Packing/sealing a gravel road after 'resurfacing' / land plane

[Dadnatron]

I have about 1/2 mile gravel road which takes a beating. I'm going to redo it with fabric and gravel, but I want to figure out a way to pack it as smoothly as possible, after I'm through with a land plane. A lot of the road is on a north facing hill, and it tends to wash out, even though I plan on raising and crowning it, I'd like to pack it in, as when I leave it loose, it is gone in 2-3 weeks.

Typically, I get my F350 out and drive up and down the driveway as many times as it takes to track in everything, but it always drives me crazy, as it seems like there should be a better alternative. I'm not going to buy a vibratory packer, although that would be what I'd actually like. I've looked at skid steer vibratory packers, but they are ridiculously expensive $15-20K. I've looked at tractor tow pneumatic 'Wobbly type - trailers' which would work VERY well... but new, they are same price and used... they are all in Canada, that I find, and by the time they are shipped to me, they are once again pushing the $$$ up to $12-15K and are 'well worn' by the looks of them.

Matt, from YT channel 'Diesel Creek' had a couple old Vibratory units, ran off a diesel motor but towed by a tractor or something. That would work... but I haven't been unable to find ANY at ANY price... so I know I'm looking in the wrong spot. I don't want a project. I want a packed road.

Thoughts? I'd like to get away from driving up and down my driveway if I can.

 

[Tomtint]

Similar situation.. I have. 2/3 mile road that last year we put millings down on. Well.. it came out fantastic, but now everyone drives 60mp( on ot and it has deteriorated in the last year..along with rain storms of 2-4” a day have not helped. A road near is was recently milled and i got 20 something loads dropped off on my property for nothing, They are pretty chunky.. so I have been looking for a used roller. Plenty of them for 3-4k around but they are 1-1.5 ton and no vibrate.. So im still looking. In another thread i posted that i went to a Ritchie auction.. there was 2 Cat roller with vibe.. 4500 and 5500 hours on the clocks.. couldnt start them to test them and they sold for 6500.00 plus 10% plus 6.25% sales tax… Thats just nuts..

 

[Midniteoyl]

I have about 1/2 mile gravel road which takes a beating. I'm going to redo it with fabric and gravel, but I want to figure out a way to pack it as smoothly as possible, after I'm through with a land plane. A lot of the road is on a north facing hill, and it tends to wash out, even though I plan on raising and crowning it, I'd like to pack it in, as when I leave it loose, it is gone in 2-3 weeks.

Typically, I get my F350 out and drive up and down the driveway as many times as it takes to track in everything, but it always drives me crazy, as it seems like there should be a better alternative. I'm not going to buy a vibratory packer, although that would be what I'd actually like. I've looked at skid steer vibratory packers, but they are ridiculously expensive $15-20K. I've looked at tractor tow pneumatic 'Wobbly type - trailers' which would work VERY well... but new, they are same price and used... they are all in Canada, that I find, and by the time they are shipped to me, they are once again pushing the $$$ up to $12-15K and are 'well worn' by the looks of them.

Matt, from YT channel 'Diesel Creek' had a couple old Vibratory units, ran off a diesel motor but towed by a tractor or something. That would work... but I haven't been unable to find ANY at ANY price... so I know I'm looking in the wrong spot. I don't want a project. I want a packed road.

Thoughts? I'd like to get away from driving up and down my driveway if I can.

You can rent them.. https://www.bigrentz.com/equipment-rentals/compaction-equipment

 

[Tomtint]

I had looked into renting one.. They are 600.00 plus tax per day here.. No 1/2 day rental option..

So throwing 640.00 at a one day thing.. I’d rather wait for a 4k roller to pop up and know that I’d use it 6-7x and own it for the cots of a rental.

 

[Dadnatron]

You can rent them.. https://www.bigrentz.com/equipment-rentals/compaction-equipment

This is something I'd use several times a year. Rental is not an option for my needs.

 

[oldnslo]

Do you need the vibratory version or would a straight heavy roller get the job done? Just wondering since driving your pickup has been working in the past.

 

[bmaverick]

I had looked into renting one.. They are 600.00 plus tax per day here.. No 1/2 day rental option..

So throwing 640.00 at a one day thing.. I’d rather wait for a 4k roller to pop up and know that I’d use it 6-7x and own it for the cots of a rental.

Here is a rebuilt one listed on 20-wheels. A John Deere.

My neighbor has an 8N and a small wheel-roller too.

Be sure to find a machine that does STONE. Not all can do stone.

In the 20-wheels site, do a search on WHEEL ROLLER and see if something is near you.

Galion 3 Wheel Asphalt/stone Roller, W/ Rebuilt J. D. Diesel, Hydrostatic Drive

 

[chim]

I had a chance to work with millings on a driveway a few years ago. We rented a vibratory ride-on roller for the day. I wouldn't want to bother rolling with a non-vibratory roller. This driveway had some slope to it and going uphill wasn't easy.

 

[scootr]

We use a water truck. Add moisture to the material and wheel roll with a full truck.
The road maintenance eternal problem is the smoother you make it the faster your neighbors will drive and the fast the washboard will return

 

[LouNY]

You don't say what the slope on your driveway is, but one caution to be aware of.
Steel rollers of any type have pi** poor traction and will take off like a sled on stone.

