Grading Gravel Road Maintenance

[griesheimer]

I have about a half mile of gravel road on my property, 3/4 minus gravel on top of shale. Twenty years after creation, the road needs some care -- small ruts, a few potholes, etc. I plan to add a bunch of 3/4 minus.

I already have a Kubota L4200 and box scraper. I'm not very good at building smooth roads with a box scraper. I am considering getting a Land Pride grading scraper, probably model GS2584. I hear that it will give better results with less skill needed on my part.

To tamp down the result, I'm looking at a cheap ($600) Harbor Freight plate compactor. I'm thinking it will also be useful for building smooth trails through the woods of my 17 acres.

First question: Am I on the right track? Should I consider another approach?

Second question: I'm 80 years old, and I'm not looking forward to pushing manually a plate compactor over hill and dale, around my property. I fantasize tying the compactor to my FEL via a couple of water pipes that would keep it a few feet in front of the loader. The setup would allow some up/down swivel in the direction of motion, but not left and right. So, I picture starting up the compactor, then using the tractor to push it all over my road area. Is this crazy, or might it work? Is there a better labor saving approach?

Thanks for your suggestions.

-Eric

 

[fried1765]

I have about a half mile of gravel road on my property, 3/4 minus gravel on top of shale. Twenty years after creation, the road needs some care -- small ruts, a few potholes, etc. I plan to add a bunch of 3/4 minus.

I already have a Kubota L4200 and box scraper. I'm not very good at building smooth roads with a box scraper. I am considering getting a Land Pride grading scraper, probably model GS2584. I hear that it will give better results with less skill needed on my part.

To tamp down the result, I'm looking at a cheap ($600) Harbor Freight plate compactor. I'm thinking it will also be useful for building smooth trails through the woods of my 17 acres.

First question: Am I on the right track? Should I consider another approach?

Second question: I'm 80 years old, and I'm not looking forward to pushing manually a plate compactor over hill and dale, around my property. I fantasize tying the compactor to my FEL via a couple of water pipes that would keep it a few feet in front of the loader. The setup would allow some up/down swivel in the direction of motion, but not left and right. So, I picture starting up the compactor, then using the tractor to push it all over my road area. Is this crazy, or might it work? Is there a better labor saving approach?

Thanks for your suggestions.

-Eric

Skip the entire idea of a plate compactor!

Spread the gravel, ....smooth the gravel as best you can.
Get a land plane or a scrape blade. (land plane is easiest to use).
Drive on the gravel for a few days.
Next time it rains (shortly thereafter) grade the surface.
Grade it again as necessary.

 

[ovrszd]

Absolutely, positively forget the compactor. It's pointless.

What maintains gravel roads is repetitive upkeep. Don't put any new material on the road until you have it shaped like you want.

My description of a good roadbed would be like this.

1. Drainage areas where the water can escape to and run off without doing damage to the roadbed surface.
2. Crowned roadbed so all water that lands on it wants to run off the sides. Degree of crown is a personal choice. Flat isn't one of the choices.
3. No potholes, humps, bumps or varying angles of crown. You'll know when you have achieved this as you drive down the road and your car/truck doesn't try to drive to one side or the other.

Your tractor and boxblade will accomplish these things with patience. Remember my second statement about repetition? I like to do this with some moisture in the roadbed so the material tends to pack and stay where I put it. Too dry and it'll get knocked out of the potholes. Too wet and the traffic will squish it out of the potholes. Again, repetition.

Once you have built a suitable roadbed you can then consider adding material. Be patient about that. With a properly designed roadbed you may realize you don't need any additional material. Let Mother Nature settle the roadbed into place, then decide.

Good luck with this adventure. You can do it. Patience. No handtools required.

 

[MarkE]

I traded in my box scraper for a John Deere land plane and it made a huge difference. My neighbor used a compactor on a small area of roadbase he put in. It looked nice, but was a lot of work so I am not sure it is worth it.

 

[4570Man]

Agreed that tamping is a waste of effort. Just drive over it.

 

[/pine]

Get rid or your ruts and potholes...

Other that vehicle traffic storm water runoff is the most damaging element to gravel lanes...
Controlling runoff is the key... getting water to run off the road and not down the road is paramount...a simple center crown will work in most straight runs without much change in elevation...curves and hills compound drainage issues...

In hilly places it is best to move the water in the direction it naturally wants to go (i.e., down hill)...on some hills it is necessary to move water in the wrong directing for short distances to reach a ditch or swale etc...

Good Luck...

 

[ovrszd]

I traded in my box scraper for a John Deere land plane and it made a huge difference. My neighbor used a compactor on a small area of roadbase he put in. It looked nice, but was a lot of work so I am not sure it is worth it.

I agree a Land Plane makes all this much easier. A Land Plane is a lazy tractor operator's perfect tool. It takes all operator expertise out of the equation. No offense meant.

The OP doesn't have a Land Plane, he has a Box Blade. If he chooses to spend the hundreds of dollars to buy a Land Plane, great. If he chooses not to, then repetition.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Is there merit in digging up the aggregate? And forming a new surface? I always wondered about that. It seems to me if you leave a road basically as hard as it was and just pull stuff into the potholes, they will form again in the same place, in short order.

 

[ovrszd]

Is there merit in digging up the aggregate? And forming a new surface? I always wondered about that. It seems to me if you leave a road basically as hard as it was and just pull stuff into the potholes, they will form again in the same place, in short order.

Good question. This goes back to my repeated statement. Repetition.

If you aren't going to be able to repetitively maintain the roadbed then you need to dig up the road surface below the bottom of the pothole.

If you have time to repeat the process of placing damp material in the pothole then don't dig it up.

Example: I have a 2" deep pothole. If I choose to dig up the roadbed below the bottom of the pothole I have to dig up my nice, compacted roadbed 2"+ deep. So,,,,, I just disturbed a solid roadbed surrounding the pothole. My devil pothole may simply move and show up in the disturbed roadbed I just created...…

 

[fried1765]

Is there merit in digging up the aggregate? And forming a new surface? I always wondered about that. It seems to me if you leave a road basically as hard as it was and just pull stuff into the potholes, they will form again in the same place, in short order.

As a long ago Civil Engineer, I can explain how it should be done.
That said: The OP should carefully follow the advice of ovrszd.
He has years, and years, and thousands of miles of gravel road grading experience.