Gravel Drive way Issues

[Kentuckyfarmer]

I alway push the snow in a pile on the drive some where so when it all melts I reclaim the gravel. I hate pushing it in the ditches and yard and have to rake it back out. I also bought some edge tamers this last year. Although we never got enough snow to push this year I think they will work out good. Can't scrape off the snow all the way to the rock but will get within a inch of it.

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

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?

To me the best method is to try to build up a snow base first and leave the gravel on the lane to begin with. Sure that won't help this spring any of course. Put some skid shoes on your plow and set them for 2" of clearance. The vehicles will drive thru that just fine and you can pack down a base over the gravel to keep it there.

 

[Kentuckyfarmer]

To me the best method is to try to build up a snow base first and leave the gravel on the lane to begin with. Sure that won't help this spring any of course. Put some skid shoes on your plow and set them for 2" of clearance. The vehicles will drive thru that just fine and you can pack down a base over the gravel to keep it there.

I agree. I would rather drive over a little snow than chance pushing the rock off the drive. Another problem I have had was the neighbor thinking he was helping me out. Had a blade on the front of his 4 wheeler and pushed the snow off the drive once. Was only about 1 1/2 inches and no problem to just drive thru, over it. Put most of the rock in the yard. I also hate it when people come driving down the drive 50 miles an hour throwing rock everywhere. It's not straight and curves but keeps pushing the rock to the one side and before you know it has a ditch and mud. Think of putting speed bumps. 400 to 450 feet to the house and it doesn't take that long to get from the road to there driving like a human. Comes under the respect category.

 

[Egon]

Hello. I was wondering what everyone does to reclaim the gravel that goes into the grass ditches after a winter of snow plowing? I was thinking of building a gravel drag bar at a angle so it would push the rock up and onto the road. Looking for a idea that could be used behind a atv or a skid steer

If you are building consider a wheeled tow behind blade that can be angled, tilted and rotated. Make it long enough so it levels well. No hydraulics with an ATV could be a pain and take time for adjustments. Using an electric which should work for raising/lowering and car jacks or hydraulic bottle jacks could work got rest of the adjustments.
Look at pictures of pull behind road graders to get ideas for design. Also look at European Road Maintainers as there will be different options there that are tractor mounted. Many are quite complicated and large but again it's just ideas you are looking for.

YouTube should provide videos of rear blades being used for road/ditch maintenance.

 

[Catoosa]

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.

This is what I do also, having gauge wheels helps to keep it from digging into and tearing up the grass.

 

[summit151]

Ok thanks for all the ideas and help guys looks like a landscape rack and or a blade is the best for a quad

 

[oosik]

I use my rear blade - offset, angled and tilted. I slowly bring the gravel out of the ditches and then smooth it out. Just like beowulf is doing. There are just a couple spots in my mile long gravel driveway where this is required and any dirt/sand just filters back to the base thru the gravel.

 

[PILOON]

Don't have that problem as I added oversized skids to both my front snow plow as well as my snow blower.
B4 that I had seasonal chore of raking gravel back onto my driveway.
Once I have a good frozen base I remove the oversized skids.

For now your solution is a rake and time(or a roller and sink them stones)

 

[Cord]

Power broom kicks it out of the lawn back onto the driveway. We then scoop it up and put the stones on the areas where the top gravel is a bit thin. Joys of plowing.

 

[texasranger556]

Doesn't help you now but for next year...when the snow starts melting I go out and pull the big piles back onto the drive and let it melt on the driveway. Then spread out the small piles of rocks later. Like others I use the 3 point blade in reverse so the cutting edge doesn't dig into the gravel. Our driveway is flat so having snow packed on top of the gravel isn't an issue. Easier on the snowmobile carbides too!

 

[summit151]

I wonder if I guy could build a drag that angled behind a quad ? I can not find a atv landscape rack in Canada. I currently level gravel with a straight I beam. Anyone have ideas how to make it angle and stay angled?

 

[bcp]

Use a chain for the "V" and use a grab hook wherever needed on the chain to drag at an angle.

Bruce

 

[summit151]

Use a chain for the "V" and use a grab hook wherever needed on the chain to drag at an angle.

Bruce

I thought about that but wouldn't it just pivot on the hitch ball? Unless you could some how attach it differently to the atv

 

[bcp]

It will swing sideways a little bit if it gets a heavy load or resistance near one end of the beam.

Bruce

 

[PILOON]

View attachment pull grader.bmp This type drag worked just fine for us.
We uses 2 chains one from each corner to pull it.
The general idea was that the angles would cancel out the side pull effects since the one was close to being equal to the sum of the other two.
Also with 3 cutter blades scalping the highs would fill in the voids and angles caused lose material to travel from side to side.
Our drag was welded up steel 4 x 4 angle stock and it served for 10 years maintaining 3 miles of dirt/gravel roadway around our lake until city took over.
Our city now grades with a huge Cat grader and in all honesty we actually did a better job with the drag.