Gravel Drive way Issues

[Will_C]

Having done that for all of my life (dreaded every spring when my father would tell me and brother to clean up the driveway and the ditches), I use a stone rake, back drag with the lip of my loader bucket, and/or a Stihl power paddle, depending on the amount of material. Sure beats the rake and wheelbarrow of my youth!

Will

 

[papa4fofox]

I have a backpack blower that puts out a good volume of air at a high velocity and use that to blow the displaced stone back onto the driveway. My drive has ｽ" stone that the blower moves readily.

 

[Code54]

I have a backpack blower that puts out a good volume of air at a high velocity and use that to blow the displaced stone back onto the driveway. My drive has ｽ" stone that the blower moves readily.

I have a big Stihl backpack blower and do the same. Works pretty darn good, just walk along and blow if back on my lane.

 

[jk96]

I set my landscape rake at an angle and drag it along the side of the driveway. This will recover most of the rocks and kick them back into the driveway. It usually takes a couple of passes. Unfortunately my driveway is in bad shape right now, I think I need to get a land plane.

Same thing here with the landscape rake followed up by a landplane. I maintain a mile driveway and a landplane is an incredible piece of equipment for gravel drives.

 

[BufordBoone]

I do the same as dinmis: landscape rake turned at an angle. Once the gravel is brought back up, I use a landplane to smooth it out.

As stated, expect it to take multiple passes.

 

[/pine]

Ditto on the landscape rake set on an angle...having hydraulic tilt is a great advantage...

 

[Tjdux]

My dad has designed his drive way to accomodate snow piles so when spring comes the gravel is sitting on other parts of the actual already graveled portion of drive. The design is basically a huge oval that he is cable of making 360 degree turns with room to spare with a semi truck and trailer.

Now I realize that for 99% of people that's somewhere between impractical and impossible, butbi wanted to throw the thought out there.

He has a front end loader that he uses to scoop deep snow then push the last couple inches into a pile on the fringes of the driveway or rarely used paths to out buildings that are not traveled in the winter. Then come spring melt just spread it back around with the rear blade.

Also worth noting here in southern nebraska we hardly get snow anymore. I can remeber 20 years ago as a kid getting several feet per winter now were lucky to get several inches. (Global warming much) Heck we got 3 inches of rain on Christmas day this past year.

 

[summit151]

Sounds like a land scape rack or power broom is the best method . My gravel is 1 1/4" wonder if a land scape rack will pick it up?

 

[beowulf]

We have an 850' drive way - curvy and at a slow incline. Over the years the gravel (3/4 minus) has packed in to give us a very hard base. The drive way has a nice crown with very small drainage ditches on each side. Every year I use a rear blade, set at an appropriate angle and with top and tilt I redo the small ditch and at the same time throw up the migrated gravel - and some dirt will come along with that. After doing this in each direction I will have a nice cleaned up drainage ditch on each side and will have piled up gravel and some dirt on the crown. Then I set the rear blade straight and make a few passes to spread out what I have tossed to the middle. The dirt will end up working its way into the gravel and then not be that visible, and any weeds or whatever will die. This is in Central California - weather and rain patterns elsewhere may make this less effective, but it works well for us. Rarely have I had to do this more than once a year. You can experiment with the blade's angle to see what works best. I usually work it with a couple of different angles.

 

[fried1765]

We have an 850' drive way - curvy and at a slow incline. Over the years the gravel (3/4 minus) has packed in to give us a very hard base. The drive way has a nice crown with very small drainage ditches on each side. Every year I use a rear blade, set at an appropriate angle and with top and tilt I redo the small ditch and at the same time throw up the migrated gravel - and some dirt will come along with that. After doing this in each direction I will have a nice cleaned up drainage ditch on each side and will have piled up gravel and some dirt on the crown. Then I set the rear blade straight and make a few passes to spread out what I have tossed to the middle. The dirt will end up working its way into the gravel and then not be that visible, and any weeds or whatever will die. This is in Central California - weather and rain patterns elsewhere may make this less effective, but it works well for us. Rarely have I had to do this more than once a year. You can experiment with the blade's angle to see what works best. I usually work it with a couple of different angles.

Yup!
You have got it exactly right!
A gravel driveway surface NEEDS to have a significant crown to SHED water.
Pulling your gravel back from the edge, and making a meaningful crown, with a straight blade, is the way it SHOULD be done.
The land plane disciples can create a nice level surface, but they cannot pull the gravel in/up from the ditches, to create, and maintain, a MEANINGFUL crown, that will SHED water.
Ever seen a land plane used on gravel county roads, or on a highway construction project?