Plate tamper for compacting 300m of driveway?

[Buppies]

A smooth drum sheepskin foot type roller works wonders on gravel. If plate tamper is only choice going side to side on hill is best option

 

[Egon]

Smooth drum is much different than a sheep foot type.

Vibratory with smooth drum works well.

 

[Buppies]

Different but same machine just has smooth drum kit on it

 

[tmc_31]

I work as an inspector on water and sewer line projects also a few road projects here and there. The last project I was on, the contractor was using a plate compactor that was attached to a backhoe. It ran off the backhoe hydraulics. It was very effective in compacting the back fill in the 2' wide by 5' deep ditch lines. Something like this may work for you if you can find one. I have run a plate compactor, no fun at all.

That said, I am firmly in the "Ride on Vibratory Roller" camp. I have inspected several asphalt road and seal coating project over the last few years, the vibratory roller is the implement of choice. I have also run the smaller ones on some of my own driveway and pad projects.

I also have a home made steel drum roller that is about 4' dia and 6' long made to pull behind a tractor. Fill it with water and it works pretty well on the gravel driveways that I have worked on. Full of water, it weighs about 5000lb However, it is not as good as the vibratory roller.

As I sit here thinking about my home made roller I have had a revelation. I have always pulled the roller behind my tractor. It might work better if I hitched it to the front of the tractor and pushed it. It would compact the material before the tractor tires rolled over it. Also, I might be able to add vibration to it.

Best of luck,
Tim

 

[jyoutz]

I have a mile long gravel driveway. Almost every year this 150 foot section gets muddy. Poor drainage that can't really be corrected. When thing dry out - I will be towing my big 'ol LPGS - scarifiers down - over this section. It will end up - smooth as a babies bottom.

I will compact it with multiple passed of my tractor. My Kubota M6040 weighs 10,000# and does a great job.

Maybe try excavating the material and putting down geotextile fabric before replacing the material.

 

[ccogg]

The hill is going to be a problem. And those plate compactors make the surface look nice but really don’t compact more than a few cm deep. Driving the dump trucks and equipment over it should be adequate if you can’t find a vibrating roller. As mentioned, the shape of the road and material you put down are the key to how it will hold up.

 

[PILOON]

Some 20 years ago I had 4 loads of recycled asphalt* installed and the guy spread as best as he could by swinging his cut bucket left/right.
On the last load he used his oldest truck with bald tires and simply drove back and forth thus doing a super compacting job.
That improvised compaction job has sure stood the test of times.

* and that was B4 milling, it was mainly chunks of asphalt.
Sunlight heat fused that back to a very durable drive.