what attachment for a driveway

[shamban]

I am trying to decide on my first tractor and this site has been a tremendous help. One use for the machine will be the installation of a 1000ft long gravel driveway. I am still investigating the specifics, but I believe I need to dig an approximate 6" deep channel for the gravel to reside. What I am wondering is if a backhoe is needed for the job or will a FEL due. Considering it is the main job I was considering a backhoe attachment for, I may be able to skip it on my machine and upgrade/save accordingly. Thanks for the help!

Joey

 

[755inNY]

One word;

Bulldozer.

Using an FEL to scrape is tricky and the weight of the tractor will not allow you to go very far before you run out of traction. You will most likely end up with a very choppy surface as the bucket digs too much or too little and as you loose traction you will raise the bucket to keep moving forward.

A backhoe would be very slow.

Personally, I would hire someone with a small dozer to cut in the driveway for you. It should not take long and the results will be much better. To save some money you can use your FEL to move and spread the material the dozer digs out and to spread the gravel. But the dozer, being already on site, will be able to grade off the the material on either side of the driveway much more efficiently.

You will probably want to consider a box blade to maintain your driveway. If you want your drive way to hold for many years give a lot of attention to proper drainage. You want to make sure that water is allowed to drain readily from the driveway and you don't create low spots that will hold water.

Good luck,

Jeff

 

[HammerFour]

There are a lot of factors to consider, but with what you have said I would think a box blade would be the best choice. You could set the angle of the box blade to scrape as you move forward and then just peel the dirt off until you get the depth/slope you want on your drive.

A top and tilt setup ( 2 hydraulic cylinders on the 3pt hitch to allow you to tilt the box blade side to side and forward and back on the fly ) would help in this quite a bit I would think.

 

[RobS]

Agree with Jeff... bulldozer. It'll take you days/weeks with marginal results on a CUT. Hours on a dozer and the results will be much better. Save your CUT for driveway maintenance with that boxblade /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[DK35vince]

I have put in a couple driveways using a rototiller.
Works far better that trying to cut it with a FEL or boxblade.
Tilling through the sod 6 or 8 inches deep, makes a nice straight edge and very easy to clean up will the loader.

 

[MicroPilot]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( ....but I believe I need to dig an approximate 6" deep channel for the gravel to reside.....)</font>

I'm not an engineer so this could all be hooey!

I don't think you would want a "channel". Wouldn't this just hold water? My experience is that you don't want the water to stand on the road. I would think you would want to build up the road grade above the surrounding land and crown it slightly to promote run-off.

 

[shamban]

The rototiller sounds like a great idea, but I think the bulldozer idea sounds the best for the length I am looking at (1000ft).

Thanks for all the advise!

 

[shamban]

Micropilot,
I see your point. I am just diving into the best method of installation. I know I have a gravel driveway now and it is not higher than the surrounding ground. We have no drainage problems.

 

[MicroPilot]

Hmmm, I've got a couple of places on my road that hold water, and are starting to get pot holes. I'm thinking of ripping those sections up and regrading to make it a little higher.

 

[VAChesterfield]

Bulldozer is the way to go for a 1000' driveway. In my area (Central VA) I can hire a dozer with skilled operator for about $100/hr. Clearing a 1000' driveway should take less than 8 hours, less if your soil is soft and easy to push around.

Digging down and backfilling with layers of larger to smaller stone is road building best practice. Plan on a minimum of 4" of stone with 6" or more being even better.