Major Driveway Project, Opinions Please

[dnels0n]

Hello everyone, this is my first post here. I have been reading a good bit, but I think I am getting more confused than educated.

I live in central Alabama and I have a 2000 ft driveway that has not been worked(other than by hand) for at least 12 years. Most of it has no crown, and it would be washed a lot worse than it is, but it runs over a bed of shale that is tilted at about a 75 degree angle. Some of the driveway has had gravel added(not much) and some areas had good dirt added but I will still need some dirt and probably 3 loads of gravel. Doesn't that all sound like fun?

I have a Kubota B3300SU that I am just breaking in, and I am trying to decide what I need to attack the driveway. Tractor width is ~58 inches so I was thinking maybe a 60 inch box or rear grader or both. Any advice/recommendations/volunteers to help greatly appreciated.:laughing:

Thanks,

Don Nelson

PS Here is a picture of the driveway at the bottom of the yard, this is easily the best part of the driveway.
http://www.pbase.com/rockycreekimages/image/85608933/large

 

[brin]

Don, Really nice looking road and setting. The road to my farm is very similiar . I know you said that is the best looking part of the road but unless you have some places in your road that hold water I would not think you would need to add any more good dirt ( clay )

I would get a good box blade with scarificiers , pivot and tilt and that should be all you need. I use crusher run gravel on mine and order it soupy ( really wet ) and they spread it out of the tailgate of the dump truck..then I use my box blade and spread it and form the crown. It packs like concrete and lasts a long time. Good Luck..

 

[beenthere]

Yes, it sounds like fun.

Along with brin, I too wouldn't add dirt to a drive. Just gravel to build it up and keep a solid base.
Getting the crown in the roadbed for water runoff control is important.
A rear grader blade with height adjusting wheels would be great. Could get by with a box blade too, but they don't angle for making crown and such.

Having a gravel drive is great for good tractor time. Whenever the urge, it is there to 'work' on and get seat time, whether it needs it or not.
Work on it when it is wet, and drive on it to pack it down well before it dries out. Then it stays put longer.

 

[/pine]

Crowns only work if the shoulders allow for the water to run off the road bed...

in many cases gravel will migrate to the sides (shoulders) forming humps that prevent the water to run off the surface...

The road/drive I maintain is very similar but it's more hilly and no shale...but I have found that pitching the road to one side or the other (with a ditch on the low side) is easier to keep up than when the road is pitched in both directions from the midle (crown)...

 

[CharlieS]

it looks like you've got some shallow wheel ruts to contend with. otherwise what appears to be ok drainage off the road. After you spray/work the grass out of the the driveway I'd say have several loads of good old southern red clay gravel brought in, blade it with a grader blade tilted a little to give a bit of crown and let it pack solid.
If needed, maybe find a water trailer and dampen it good and drive on it til its packed well.
The gravel you mention looks like driveway chad, if you like that look, and need the extra rock, haul in what you need in "dirty chad" which isnt washed clean. The dust off of it will settle into the road and eventually become like concrete.

At least thats what works up here in Arkansas.

 

[TripleR]

I have a 7' back blade as well as 10' wheeled scraper, but use my 7' Land Pride box scraper more than anything. I don't crown my roads as with my terrain I have seen no real need though I am not saying it won't work for others.

On a couple of my steeper roads, I have used washed 2" crushed rock as it does not migrate and locks together really well and little to no maintenance is needed.

 

[dnels0n]

Thanks to everyone who replied, I am somewhat reassured I am on the right track. Since I read of someone else bemoaning forgetting to take before pictures, I thought today would be a good time to do that.
I made a small gallery of them on PBase. It can be viewed at

Driveway shots before work Photo Gallery by Don Nelson at pbase.com.

I am leaning toward the kingkutter 60 inch box blade. I may them make a drag of some sort to help smooth things out.

Thanks for any replies,

Don Nelson

 

[/pine]

judging from the pictures your road is not in bad shape...

I would use the evidence from storm run-off to dictate where and what needs to be addressed..

From what I see...the box blade and a loa or two of crusher run is all that is required...

regardless of the implement (box blade, scraper, planer etc...) none of them will be effective where there is solid rock protruding to the driving surface...

Chances are...if you scarify the main areas that need addressing...you will find there is more gravel ther than you think...it may take a rain or two to expose it...

good luck...have fun...

 

[gwjd]

well it that is 12 years with no real work that is a good base and sounds like a good plan im a little skeptical on the adding dirt but if that is what is done locally it sounds good

 

[beenthere]

Thanks for the pics.
Looks like some ditching along the sides, some crown in most places to build up the center for side run-off to the ditches, a couple of culverts to get the water across the road, and just let the water cross the shale if that isn't a problem.
Have fun with it.

 

[rutwad]

Welcome, Don.

Personally, I would work with the material on hand first. It may very well end up being enough. It looks like there is alot of material that has been pushed out into the grass.

With a little time, you can do alot with a box blade. Adjust the 3-pt hitch arms so that one side if lower than the other. You don't have to spend money on a tilt model.

Where in AL are you located?

