Grading Road Maintenance Advice

[Halfwayhomestead]

I'll try and keep this short.

Owner of a new 45hp 6000lb 4wd tractor with fel. Kioti DK 4510 to be exact. 4 loaded ag tires.

Live up in Maine on a 1/2 mile abandoned town Rd. Mostly straight, couple small hills. Don't think it's seen gravel in a very long time. No real ditches. very low in spots.

I DON'T WANT TO MAKE THE ROAD BEAUTIFUL, I like it a little rough to keep people out, however this has been a bad mud season and there are ruts that could swallow a small child.

I intend to start having loads of gravel brought in for the worst spots and just get a load here and there when I have the extra money.

I guess I have two questions. For this situation box blade or rear blade?

Second question is what type of gravel do I need to ask for? Someone mentioned 4" minus as road base but can I drive on that in the meantime?

Side note I have a separate rig for plowing do I don't NEED it for that.

 

[Industrial Toys]

There was s thread question identical to this just recently. Lots of discussion.

 

[Halfwayhomestead]

My budget is about 1200 for the implement, I looked at the tsc rear blade but it looked wimpy. Almost liked there box blade. Also looking at everything attachments but my gut is telling me to try and work the road while it's still on the soft side which will likely only be till the end of April.

 

[Industrial Toys]

You can't do grading without material. An angling rear blade allows you to gather material from the sides and bring it to the middle, then grade it out. In my way of thinking, a box blade is better for maintaining a gravel road, but not big repairs.

Grader blades are a dime a dozen used, and many older better, heavier ones are out there cheap!

Adding a rear trailing wheel is a HUGE advantage for controlling height.

 

[Halfwayhomestead]

About needing material to grade, can I use a scarifier or even subsoiler set shallow to scratch the high spots and move the material to the low spots? Or will this just rip the implement apart?

Complete newbie with road maintenance besides what I've read on here.

 

[joeyd]

If you are willing to put up with the results until you get good at it I would say get a rear blade but one that is heavy, has lots of adjustments, especially the ability to swing/offset so you can get the edges without being off the road. One of my neighbors has a blade that adjusts so easily I am envious. My blade is ok for smoothing my gravel and some snow but it is not capable of maintaining my road. I have to unbolt the cutting blade and move it to get any offset.

If your road is in bad shape I would suggest having it graded by a pro then you could add rock as needed or as you can afford. Depending on mobilization charges you might be able to swing grading and picking up a blade for touch ups. The road we live on gets graded every other year or so and we maintain it on the off years. Around here a grader and operator runs about $120.00/hr. and for our 3 miles of private hilly road most operators can grade it in 10-12 hours. We have been topping it with 3/4" gravel for a few years now (we have a good base in most areas) and it is beginning to give us a decent all weather surface. We occasionally have to do some repair depending on the winter, freeze/thaw or clay pockets.

For some info on roads take a look at https://efotg.sc.egov.usda.gov/refe...ers_Guide_to_Building_Forest_Access_Roads.pdf or Publications - Construction -
Federal Highway Administration. Theyy contain a lot of info and you can scan for the topics that apply to your needs.

 

[Halfwayhomestead]

Awesome PDF, thank you very much

 

[/pine]

Does your tractor have hydraulic top and tilt for the 3PH?

 

[finn1]

I’ve had good luck with the Kioti box blade from my dealer. It’s made by Woods, with Kioti stickers and orange paint.

Not sure why you would hire that project out if you already have a tractor. That’s why you have a tractor in the first place, isn’t it?

There is a learning curve when doing this to type of work, but you will master it in short time.

 

[DennisFolsom]

There are a lot of how-to videos on YouTube for driveway work with rear blades and box blades. Watching a bunch of those helped me to make up my mind that I wanted a box blade for my needs. I just ordered one from Everything Attachments. The downside is that they have a backlog of orders now, so my estimated delivery time is 8 weeks out. I could have bought one of the two that my local Tractor Supply had in stock. They are less expensive, but are not made nearly as well. I decided that to go with EA, even with the wait.

 

[Thomas]

Heavy duty rear blade set at 45 degrees go slow pull your ditches to center of the road make crown would be good start.

 

[PILOON]

For sure you should attempt to center crown your road.

A good drag is one cost effective maintenance tool.

The one we made (copied from memory of local '50's design used by local rural dept) was 8ft wide by 8 ft long.
with 3 'blades'.
In the early days they would pull with a team of horses but later used trucks.

First blade was angled at about 15-20 deg's to the left as was the rear one.*
The center blade angled about 30 deg to the right.

