gravel driveway

[Diesel_Boy]

hi all. i have a gravel driveway about 500 feet long. once a year i would like to smooth out the ruts and bumps, sort of "grade" it. i back dragged it with my bucket, and the results were acceptable, but seemed like quite an effort. which implement would do a better job, and why - a york landscape rake, a back blade, or box blade? i have a L3130, HST. thanks.

 

[GaryE]

Diesel Boy,


As one who questioned the advantages of a box blade (and in many respects still does), I have found dealing with a driveway or dirt road, a box blade is the way to go with a tractor of your size.


I am guessing you are not that far from me? I have a Woods Box Blade that you are welcome to try out. PM me if I can help.


Gary

 

[Barnboy]

I use a rake with gage wheels. It works well if your rock is fairly loose.

 

[archerynut]

I have a gravel/reground asphault drive that is about 600 feet long. I have a box blade and it does a great job. At first the drive was very well compacted and the box blade really loosened it up and got all of the pot holes out. I would recommend it to anyone. Also have done quite a few grading projects with it and it has worked well for that also.

 

[InlineDieselFan]

So for I have not had any pot holes in my driveway but every 4-6 months I use the landscape rake set at an angle to bring down the crown in the center on the driveway and the rock back in from the edges. The driveway is about 1400' and has 5/8's minus on the top 2-3 inches.

I imagine if you have any potholes you would certainly need to use a boxblade, a regular back blade may work, but I think a box blade would be better in those cases.

steve

 

[jcmseven]

I have both for my 3720 JD and can without ANY doubt the landscape rake is superior to the box blade in light, moderate gravel drive maintenence. I almost never use my box blade for this task unless I have gotten some fresh gravel that I want to pull into position, and frequently not then either. My Woods/Frontier landscape rake weighes 300# for the 72" width and has a rack on it that is meant for suitcase weights which will make it heavier. The results look as if the drive were paved. Now, I did not say which was the "more useful attachment" of which the BB is the better one, just which was better for the driveway. I have had both wheeled and non-wheeled units and for this use non-wheeled ones are fine (and less expensive). If you have the money to purchase both, I am sure you would find uses for each, for specifically for THIS purpose, if I were to choose one it would be the rake every time.

John M

 

[Willl]

On a established, well packed gravel driveway, the rake wins hands down.

 

[Diesel_Boy]

yes, my driveway is well established and compacted. i just want to moderately scrape the surface, redistribute the gravel, and in the process fill in the ruts and take down the crown a bit, and give it that "just paved or resurfaced look". so far, it sounds as if the rake is the way to go. is the box blade really aggressive, and is it made for removing rocks? i'm not really that interested in actually digging it up all that much. without the wheels on the back of the rake, will it go too deep? thanks for everyone chiming in.

 

[ericjeeper]

Just remember.. you can not "just fill in a pothole" Potholes need to be removed by cutting them loose.. The aggregate will never stay just placed in the hole.. Or at least it is in my opinion.
Wait until after a good soaking rain. Drop the ripper teeth in your grader box and cut the drive deep. Then rework all the loose stone. Yes it is going to look like crud for a few days.. But the next few rains will settle the dirt and fines back down into the aggregate. Good luck.

 

[jbrumberg]

Diesel Boy:

I have ~200' of gravel driveway topped with compacted Crusher Run. The driveway still has a pretty good crown. I have used both my landscape rake and my boxblade on the driveway. The landscape rake is great at moving the gravel to where I want it (windrow) and leveling., but it leaves the driveway looking raked until it rains and it smooths itself out. The boxblade is real good leveling and leaving the gravel looking smooth. Both could make a pretty good crown by adjusting the lower links on the 3 point hitch. Having said all this maybe I should try to convince "She Who Must Be Obeyed " that I need a good back blade for comparison purposes . It would be "sacrificing" for "science" Jay