 

[eepete]

I'd work what you have where you can first, then add some crusher run and work that. Of course, where you see the exposed shale you can't do a thing. I don't see any way you won't have to add some gravel. When you add the gravel, it will eventually take the contour of what you had before. So if you can smooth things out before you put the gravel down, it will work better when the gravel packs down. A 12 ton load of crusher run spread thinly will get you about 400', but realize this is a huge YMMV guesstimate as trucks haul different quantities and drivers have different skills regarding how they spread the gravel.

The trees around the driveway are a good distance off to the side, that's good. You'll want to have a 12' wide by 12' tall box for fire and UPS. Now if you're going to have a truck do a tailgate spread of the gravel (IMHO the way to go), you'll need to have clearance up to about 18 feet so the truck can drive with the bed up in the air. I saw just a few places where the trees were over the driveway and the branches were more than 1/2".

Pete

 

[dnels0n]

Welcome, Don.

Personally, I would work with the material on hand first. It may very well end up being enough. It looks like there is alot of material that has been pushed out into the grass.

With a little time, you can do alot with a box blade. Adjust the 3-pt hitch arms so that one side if lower than the other. You don't have to spend money on a tilt model.

Where in AL are you located?

Hi, Rut,
I am in New Site north of Alexander City. We have 80 acres of mostly hardwood here with the house plopped in the middle.

Don

 

[dnels0n]

One more consideration, we are slipping into drought here. Do the rippers on a box blade work better in wet soil? Should I wait for rain or just work along as I can?

Don

 

[Gordon Gould]

I agree with the group that says your road is in great shape for a road without maintenance for 12 yrs, and must have a good base. I would get
a 6' rear blade or 5' box blade and forget about buying new material to start.
Learn to use your new impliment on small sections that are most easily worked. Learning as you go. Stay away from scarifying in the begining. Just make small cuts. If you tear up the road base by scarifying you might have a lot of trouble getting it back as good as it is now. You will be surprised what you can make that road look like a little at a time. After you have a feel for dirt work go after the places where you have water problems. Either standing water or erosion. If they can't be fixed get some material. The idea that a crown isn't necessary and that a flat pitch to one side is just as good was very good advice.
I believe a stout rear blade with tilt capability is the most universal road tool but the box blade isnt far behind.
Have fun with it and good luck.

 

[dnels0n]

The box blade came Friday. After much fun learning to swap 3 point hitch attachments, I went for a test drive. It does about what I thought it would.
We had a big rain and now I know the answer to my question above. If it's to wet to plow it's to wet to boxblade. Everything wanted to clump instead of flow. I will wait a day or so and try again.

 

[rswyan]

Stay away from scarifying in the begining. Just make small cuts. If you tear up the road base by scarifying you might have a lot of trouble getting it back as good as it is now.

Very good advice IMHO ...... why tear up a good base that has been packed down over what - 12 years ? .... when all you need to do is a little surface/top work ?

The idea that a crown isn't necessary and that a flat pitch to one side is just as good was very good advice.

+ 1 ...... did it on a large section of my drive and it has worked very well.

I'll also second eepete's comments on using crusher run - when I built our new driveway I used no. 2's and crushed asphalt from the old driveway over geotex fabric topped with crusher run, which worked it's way into the voids in the no. 2's/asphalt.

Once this material was packed down and consolidated, it (the crusher run) is like almost concrete when dry ...... and very stable even when wet.

 

[rutwad]

And you may know or it may be already mentioned, but adjusting the top link attached to the box blade can make huge differences. It can lightly drag across the top, or cut into the surface depending on how it's set.

 

[sms0000]

I have a B3200 virtually the same as your tractor and i run a 6ft. box blade with no issues. I build/grade gravel driveways in my business, I wouldn't hesitate to buy a 6 footer. Try grading with what you already have existing and add if you have to as said above. And yes, you can adjust 3 pt lifting arms to adjust tilt for a slight slope. Good Luck.

 

[Gittyup]

A lot of good advice given. Especially advice to stay away from scarifying sure seems prudent here. You are lucky to have a very good shale base in most places and the rippers could make of mess of that. The shale is best level undisturbed.

I do see a few places where it looks like it gets pretty soft during wet periods. In those, you might want to consider geotex before graveling. But, I'd certainly come to know the road conditions during both wet and dry times before I would invest in much new materials. You might also need some small culvert pipe in spots to carry the water away.

I think you need both a box and a scraper blade. The scraper will allow you to more easily pull gravel from the shoulders back onto the road. The box is real nice for spreading and leveling. Used scraper blades are easy to find on Craigslist. A rake with wheels might also be nice, especially if you stay thin over the shale.

And if you want a nice groomable road above the shale, you are going to need a lot more gravel than you think. Nothing wrong with staying thin over the shale, as it won't move or get soft. But, aesthetically, you'll need a good 4-6" above the shale for a nice looking uniform-textured road. The good part of that is that it gives you enough matieral to easily groom and keep nice for years to come. I think that if you just stay thin over the shale, the gravel will wash out during heavy rains where it's sloped because it will be difficult to contour for optimum run-off. Not real easy to shape hard rock.

I just built a road 300 feet long. It took 150 tons of CNR/57's to get a good 6" base. It's beautiful though and stays in place. Even though it's steep in spots, there has been no erosion during heavy downpours.