Rake Rakes & washboard

[deepsnow]

Do rakes efficiently remove/reduce the washboard surfaces that can develop on gravel drives? If so, are guide wheels necessary? The hilly sections of my driveway where breaking & acceleration occur get bumpy enough to shake your eyeball out of their sockets.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

A rake or a blade will only scrape the high spots, & deposit loose stuff in the low spots. The washboard will quickly re-appear even in good conditions, as wheel traffic pops the loose stuff right out again. The best thing to do is to cut down a few inches & start over with the roadbead, remaking the top of your road. A rake can't do that.

A regular duty blade can barely handle it. And it takes time & work & maybe new gravel.

In any case, the wheels would be of _much_ advantage, and you want to angle the blade (or rake) as much as possible & make several passes to level out the washboard.

If you take a blade (or rake) without wheels & leave it perpendicular to travel, you will actually increase the washboards, as your tractor bumps up & down, that is transfered to the blade.....

As much art as science in all this, what kind of surface are you starting with, what kind of weather do you deal with? A blade or rake can help maintain things & keep them from getting out of hand, but if you really have washboards & want to solve the problem, it will take some work.

--->Paul

 

[Boondox]

No. An angled rear blade will do the job after repeated passes. I've had better luck reversing the blade and backing down the road, as the blade levels out the bumps before the tractor's rear wheels reach them. Hope that makes sense. Pete

 

[Youare]

The only way to get rid of washboard is to remove the high spots to just below the level of the deepest
hole. The more expensive York rakes with what I believe are called scarifires will rip up the road bed
to the depth of the deepest depression. Then you can groom the road surface smooth again. Wheels
are a great help, they are standard on the more expensive rakes.

If the dirt is too dry it will not pack well a little mositure will help greatly. The best thing to prevent
washboard from forming is to drive a little slower over areas prone to problems.

Randy