Amending Sandy Soil to Drive On It

[Fishin Rod]

I have portion of our property that has very sandy soil. (It is between the current creek and an old oxbow. Sand gets deposited roughly every 5-10 years during significant floods.)

I use that area for recreational activities, but the sand is loose enough that there is a small chance you will get a 2WD vehicle stuck if you hit a burrow or similar rough spot, and you can get a 4WD vehicle stuck during certain weather conditions.

I just want to improve a driving track and turn-around loop of approximately 600' in length.

Looking for any suggestions less expensive than installing the equivalent of a gravel driveway. It can even be a "fair weather" driving lane. (The only time I need to drive there in bad weather is if someone gets a big deer in that area or deeper into our little woods.)

I think even a good groundcover planting would work. There are never driving problems in that area where the prairie grasses are starting to re-establish, or where the weeds have started to sustain themselves well. The dangerous spots are the mostly barren areas, but of course those are also the sandiest.

Our property is in central Kansas, so during the hot, dry periods the plants in that area will have a much tougher time than our wheat acres or grass fields that are on good, deep soil.

If groundcovers are a poor idea, then any suggestions for purely physical solutions would be appreciated.

For small projects, I just rent a 32hp Deere, and have a decent selection of attachments available at the rental yard.

Thanks, Fishin Rod.

 

[scootr]

That's a hard question. You may be able to lay down a geo cloth and lay gravel or DG on it.

 

[5hharper]

Look into sand grid, it works similar to what we put under grass pavers.

 

[Fishin Rod]

That's a hard question. You may be able to lay down a geo cloth and lay gravel or DG on it.

That was probably going to be my "next level" solution.

I am used to pulling roads up. However, in this case the area is so well drained that I could probably blade a shallow cut for length of the driveway and turn-around, lay geo cloth, cover with gravel, and get by for many years.

 

[Fishin Rod]

Look into sand grid, it works similar to what we put under grass pavers.

I looked into the grass pavers several years back for the parking area portion of our driveway in town. The summer heat is brutal on bare concrete considering my wife has gardening around 2-1/2 sides.

I thought they were pretty pricey then, but will check on the sand grid options.

 

[scootr]

In the desert we saw the military use a perforated 10ft track. The same or similar stuff was used in WW2 to make runways on sandy islands. Anyway the stuff eventually found its way into surplus stock and it wasn't uncommon to see people using for sandy roads.

 

[Fishin Rod]

The geo grid material wide enough for a driveway (9') looks to be roughly $6 per lineal foot (at Amazon).

 

[dodge man]

Martson Mat is the stuff used by the military in the past. You can find it used or use a modern equivalent.

 

[Topzide]

Take a look at this stuff; VEVOR Geo Grid Ground Grid 9x17 ft, Geo Cell Grid 4 Inch Thick, Gravel Grid HDPE Material, Ground Stabilization Grid 1885 LBS Per Sq, Tensile Strength Gravel Ground Grid for Slope Driveways, Garden | VEVOR US