Edited to add;
This type would work well,
Pardon Our Interruption

 

[jyoutz]

If you are using straight gravel, it will never stay packed and have to be repacked over and over again. What we use around here is a mix called road base gravel. It’s a mix of different sized gravel and crusher fines. The different sizes plus the fines lock the material together. I installed this on my road 6 years ago. It was packed initially and has stayed packed together pretty well. It’s almost like concrete. A few times a year I surface grade the road to pull some of the loose gravel from the ditch and shoulders back onto the road, but for the most part the road stays packed. Uniform sized gravel without fines will never stay packed and hard.

 

[paulsharvey]

So, you can watch auctions, and look for vibratory rollers, as well as traffic rollers. Traffic rollers do an excellent job, but aren't in nearly as high demand, and often sell pretty dang cheap when a paving outfit is selling them off. I do agree that a double drum roller is not ideal.

The ones you've seen on diesel creek on trench rollers,

So, I know it's not the question you asked, but it addresses the over all issue; what is the source of the erosion? Do you have massive sheet flow going across/down the roadway? Have you considered having the rock primed and sanded, or chip sealed? Is there swales/ditches? If so, do you need to add ditch blocks to slow the water?

 

[paulsharvey]

You mentioned skid steer rollers. I dont think i would mount this to a CUT SSQA, but if you do have a skid steer, imported vibratory ss rollers are available. I dont know how isolated the roller is from the SSQA...

 

[LouNY]

They are not isolated, it will do the same damage as the jack hammers and other vibrating devices do to the attached equipment, rapid pin wear, accelerated hydraulic wear, and just general vibratory wear and chaffing.

 

[paulsharvey]

They are not isolated, it will do the same damage as the jack hammers and other vibrating devices do to the attached equipment, rapid pin wear, accelerated hydraulic wear, and just general vibratory wear and chaffing.

In that case, I would Not mount that on a small-medium tractor. I've seen first hand what a hydralic hammer does to equipment.

 

[ruffdog]

I have about 1/2 mile gravel road which takes a beating. I'm going to redo it with fabric and gravel, but I want to figure out a way to pack it as smoothly as possible, after I'm through with a land plane. A lot of the road is on a north facing hill, and it tends to wash out, even though I plan on raising and crowning it, I'd like to pack it in, as when I leave it loose, it is gone in 2-3 weeks.

I don't want a project. I want a packed road.

It sounds like you haven't solved the water control issue yet. Until you do, even packed, the gravel will wash out.

 

[jyoutz]

It sounds like you haven't solved the water control issue yet. Until you do, even packed, the gravel will wash out.

Agree. And if the drainage is addressed and the correct road base material is used, I don’t think repeated packing will be necessary.

 

[paulsharvey]

So, a frequent source of erosion is the edges of the travel way, ie shoulder and/or front slope of a swale/ditch. Those areas really do need to be stabalized, generally with grass, but there are also natural jute mats, and other things. Waters erosion ability is based on volume (gpm) and speed (fps). You can sometimes control volume, by retaining and slowly releasing/perking, but generally you can only really control speed, using ditch blocks, dissipators, as well as shape of ditches. A Long ditch, at a steady fall will wash, and soon take the front slope/shoulder and eventually the driving surface. You can break those long straight runs up, either by allowing multiple outfall locations, or ditch blocks, or even the general shape (straight let's it flow faster, and erode more).

Another source of erosion, no offense, is guys not leaving stuff alone. Once you have an established drive, Stop grading it, unless it really needs it. Every time you grade it, you loose moisture (need to keep it all together), you break up aggregates, you segregate aggregates, you loose compaction, and you loose fines needed to bond it all together. If you are regarding even 1/month, you really need to solve another problem.

 

[paulsharvey]

It is Often overlooked by people, but there is a good reason ditches and road side shoulders, as well as pond banks are grassed, and it's not for appearances. You need vegetation to hold the soils in place against water. There are a lot of people who seem to obsess about keeping grass out of the center of a gravel driveway? Why, as long as it doesn't build up enough that you rub in the center, that grass is holding stuff in place. (I get the guys dealing with snow not wanting it).

 

[oosik]

It is Often overlooked by people, but there is a good reason ditches and road side shoulders, as well as pond banks are grassed, and it's not for appearances. You need vegetation to hold the soils in place against water. There are a lot of people who seem to obsess about keeping grass out of the center of a gravel driveway? Why, as long as it doesn't build up enough that you rub in the center, that grass is holding stuff in place. (I get the guys dealing with snow not wanting it).

paulsharvey has the right idea. I've never "resurfaced" the entire length of my mile long gravel driveway. Just short sections - here and there. I've always found that my M6040 @ 10,000 pounds does a great job of packing when the repair is complete.

AND - there is a VERY GOOD reason I have native grasses down the center and sides of the driveway. It holds the surface in place. Native grasses and a gentle crowning have worked well on my driveway for over 42 years now.

If I wanted a driveway that looked like a downtown street - there is alway asphalt or concrete.

Besides - the neighbors cows keep the driveway grasses maintained and fertilize them as they pass by.

Those who come to visit and like to speed down the driveway spread this fertilizer nicely.

It all works out.