Wood chips on sloppy dirt road?

[LouieJunior]

Has anyone tried this? I have an abundance of wood chips and muddy logging roads. Would a thick layer of chips help matters -- or make traveling more difficult?

 

[hosspuller]

It'll look good for a day... The mud & wood chips will turn your road to a slippery mess worse than before.

 

[bcp]

On a walking trail, wood chips held moisture after the surrounding ground was dry. They only helped a bit at first.


Bruce

 

[catdozer]

I've done this for all my trails, through the lower muddy parts I put them about 6 inches thick then the swampy areas I put down small sticks/logs across and coated it with about 4 inches of chips. Works great and no problems holds up to tractors, quads, and dirt bikes no problem. The bad is when the swamp floods some unpacked chips float off, but I just reapply some then. I put them down using a manure spreader with the beaters unhooked.

I reapply chips every winter but only about 2inches, only in winter cause I can see what I've done and keeps trespassers with snowmobiles off

 

[JerryK]

I put some wood chips on the sloped sections of my grassy drive.. They tend to help hold the soil when you get heavy rain. Kind of float around and make little beaver dams here and there that slow down the rivers of water... They seem to keep the tires from picking up the muddy top of the drive, and you pick up the chips on the tires instead. Not saying it is a big plus, but worth experimenting with... A layer of 1" or less is what I put on. Unless mixed in, thicker layers become spongy over time...

 

[BigMike50]

It will work for one season. I put a bunch down myself in a nice lift. These year it is a worse mess. Gonna dig it out and grab a few free tri-axle loads of millings

 

[Dr_Zinj]

Wood chips decompose into black organic soil.
Unfortunately, while great for growing stuff in, it's horrible for roads.
Short term fix, even worse long term problem.
Get gravel.

 

[Soundguy]

ditto what's been said.

upon initial application it WILL tighten everything up. IE.. short term fix, but over the long term.. it will make it worse. as it decomposes you will get more moisture retention inthe soil, it's the makings for a bog....

 

[JerryG]

The poultry companies use to put chips down when the mud was real bad. They also used them on ice when the dirt roads were bad. This was so they could get 18 wheelers in and out safely. Don't know if any of them are still doing it or not.

 

[Soundguy]

it works. it's just a poor substitute for somthing that will work better..

like dumping a truck load of 57 stone and a few bags of portland and then mixing it up and letting it set and make a cheapy soil cement stabilizer out of it.