Landscape Rake to get gravel back onto road?

[duffer]

I've got over ¼ mile long gravel drive to maintain. I've tried just about everything to maintain it: Box blade, drag, harrow, landscape rake (York rake), FEL back dragging, etc.

For the past 6 years, I've gone exclusively to the Landscape rake. BUT....you have to adjust it a fair amount. 45° angle on the first 2-3 passes, and tilt the rake's spine to match the slope of your drive (or the slope you want). My first 2-3 passes are only to get the rock back into the road. I usually go over the same swath at least 2 times to make sure I get 95% of the rock back into the road.

Then I change the angle to 22½° to spread the rock evenly up to the crown. And lastly, (if needed) I back drag the crown to smooth any excessive height, or excess rock.

 

[TerryR]

I've been using a rear blade for that for25 years. I find it's not just the gravel that gets tossed to the side, but also the depression that forms in the tire tracks and channels water down the hill that needs addressing. And the washboarding at the corners. So I need to do some grading at the same time. The blade does that well for me.

 

[LouNY]

A quarter mile on a steep hill, my back blade is my go too. I have hydraulic tilt and angle. Were it works I'll drive along and pull the gravel/dirt back into the roadway and re lower the shoulder at the same time. If (which happens a lot) I can't just drive along I'll back in among the trees or over the back drop the blade and pull it back in, and repeating numerous times till that's done. Then I'll spin the blade around and pull it backwards to dress up the moved material. I very seldom use my york rake as it tends to leave the fines and just move and separate the rocks which usually is not very productive.

 

[Red Horse]

I have tired the rear blade but it just tears up the road crown.

How about adjusting the draft links..does a good job ofmaintaing crown.

 

[2manyrocks]

Years ago, adding adjustable gauge wheels to rear dirt blades to maintain crown was a popular diy topic here.

 

[bdhsfz6]

I've had great success using a York rake with a T&T kit and gauge wheels.

I go slow with one hand on the tilt lever and rarely scalp the lawn.

 

[2manyrocks]

That is real nice.

 

[t1kilo]

I’ve got the same problem as you guys. About a mile of toad to maintain, and no good way to pull gravel back to the center. So tonight, I spent some time looking for alternatives to accomplish this. I found this.

Hoelscher Commercial Products - SPIKE

Watch the YouTube video. I don’t know what it costs, but it’s certainly worth a little investigation.

 

[DKCDKC]

I've got a mile-long gravel drive - and had it for 30 years now. I have tried all sorts of things over the years. I tried a landscape rake for five years and it did some good, but I shifted back to a rear blade followed by a box blade. I deliberately made my road a little wider than normal, which took more gravel over time, but means that traffic and snow removal only push the rocks to the side, not usually off the road entirely. About twice a year I run up and down the road with a scraper blade - angled both ways - to pull the gravel back to the center. Then I use the box blade out and back slightly angled to create a crown, fill holes and spread out the gravel a bit. I have to do more following a washout rain or big snow because my driveway goes up and down hills and has a few sharp turns. But it works and the driveway looks good most of the time. I get a load or two of new gravel - crusher run - about every three years to replace what sinks in in spots. By the way, this driveway was laid on clay but without fabric or any of that stuff.

 

[camshawn]

I have a broom (with a couple of wheels to support the weight)for my combi that I run over the grass on the edge of the driveway after the winter snow leaves. Works great to get the gravel back onto the driveway. I do about 700 yards in a couple of hours.