Box blade versus grader

[prichard]

I maintain 1 1/4 miles of private road and several 200+' driveways. 35 years ago, the road was red shale and I used a box blade for maintenance. Red shale is soft and prone to washouts which made the box blade useful in moving large amounts of material to fill ruts and potholes. Unfortunately, this needed to be done several times per year and after every heavy rainstorm.

20 years back, I spent the money and topped the red shale with a 6 inch layer of modified gravel. The project required 2000 tons of material. My neighbor and I did the work ourselves. He used the box blade behind his tractor and I used a landscape rake behind mine. The two implements complemented each other nicely. After the stone was down, I quickly found the landscape rake was a much better tool for the job. Equipped with gauge wheels, scarifier, grader blade and T&T kit, it's the only tool I need for road maintenance. After not using the box blade for several years, I sold it.

View attachment 544082

That is a neat rake. I have never seen one with a box and scarifiers.

 

[fried1765]

I maintain 1 1/4 miles of private road and several 200+' driveways. 35 years ago, the road was red shale and I used a box blade for maintenance. Red shale is soft and prone to washouts which made the box blade useful in moving large amounts of material to fill ruts and potholes. Unfortunately, this needed to be done several times per year and after every heavy rainstorm.

20 years back, I spent the money and topped the red shale with a 6 inch layer of modified gravel. The project required 2000 tons of material. My neighbor and I did the work ourselves. He used the box blade behind his tractor and I used a landscape rake behind mine. The two implements complemented each other nicely. After the stone was down, I quickly found the landscape rake was a much better tool for the job. Equipped with gauge wheels, scarifier, grader blade and T&T kit, it's the only tool I need for road maintenance. After not using the box blade for several years, I sold it.

View attachment 544082

I am not familiar with the term "modified gravel"
Are you using "modified" crushed gravel, or "modified" washed gravel.
In either case, what is being used as the "modifier"?
I don't see how you can angle your rake, so how do you pull in gravel from the edges?
Are you able to keep a meaningful crown on your driveway using the rake?
2000 tons...big money (200 loads?) at 10(?) tons per load.

 

[bdhsfz6]

I am not familiar with the term "modified gravel"
Are you using "modified" crushed gravel, or "modified" washed gravel.
In either case, what is being used as the "modifier"?
I don't see how you can angle your rake, so how do you pull in gravel from the edges?
Are you able to keep a meaningful crown on your driveway using the rake?
2000 tons...big money (200 loads?) at 10(?) tons per load.

2RC Modified is a product produced locally by several quarries here in NE Pennsylvania. It consists of crushed Pennsylvania bluestone with sizes ranging from 3/4" down to stone dust. It packs down to a smooth almost concrete like surface. it is used by the state DOT and many municipalities as road surfacing material. It wears well and is fairly easy to apply. The stone surface can be seen in several of the attached pictures.

The York landscape rake does angle hydraulically, although it isn't obvious from the pictures. The angle cylinder is circled in the 5th picture. The top and tilt kit is what makes the implement so versatile.



Tilting the rake allows me to put a good crown on the road which is necessary to shed water on the steep portions of the roadway.

Yes, at just over $15K ,the project wasn't cheap. It took 95 tri axle loads at between 20 and 23 tons per load. The property owners who share the road contribute to an association which paid for the project. We saved almost $10K by doing the work ourselves.

 

[Redlands Okie]

I purchased plates that easily bolt and unbolt on to the ends of my grader blade. Works great and provides most of the function of a box blade.

Actually added a setup to use the teeth from my box blade and now rarely use the box blade.

 

[Redlands Okie]

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The York landscape rake does angle hydraulically, although it isn't obvious from the pictures. The angle cylinder is circled in the 5th picture. The top and tilt kit is what makes the implement so versatile.

View attachment 544112 .

I sure do like that set up.

