Driveway maintenance

[Redlands Okie]

Shanks or teeth or scarifies are available on land plains. Not common. I would assume because it cost more money. Suppliers want to make a sell so the cheaper option is going to be commonly available even if its not the best design to use. Its up to the customer to figure out the proper attachments and the modifications of them and how to afford them

 

[1bush2hog]

The good news is that you should have no problem with having enough tractor should you decide to go with a land plane. I purchased a Road Runner LP a couple of years ago after using a rear scrape and love the land plane. Never had a box blade so can稚 compare the two but I maintain about 1/2 mile of drive and a couple of miles of roads on My property. I have never seen a need for scarifiers but you can get a serrated blade edge (replaceable) instead of solid. Once you get the LP set up you will find out just how easy and quick it is to fix potholes, washouts, and washboards. The front blade does the digging while the rear levels and smooths. Mine has a manual depth adjustment on one side and hydraulic cylinder on the other. The hydraulics are nice if your road needs cross leveling and also for establishing a crown. Not many flats on my roads as I am in the mountains. I still use my rear scrape for ditches and water bars but 99% of my road work is done with the LP. I am no pro but the learning curve on the LP was minimal and the purchase was worth it. 1.5 in rock is no problem. If the fines had settled the LP will bring them back up. For larger rock I could see where a box blade would probably work better

 

[lhfarm]

if you buy a land plane,make sure you get one with ripper shanks.it works well for loosening up the existing material.

Haven't TBN for a while. Was just going to write about my driveway experience with my new Land Pride LG1572. Driveway is 1/4 mile long. Rises 250' in that distance above the county road. Been in place 60 years and I've been caring for it 30 plus years. Used a back blade, box blade and landscape rake. Never really developed the "touch" with any of those, but got the job done. Until a couple of years ago when we had some timbering done.

The drive has 2 sharp turns that had to be widened to accommodate the logging truck. After the timbering was finished, there developed potholes and wash boarding at both curves. I have spent the last two years battling those corners. Finally, decided to try a land plane. The results were amazing. In under an hour (including setting up the LP) the drive is as smooth as a paved road. While I expect the potholes will return. I know I can quickly and easily fix them.

The driveway is cut into the side of the hill, with a drainage ditch (with culverts) on the inside. I need a crown. Even the dealer told me that you can't do a crown with a LP. However, because the Land Pride has adjustable blades, you can maintain a crown. The implement instruction book provides a section for setting up for a crown. Once adjusted, you just operate as normal - drop it and drive forward.

I only used the ripper shanks, on the pothole and washboard sections. But I would certainly make sure that, if you need a crown, that you get an LP with adjustable height blades.

 

[oosik]

When doing repairs on your gravel driveway - potholes, washboard, ruts, washouts - it is important to first thoroughly scarify the area being repaired. Without scarification - there will be two differing materials at the repaired spot. Example - the original pothole and then, material drug in to cover the pothole. These two "soil stratas" will not mix, intertie or bond together. The initial pothole area will need scarification to get the overlaying material to bond and make a permanent repair.

You can drag material and cover the pothole without scarification but slowly and surely the original pothole will return. Essentially - there is nothing tying the cover material to the base material where the pothole is.

Remember how you repaired an old inner tube. You scuffed the area around the hole so the patch would hold. That is the EXACT same thing you are doing when you scarify the area around a pothole, etc, etc.

 

[shooterdon]

When doing repairs on your gravel driveway - potholes, washboard, ruts, washouts - it is important to first thoroughly scarify the area being repaired. Without scarification - there will be two differing materials at the repaired spot. Example - the original pothole and then, material drug in to cover the pothole. These two "soil stratas" will not mix, intertie or bond together. The initial pothole area will need scarification to get the overlaying material to bond and make a permanent repair.

You can drag material and cover the pothole without scarification but slowly and surely the original pothole will return. Essentially - there is nothing tying the cover material to the base material where the pothole is.

Remember how you repaired an old inner tube. You scuffed the area around the hole so the patch would hold. That is the EXACT same thing you are doing when you scarify the area around a pothole, etc, etc.

Makes perfect sense.....which is why I have resisted buying a land plane that only has blades. It may make a smooth surface but it will not last. That is not necessarily a bad thing if grading once a month is part of the routine.