one of your tires is going to be riding on the crown while the other is as I said on the outside edge. This simple adjustment in the way you use your road will keep it in better shape for longer periods. Also, driving slower is a big plus.

If you follow my suggestions you will begin to see how your tires will begin to direct the gravel back toward the center of the road. The farther to the edge you can get the better job your tires will be doing of moving the rock away from the ditch.

YES. ... One implement is your car or truck. If you were the only person using the driveway and "always tracked on the high spots" and drove slow especially when wet there would be almost no maintenance per se. When others comprise much of the traffic you will will be faced with their prevailing unconsciousness en mass, and itll be your problem not theirs. Tracks will form and running on water in the tracks will displace the gravel.

,,,As PILOON says, a power brush does a great job. Thats what Iv come to use on our mile long drive. It will bring gravel and fines back in, off the shoulder, out of mowed grass etc and leave the deeper established base intact. ... A day or two after a good rain I do a light pass down each side with the 5 foot brush at 30 degrees. Literally tons of material is moved in. - Then a round trip or two slowly with an 8 foot chain drag. Then pack it with the car and its done. ... Heavy brush passes are quite effective for sculpting as well, where small grade changes are needed.

Altho brushes are kinda pricey their multi uses can earn their keep.

 

[David97]

My driveway is about 1200 ft dad always used a rear blade and it seemed to work fine but there are spots where there is to much gravel my road is not flat has a turn and a slight hill. I would think a Landscape Rake would work best. A few years ago the road was a mud pit you could not get out without using 4x4 it had major ruts from lots of rain so someone came in a put some type of fabric down then put new gravel down and it's been fine since except for the missing gravel.

Thanks for the input guys.

 

[repete]

My driveway is a little over 3000' feet and gravel. Nothing touches it but my landscape rake.

I use two procedures when finishing. One one event I angle the rake to pull from the outside toward the center and in a few weeks I reverse the procedure and pull from the inside out.

The landscape rake spreads the gravel nicely and I can maintain the crown which is critical for avoiding potholes.

Gregg

 

[Egon]

This method might be the way.

 

[airbiscuit]

I have a back blade, box blade, pony grader, and road drag. We have a 1/2 mile common driveway, and I am at the very end. I use the back blade for quick touch ups, and the box blade to pull material into major potholes. the pony grader is amazing for crowning, leveling and just plain finesse. What I use more than anything else is the road drag that I built. The guide wheel maintains the crown. It is fast it does a great job of leveling/smoothing. I don't have a land plane but that would work well for you.

Here is the link to my road drag link (has video)

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/314227-road-drag-driveway-drag.html

 

[ovrszd]

IMO, (someone mentioned we should use that), multitude of tasks versus dollars spent, nothing can compare to a Box Blade.

So,,,, IMO,,,,, if the OP is only going to buy one attachment, I'd start with a BB. Then as his finances allows he can add attachments to broaden the range of work that can easily be done.

 

[PILOON]

We maintained 3 miles of gravel road (well traveled) for 12 years using a simple drag very similar to the yellow one AIRBISCUIT shows.
The main difference was that ours had only 3 blades angled about the same as his pix shows.
We pulled with 2 chains left corner to left bumper rt to rt.
Note carefully that the mid blade is wider than the front in order to catch spillover and the mid blade spills over to the back blade.
This configuration slices off the bumps, fills the voids etc.
The 3 blade design avoids creating dips and bumps.
We generally graded twice a year.

Later we added a small deck that a rider would stand on hanging onto a rope.
The rider would stand spread eagle fashion and apply more weight either left or right side and effectively steer the grader as he pleased.

Couple of years ago I welded up a 6ft X 6ft 'grader' using scrap 3" X 3" angle stock for a buddy which he uses to maintain the passageways at his public storage facility, this he pulls around with his B21 Kubota.
About the only improvement I can think of would be to add teeth on the front cutting blade to increase the loose material as his drives get well packed down as he has lots of 'fines' that pack tightly.
I did weld scrap expanded metal cage to add weights for better cutting action.

This type of 'finish grader' could be fabricated very expensively however shipping would be a major issue.
Maybe a 'DIY' kit 'ready to weld' could be an option. Bolt up version could also be an option.

For an ultimate finish, simply drag an 8ft X 8ft section of chain link fencing.

 

[Trials]

Best way to stop your gravel from disappearing into the ditch is to move ditches back 3 feet on each side of the drive and grass seed the sides of the road level to the road surface
Box blade and a riding mower is all you will ever need from then on. It is virtually impossible to recover a small amount of gravel from the ditch once it mixes with the soil and vegetation debris. Rakes just scratch up the compacted road bed, box blade scraper will constantly level and grade the drive over time. You set the blade deep at the base of the hills to fill the box and then drag that silt and gravel back up the hill where it is most needed. Our drive used to have bumps, mounds and high spots in it, they are almost all gone now. Works like a charm for grading forward, the blade really digs in and works like a mini-bulldozer when you are using it in reverse.
Small tractor in 4-wheel drive with the diff lock applied works best, if it starts to get stuck you just raise the blade a tiny bit and continue your pass.

 

[JRobyn]

I know everything discussed here CAN be done with a back blade or a box blade, but isn't a "land plane" specifically designed for exactly this? I'm planning to buy one soon for maintenance of our 1/2mi drive. In my experience, controlling the crown angle, depth of cut, and re-deposit thickness with a box blade is quite tricky. Maybe different if I had a hydraulic top link?

- Jay