Driveway help

[2diamondfarm]

I need suggestions on how to get the dips out of my 1/4 mile long gravel drive.
Attachments I have are a box blade with scarifires , land plane and a hyd top link on my tractor .
The dips are about every 20 feet or so .
Any ideas would be much appreciated

 

[joeyd]

I am not an expert but with your attachments I think it could be done. Think eating an elephant, a little bit at a time. Depending on your road surface and compaction try the land plane first if the surface is loose enough. If it doesn't scrape enough to fill the dips then try the box blade and set your teeth to dig up material to move into the dips. It will most likely take a combination of both implements to get a surface your happy with.

 

[j13smiley]

Did the land plane not work? That should be the perfect tool for the job.

 

[Panik]

I need suggestions on how to get the dips out of my 1/4 mile long gravel drive.
Attachments I have are a box blade with scarifires , land plane and a hyd top link on my tractor .
The dips are about every 20 feet or so .
Any ideas would be much appreciated

Something to consider as you go through this process..... I've had to do the same with my shop driveway (~800' in length). My problem is that whoever installed the road cheated out on both base material, as well as the crusher run used to top that road. As a result, when I've tried to remove dips and/or re-work the driveway it's become an issue of robbing Peter to pay Paul from one section to the next.

I'm not trying to imply that is the your case, more that if you're not getting the results you want that it might be worth the cost to bring in and spread more material if you find yourself getting frustrated in attempting to work the dips out of your driveway.

 

[2diamondfarm]

Did the land plane not work? That should be the perfect tool for the job.

It works pretty good but I still have the waves

 

[LouNY]

Your land plane should be doing a good job for you. Myself I believe a box blade is an over rated attachment.
It is good for moving material around from one location to another, not for leveling or finish grading.

 

[LouNY]

It may be in the length of your top link, is your land plane carrying a bit of material at all times.

 

[2diamondfarm]

Something to consider as you go through this process..... I've had to do the same with my shop driveway (~800' in length). My problem is that whoever installed the road cheated out on both base material, as well as the crusher run used to top that road. As a result, when I've tried to remove dips and/or re-work the driveway it's become an issue of robbing Peter to pay Paul from one section to the next.

I'm not trying to imply that is the your case, more that if you're not getting the results you want that it might be worth the cost to bring in and spread more material if you find yourself getting frustrated in attempting to work the dips out of your driveway.

Part of the problem is when it was put in they did not remove enough of the organic material , it have a lot of pit run gravel up to 12” on most of it .
I have put lots of crushed concrete on it over the last few years .
It has gotten better after the kids moved out and the speeding through the puddles has stopped

 

[2diamondfarm]

It may be in the length of your top link, is your land plane carrying a bit of material at all times.

Yes it does

 

[bdhsfz6]

Are you referring to corrugation or "washboarding"?

The "waves" can be from 2' to 20' apart, depending on slope, drainage, vehicle speed, etc.

I fight them constantly on my 1.25 mile private road. In my case, I've found the best implement to use is a stone rake with scarifier, grader blade and trolley wheels.

It's best to break up the high spots as well as fill in the lows. I make several passes in both directions with the scarifier & grader blade, then just the tines until I get a smooth surface. Afterward, I use the spreader to apply a heavy coating of calcium to hold the new surface in place. I do this every 2 or 3 years with good results.

I tried a land plane many years ago and it does work, but I find the stone rake to be more effective. It's also useful for many other tasks while the land plane is a one trick pony.

Of course conditions vary, and what works for me, may not be the best solution in every case.

YMMV.