Theory is that 3 blades ride well as there is always 2 that stabilize and one that 'chops or scalps' the highs.
The angling allows loosened material move sideways to fill the lows and with 3 blades it is almost like making 3 passes.
I say theory but in practice it really works well.

Pulling is best with 2 chains from front corners and attached to pulling vehicle as wide as possible. (we uses an old Willis)

One pass would last a couple of months and 2 passes did as good a job as a huge grader could do.
This was an a gravel/dirt 3 mile road that we considered well used.

Maximum results could have 'teeth' added to the front 'blade' that would loosen the highs or humps as an option.

IT WORKS GREAT, we used ours for about 12 years B4 the city took over our road and they continued using out DIY grader drag as the did not own a road grader.

*reason for left is that with 2 blades left it optimizes the desired center crowning while grading the right side.

 

[Halfwayhomestead]

These are all really great replies, I appreciate the advice as I'm new to road maintenance.

Currently looking at a Land Pride 3784, for 1600. More than I want to spend but it seems like my only good option.

Looked at renting one for a week for 150 but some spots are still soup while others are starting to harden up. I feel like I'd need it for more than a week.

I'll try and post a picture of just how bad it is.

The reason I'm staying away from a box blade or land plane is the ditch work necessary, moreover, the windrows on the edges of the road from neglect/ snow plowing. I do like the three blade idea above though.

 

[Halfwayhomestead]

Replying to an earlier question, no hydraulic top or tilt but they are adjustable, I'm still young and strong anyways

 

[fried1765]

Replying to an earlier question, no hydraulic top or tilt but they are adjustable, I'm still young and strong anyways

You do not NEED top & tilt!
I am 78 and do not need it.

Take a hard look at the Everything Attachments 6 Way Deluxe Scrape Blade.
I have a King Kutter, and another 5' blade, plus the EA blade.
The EA blade is wonderfully superior.
My other two blades will be for sale.

Rippers on a box blade might be helpful if you had a decent base, but you apparently do not.
Consider that over time you may need to buy many loads of crushed stone, to build up your driveway.
You could probably start with 3" minus.
Anything smaller will quickly disappear into your mud.

Steer clear of the TSC stuff.
It is built for price only.

 

[TerryR]

You do not NEED top & tilt!
I am 78 and do not need it.

I'm in the same camp, and I won't be 78 until October. <g>

I'm sure they make things easier, but they are clearly not needed. Climbing off the tractor to adjust (I can actually adjust the top from the seat because I don't have a cab, which is unnecessary too) doesn't hurt a healthy person a bit.

A heavy blade probably helps, but isn't necessary either. Just wait until the drive is a bit damp. It packs back down better then anyway.

I do this one with an old light-duty blade with no hydraulics:
https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/299055-grading-interesting-driveway.html?highlight=interesting+driveway

 

[/pine]

LoL...Almost all 3 point hitches have "top and tilt"...some are manual and some are hydraulic...they both accomplish the exact same thing...the latter just makes it about 1K times easier...and you never need to stop the tractor to make an adjustment...

 

[EddieWalker]

...Owner of a new 45hp 6000lb 4wd tractor with fel.

I guess I have two questions. For this situation box blade or rear blade?

Neither. Use your FEL bucket and back drag the gravel. You can build it up, slope it, feather it, and with a little practice, make it perfectly flat and smooth a lot faster and easier then you ever will with a box blade or rear blade.

Spreading #2 gravel with tractor - YouTube

 

[nyone]

He dosnt have gravel or ditches to run water into.

I have a gravel driveway and mantain it my self. But i am also going to be building a driveway on our seasonal piece of property basicly through 120ft of swamp. I have been doing a ton of reading and they all say you need a place for water to get off the driveway. This will keep it from becoming a mud pit.

Have you considered useing driveway fabric in the worse spots? This will keep the gravel from mixing with the mud and you wont need to buy as much stone.

I think a 3pt attachment to get proper ditches along side the driveway would be a back blade. Dont get the tractor supply one, its junk. I use to own one until i got a box blade. Box blades do spread material really well and with scarifiers i can turn a pot hole mess into a fine gravel driveway in a few minutes.

 

[MikeR 2018]

About needing material to grade, can I use a scarifier or even subsoiler set shallow to scratch the high spots and move the material to the low spots? Or will this just rip the implement apart?

Complete newbie with road maintenance besides what I've read on here.

You may have more stone under the surface than you realize. Thats exactly what a BB is made for. If cost is an issue, skip the hydraulic T&T for now. I hear they are nice but Ive learned to get by without them - Especially for gravel drives. After a little practice, you ll learn how to set them.