Rear Blade Rear Blade Grading-Downhill or Uphill?

[tinsnip]

Recent powerful rainstorms have managed to make my 900 foot driveway look like the Grand Canyon. The water came so fast and heavy that it washed a lot of material right into the road. Just last week I had called a local gravel supplier to redo the drive with new gravel so I could get a crown back on the thing and avoid this very issue. Unfortunately, he couldn't get here before the storms. In fact, he can't get to it for another week or so.

This has moved my decision about purchasing a back blade directly to the front, and I've decided to pick one up to smooth things out until the gravel arrives, and will then have use of it to maintain a crown once the new gravel is in place.

My question might be a dumb one, but since the driveway slopes downhill all the way to the end, does it make a difference whether I drag it uphill or downhill? My intuition tells me that downhill will be easier since the blade depth will be easier to control if I don't have to fight the tendency of the angle changing as it would when the tractor was going uphill.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[GaryE]

Having the HP to pull the blade uphill should be the only issue. If you are trying to get a crown, making passes in both directions will be a lot easier than adjusting the angle of the blade for each pass.

Good luck,

Gary

 

[Slamfire]

My drive has both up and downhill. I don't notice a whole lot of difference in the finished appearance. I like to go over it after grading with the blade turned backwards, at the proper angle to maintain the crown. Smooths thing up a bit.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Loose gravel, while grading a drive, is notoriously bad traction. Even a heavy tractor will spin and squirm around on it. Pulling UP a hill might be hard to maintain traction if you're pulling a big bite of rock. BUT.....If it was washing, safe bet it washed DOWNHILL. Meaning, you'll need to pull it back UP that hill. I'd drag it up the hill any way you can, then try to get a "finish" on it by grading downhill. JMHO, and worth all you paid for it.

 

[tinsnip]

Thanks gents. Back from the dealer with the blade (still in the bed of the PU). Before I got my new tractor, I tried pulling uphill with a smaller Iseki and a blade and encountered the traction problems described. It might be different with the heavier JD.

Unfortunately, what washed away was the fines, all the "good" stuff that packs and holds the looser/larger gravel stones together. There's no getting that back since it's halfway to town by now.

 

[GaryE]

Let us know how you made out.

Gary

 

[tinsnip]

Ahhh. The blade. Too much fun. I've learned that the little JD can pull the blade uphill just fine thank you. Nice break from having to get off and change the pitch and angle. So the drive has all the canyons filled in and looks and rides smooth. Still have to put new material down though. It's been 7 years since the last time I had it put it down. Don't know what the average "lifespan" for gravel should be, but having a blade to maintain a good crown should extend the next application even further.