 

[fried1765]

2RC Modified is a product produced locally by several quarries here in NE Pennsylvania. It consists of crushed Pennsylvania bluestone with sizes ranging from 3/4" down to stone dust. It packs down to a smooth almost concrete like surface. it is used by the state DOT and many municipalities as road surfacing material. It wears well and is fairly easy to apply. The stone surface can be seen in several of the attached pictures.

The York landscape rake does angle hydraulically, although it isn't obvious from the pictures. The angle cylinder is circled in the 5th picture. The top and tilt kit is what makes the implement so versatile.

View attachment 544112 View attachment 544113 View attachment 544114 View attachment 544115 View attachment 544116

Tilting the rake allows me to put a good crown on the road which is necessary to shed water on the steep portions of the roadway.

Yes, at just over $15K ,the project wasn't cheap. It took 95 tri axle loads at between 20 and 23 tons per load. The property owners who share the road contribute to an association which paid for the project. We saved almost $10K by doing the work ourselves.

Ah... now it all makes sense.
Without the 2nd group of pictures I could not see that the rake could be angled.
What you call modified gravel, is often called 3/4 minus in other areas of the country.
With that rake, you are able to maintain a significant crown, which few understand the importance of.
I have about $25K (+14K for electric) invested in constructing my 2000' driveway, through a heavily forested area, and graveling, so I know more than I would like to, about cost.

 

[Stomper]

I purchased plates that easily bolt and unbolt on to the ends of my grader blade. Works great and provides most of the function of a box blade.

Actually added a setup to use the teeth from my box blade and now rarely use the box blade.

View attachment 544136

Thats a neat idea, a rear blade and box blade in one.

 

[bdhsfz6]

Ah... now it all makes sense.
Without the 2nd group of pictures I could not see that the rake could be angled.
What you call modified gravel, is often called 3/4 minus in other areas of the country.
With that rake, you are able to maintain a significant crown, which few understand the importance of.
I have about $25K (+14K for electric) invested in constructing my 2000' driveway, through a heavily forested area, and graveling, so I know more than I would like to, about cost.

A quality stone surface is indeed expensive but it pays for itself over time. In the 20 years since the initial $15K investment, annual material costs for repair of wear spots and washouts has averaged about $250 per year. Maintaining the old red shale road cost 4 or 5 times that requiring weekly attention .

 

[bdhsfz6]

I sure do like that set up.

The hydraulic top link allows you to lift the rake high enough to pull material off the top of a pile and level it completely without using the FEL. I find this to be one of the more useful features of the rig.

 

[PILOON]

We maintained 3 miles of gravel road for 10 years with a DIY drag.
Generally did it 3 X/yr and dragged with an old Willis jeep.

It was 8ft wide X 8ft long with chains to pull from 2 corners to both ends of the Jeep bumper.

It consisted of 2 long 'sides' with 3 blades, well being all wood (yes 6 X 6's notched and bolted together)
The 'blades' were ,(front and back) angled in same direction while the center was opposite angled and slightly sharper angle.
(idea being the 2 same angled would pull sideways while the center Opposite angle) would counter react. It worked!)

Being all wood we lagged 3/8 X 3" flat steel as our 'cutting edges' That also worked.

The 3 blade design allowed scalping of the high spots and the angling of the blades forced the loose material to migrate sideways to fill the dips.
2 passes and we had a beautifully graded dirt (LOL/gravel) road.

The road served some 40 chalets and the guests plus delivery vehicles so I was well used.
Hills were the main challenge as washboard developed rapidly and that mainly due to automatic transmission shifting midway that caused the start of a bump that over time developed into washboard. (We instructed drivers to shift into 2nd and accelerate B4 and not on the hills. Helped a lot.)

If welding is in your capabilities by all means weld up using 3 x 3 or 4 x 4 angle stock.
(I recently did so using scraps I had on hand for a friend, smaller in that it is 4' wide X 4' long., he loves it for his gravel aisles at his storage locker facility)

IMHO it accomplishes all that box blade will do and possibly even better, but surely at a better price.