Grading gravel road grading

[ToJo]

I have a hard time with leveling and grading a gravel road. I have 1/2 inch and less gravel with lots of limestone sand and dust in it. It seems that I get a hump in it here and there and after that, I can forget getting it level. When I try to level one hump, my front wheels go up on another hump and the blade goes too deep, causing even more problems. Also, this stuff gets hard after it has been rained on and packed. Is there some kind of iplement that will tear it up and spread it? A box blade or a scrapeer doesn't do it.

 

[ccsial]

I never could do a good job with a rear blade or driving backward with the FEL. I finally tried a landscape rake with gauge wheels and now my gravel trails are real smooth.

 

[Tig]

I built a mod for my BB to try to do the work of this.

 

[KeithInSpace]

First, let me say that trying to grade "1/2 inch and less" of gravel with a box blade is nearly impossible. I tried it. I ended up backdragging it with my FEL bucket on float with a fairly agressive angle of attack...worked pretty darn good. You can adjust the depth of your "cut" by the angle of attack on the bucket and adjust it as you go along by seeing how many rocks you have piled up. But that will only work on fairly loose "cover" gravel...not the graded aggregate you are talking about. Your stuff sounds like crusher run or 21A in my neck of the woods and turns to stone once you get some rain on it.

About the humps, I've had that happen with a box blade lots of times...where you get a little hump and when your wheels hit it, the tractor tips back and you dig into the dirt (or gravel) deeper in one area rather than another.

One thing I've learned with the box blade is to go both ways and, most importantly, cross-thread as much as possible. I know you are a little limited on a driveway, but it will blow you away how much you can move around by "weaving" back and forth...eventually, you can swing the box over that hump when the rest of the tractor is flat and knock it right down.

I got lots of practice with my box blade on my last yard project and it simply AMAZED me how flat it got extremely rough land after a few passes. In all, I probably drove over every spot in the entire yard at least 15 times from 2 different directions, if not 3 or 4. With some fine adjustment of the height, tilt (make sure it is stone flat WRT whatever you're grading while in use...you can tell if a bunch of material loads up one side and not the other), and angle of attack.

Eventually, I took the scarifiers out altogether and the box was very, very effective at fine grading.

Sorry to say, I think you have the right tool. I'm not trying to sound rude, but it may take a little more practice.

Another alternative may be a York Rake, though I've never used one. I think it may be a little more forgiving than a straight box and allow more 'texture' in your driveway.

The only other alternative is a power rake, but it is made for yards, not gravel, and is quite expensive.

Some additional loads of gravel would probably be quite helpful to you. Really hope you get something figured out. Let us know how it goes.

 

[TalonDancer]

I have a hard time with leveling and grading a gravel road. I have 1/2 inch and less gravel with lots of limestone sand and dust in it. It seems that I get a hump in it here and there and after that, I can forget getting it level. When I try to level one hump, my front wheels go up on another hump and the blade goes too deep, causing even more problems. ...

I really struggled with smoothing road base (mixtures of gravel -> fines) with my box blade until I realized that i could "float" the blade by setting the 3 pt position to less than 5.

In my case the BB touches around 5 so every setting lower than that is a "float". This allows the tractor to go over small humps and still keep the box blade relatively level.

FWIW This is only effective if I have already knocked down the really high spots and have set the BB to a less aggressive angle of attack.

Talon Dancer

 

[Kevin Peterson]

Hey ToJo, I have had good success with a rear straight blade. I maintain about 3000 ft of driveway for some clients and this does an absolutely wonderful job. I start with the blade angled, grading the sides to the middle. I値l work the material several times if needed. Once I知 satisfied with the mixture of fines in the aggregate, ill straighten out the blade and grade straight down the middle of the drive. To finish it off I値l reverse the blade and float out any blade lines that remain.

Good Luck.
Kevin

 

[mswlogo]

Hey ToJo, I have had good success with a rear straight blade. I maintain about 3000 ft of driveway for some clients and this does an absolutely wonderful job. I start with the blade angled, grading the sides to the middle. I値l work the material several times if needed. Once I知 satisfied with the mixture of fines in the aggregate, ill straighten out the blade and grade straight down the middle of the drive. To finish it off I値l reverse the blade and float out any blade lines that remain.

Good Luck.
Kevin

That rig looks awesome. Do they make them small enough for a BX24? Any idea what that rig would cost in BX24 size?

Keep the tips coming, great thread. I need to maintain a crushed bank road on a fairly steep incline. I think it's the same stuff you guys are talking about. Turns real hard when packed down. Almost like sand (with small rocks mixed in) when delivered.

I'd like any tips on doing this on steep incline. On bad storms it washes down to the bottom. Should I scoop it with FEL and bring to top and grade down or try to grade it (drag it) up with a Box Blade or Straight Blade.

I plan to put in some culverts with the tractor to help manage the water coming down the road.

Few weeks ago it rained at rate of 16 inches/hr (for 10 minutes). That's when I decided I needed a tractor.

 

[AceDeuce]

I second KeithInSpace's advice. It takes lots of practice and don't expect to get it flat in 1 or 2 passes. One point I might add is don't get too hung up on the detail work. It's kind of like taping and mudding sheetrock; the more you mess with it the worst it will look. I'd recommend using long sweeping passes at a reasonable rate of travel. Then fix the ends by hand with a rake. If you go super slow and try to micro-adjust the blade your head will explode in frustration. Another suggestion is to use a limiting chain on your 3 point hitch. That way you can set the height of the blade so it doen't gouge it too deep without having to fiddle with the lift control each time you drop the blade.

 

[ccsial]

I second KeithInSpace's advice. It takes lots of practice and don't expect to get it flat in 1 or 2 passes.

Has anyone tried gauge wheels? After I added those to my landscape rake I found I didn't need to practice. The wheels keep it from digging in and I just drive. I probably should have put the wheels on my rear blade instead of getting the rake, but he rake really does a nice job and is never too aggressive. I was amazed at how smooth I got them. Some guys are artists with tractors but not me.

If I left my rear blade in float it would dig right down to through the gravel and into the dirt. I guess my trails are not packed down that well.

 

[Egon]

That is a sweet rear blade Kevin. Terrific set up.

I make do with a much smaller hand operated rear blade with a set of ugly home built gauge wheels. The gauge wheels really help for me.

Very good description of grading a road.