Grading Road Maintenance Advice

[MikeInEburg]

If I were in your situation, I'd buy a classic rear blade for making ditches and a grader scraper, aka land plane to smooth everything out.

 

[fried1765]

I'm in the same camp, and I won't be 78 until October. <g>

I'm sure they make things easier, but they are clearly not needed. Climbing off the tractor to adjust (I can actually adjust the top from the seat because I don't have a cab, which is unnecessary too) doesn't hurt a healthy person a bit.

A heavy blade probably helps, but isn't necessary either. Just wait until the drive is a bit damp. It packs back down better then anyway.

I do this one with an old light-duty blade with no hydraulics:
https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/299055-grading-interesting-driveway.html?highlight=interesting+driveway

DITTO !!!!

 

[fried1765]

I'm in the same camp, and I won't be 78 until October. <g>

I'm sure they make things easier, but they are clearly not needed. Climbing off the tractor to adjust (I can actually adjust the top from the seat because I don't have a cab, which is unnecessary too) doesn't hurt a healthy person a bit.

A heavy blade probably helps, but isn't necessary either. Just wait until the drive is a bit damp. It packs back down better then anyway.

I do this one with an old light-duty blade with no hydraulics:
https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/299055-grading-interesting-driveway.html?highlight=interesting+driveway

I LOVE the look of your place.
That driveway must be absolutely gorgeous when the rhododendron (?) are in bloom.

I have a 32HP 1989 Ford 1920FEL 4x4: in many ways similar to your JD870.
My new 72" EA 6 way extreme duty blade is absolutely the cat's axx.

I have been using some sort of rear blade, behind some sort of tractor, for the past 45 years.
Old guys like us, prefer older tractors, cause we can fix 'em if we need to.

 

[TerryR]

I LOVE the look of your place.
That driveway must be absolutely gorgeous when the rhododendron (?) are in bloom.

Thanks. Yes, it is. The substantial growth of rhododendron you see in the middle section have grown in naturally to cover the banks that were created 25 years ago when the road was cut in. They seem to thrive on the bare cuts with no noticeable topsoil.

 

[airbiscuit]

I maintain 1/2 mile of road. I have a rear blade and a box blade, but here are my weapons of choice ...

 

[Gordon Gould]

I am a little late here - been on a ill-timed vacation to miss mud. It is just getting started now.

Your situation is exactly the same as mine 20 years ago. Mile long unimproved road in northern NE and no maintenance experience with little money. Only difference is I had a one ton dump truck. l also had a 30 hp tractor.

I bought a 6' Land Pride rear blade. And for the first 10 years that is all I had or needed. No TnT or anything else. When the first mud season came I would back in and dump 3/4" stone into the very worst spots that I couldn't drive thru with the p/u and spread it with the bucket and blade. As the frost came out and things started to get a little firmer but still muddy I started filling the ruts with 3/4" stone and leveling with the tractor. After 2 years of doing this we could drive my wife's car in during mud season instead of leaving it at the end. And after about 4 or 5 years it was a solid year-round road just by continuing the same process. The mixture of 3/4" stone and dirt gets very solid.

You learn to use the blade pretty fast. You can't make the road worse so what the hey. After ten years when I thought I was pretty good with a blade I bought TnT and that made it easier and faster to grade and then I built a Land Plane Grading Scraper and that has become my main tool now that the road is really established. I only use the blade to recrown when necessary. Here is what the stone and dirt road looks like before and after grading in 2010 when I first built the LPGS. There is not crown there it just has a flat pitch to the left so water drains to the down hill side.





gg

 

[Gordon Gould]

A couple more pics of stone and dirt road. Slight recrown with the blade then gilding the lily with the LPGS.





gg

 

[fitter1]

Nice road work. I also maintain a half mile or so. Been trucking in stone for years and still not enough. A friend of mine got stuck up to his running boards 2 days ago and had to call in a wrecker. He was checking in on my place when he got stuck. Still over a foot of snow in the woods. Hope things are well gg. Been on a ill-timed vacation myself.

 

[nybirdman]

I think you will have better results when things are dry. I have both a rear blade and box blade;for your uses a good heavy rear blade should work.

 

[rScotty]

You don't have to choose between a box blade or grading blade. What you need is a grading blade that has removeable end caps so that it works just like a box blade with the added advantage that it can be angled. So one implement can do both jobs.

Inexpensive simple grader and box blades are so common that a lot of tractor people don't even know about the better options.

It's all in the implement. You alread have more than a good enough tractor, so now if you get a blade with three movements: Tilt, Offset, and Angle... and it has removeable end caps.... then you can work that road like a pro.

On the gravel, I ask for 1"minus crushed roadbase material with the fines left in (unwashed). That gives me a sharp but small stone that interlocks well because the fines (the dust) in left on the crushed rocks. When you say "roadbase" you are specifying a compactible material. Usually made by combining about 5% to 10% clay into the crushed stone above.
rScotty

 

[airbiscuit]

A rear gage wheel or tail wheel will make a huge difference in ease of use and outcome.

 

[airbiscuit]

 

[rScotty]

With that Land Pride 3 way manual adjustable back blade the OP is on the right path - in my opinion. If that's the blade I think it is, the end caps, trailing wheels, and even hydraulic control can be added later if wanted. Right now I'd just start with that good blade with removeable end caps, add a trailing wheel when you see the need, and later on hydraulic controls are a pure luxury .... very nice.

Yes, you can sure do a lot simply by back-dragging the FEL bucket. In fact, we do almost all our work on shorter driveways that way. Much better for tight work. I believe that the blade on that Land Pride can also be swung around completely backwards for backdragging longer stretches.
rScotty

 

[PILOON]

I only have a 20 HP CUT but have developed (with patience and practice) techniques that allow me to usually do a very respectable spreading/grading job of a 12 wheel truck load of crushed stone in about 1 hour per load.
By that I mean spreading to a 3 or 4 inch evenly distributed layer.
My 'tools' being my FEL and a crappy 60 inch back blade.

While only small time in the road/drive game I never hesitated to quote 1 hr per load, however if at a distance I'd add a bit for travel
time.

OK, I tilt my FEL and push ala dozer taking minor 'gulps' going as far as I can,
get another load and repeat until there is no more pile to push.

Usually I'll pull back some nearside of the pile and drive over the top and start pushing a manageable load foreword and repeat.
When roughly spread out I manually reverse my back blade and push backwards to create a nice even finish.
I never push from the backside, always from the front.
(even did that when I had a tracked 'dozer)

For my last pass I speed up and drive forward at a faster clip which makes the drive look just like it had been all hand raked.

 

[CADplans]

I fought my driveway for 35 years,, because I did not have correct ditches,,,

This is what happened to the driveway EVERY heavy rain,,

Yea, I could put it back with my equipment,,

Even with a fleet of tractors,, I could not maintain the driveway,,,

Attachments?? I have them ALL,, rake, blade, box, loader, and landplane,,

I had to correct the ditches,, and install 4 culverts,, it was done last summer,,

Here is the sticker on the guy's truck,, he is a dirt wizard,,,

I am almost at a year now,, the driveway is still perfect,, even with some recent heavy rains,,

Doing the driveway "right" is far better than ANY attachment,,,

 

[airbiscuit]

True that.

 

[/pine]

Controlling storm water has always been the key to maintaining gravel lanes...it's simple, make the water run OFF the road and not DOWN the road...and make sure there is a place for the water to go...

It only takes a few sticks and leaves to start a big enough ditch blockage that allows runoff to flow onto a lane that in the right downpours can cause major washouts...I have to keep reminding the few neighbors I have not to blow their driveway leaves into the ditches...!