Muddy driveway

Rkh · Feb 25, 2017

We have a 800' driveway that we must maintain ourselves. Brung in 2rc gravel about 4yrs ago & now it has broken down & turned to mud & greasy when wet. Should I use my back blade, & loosen up gravel- it has a good base? I have a mf65, with 6' back blade & front bucket.

Rons b · Feb 25, 2017

I have about 2 miles of road that I maintain and after a rain when its dried so its not muddy but still damp so it will brake up easier and use a blade on the tractor and a heavy drag behind it. This brings up the gravel to the surface.

Geo-TH,In · Feb 25, 2017

I would bring in more large gravel. Figure out what it takes to make your road higher and stay dryer. My guess is your gravel went down in the mud.

Donald Lehman · Feb 25, 2017

We always try to have a load of crushed limestone around and we use the crushed stone to fill in the holes. That will usually solve the problem of spots that give way. If the whole drive way is breaking down, I would put a thin layer of the crushed stone the whole length of the drive way while the ground is soft enough to be able to drive over it and incorporate it with the gravel. I would suggest a small drag or a small disc harrow would dry the surface out and smooth it off the quickest.

farmerwithmutt · Feb 25, 2017

A friend put in what is called breaker run its fist size rock. He had that down for a couple years and it was no fun driving over but it got pounded in real good then he spread regular gravel over top it made a good solid driveway.
Usually small gravel well work down into the dirt.

neverfear · Feb 25, 2017

To add to the replies below, try to get a crown on the driveway (center higher than edges) so any water can run off rather than sit on the driveway and have time to soak in.

Hay hay hay · Feb 25, 2017

Geo cloth will fix it for once and for all. Much cheaper than load after load of gravel to sink into the ground.

stonerock · Feb 25, 2017

gravel is not the answer, first put down mesh, then #3 to 4 limestone then top that off with #57 limestone
and put a crown in your driveway,let that pack in then next year put dust to 57 size limestone this will set
up like concrete. no more problems

onefarmer · Feb 25, 2017

I don't use gravel anymore. I went to crushed rock. I lay down the rock while the drive is still wet and muddy. It punches into the mud and makes a very solid surface.

kcm.MN · Feb 25, 2017

We live in a wetlands area and I'm putting up a new shop this year, but have to build a road. I'm getting a stockpile of old tires that are not good for recycling. Will cut the sidewall off one side and lay them open side up. Once filled with gravel, the tires will help prevent gravel from working out to the sides. Hopefully it will also help with the sinking some. As for the cutoff sidewalls, they'll go down in chunks inside the tires.

As the ground is SO soft here (when not frozen), I can't expect even a solid concrete driveway to last for too many years. Am hoping the retaining and flex attributes of the tires will work. Only the 460 and pickups will be traveling on this road - very rare exceptions.

Nick m · Feb 25, 2017

We put down about 4in of crushed asphalt 8yrs ago on our driveway. No more mud and very minimal maintenance. Had a neighbor with a dozer come down and put a good crown on it. Worth every penny. There is some raking to do in the spring after plowing snow all winter,but not bad. Whatever you do, do it in the spring/early summer so it has all summer/fall to pack down before winter.

showcrop · Feb 25, 2017

Plenty of good information here especially about the crown. First though, you need to be sure that your driveway is not acting as a dam blocking water that is trying to work its way down slope. If it is you need to get a little more technical with the design.

flying belgian · Feb 25, 2017

As others have said, the secret is to have a crown in the middle and ditches on both sides. Even small ditches are better then no ditch.

JK-NY · Feb 25, 2017

All good advice below- if you were to put in a new driveway or reconstruct this one - considere drainage /runoff, use geotextile fabric etc. If you are looking for something you can try with out major work- if you have a small set of springtooth drags you could drag it a couple times. I have a friend who has a farm with greenhouse retail parking area that gets dragged every spring and it really brings the stones back to the top and helps it dry out. I would use crusher run if you top it instead of #2 stone as the stone dust and different sized pieces pack down and lock in better.

Rick Kr · Feb 25, 2017

I have an 800' gravel drive also.
I run down it every spring with my landscape rake. Two passes in each direction with the rake angled towards the center of the drive.
This builds/maintains the crown. Then I run one pass down the center with the rake straight to drop the crown some.
I set the original crown with my dozer but it's quicker with the tractor yearly.
I will probably need a load of limestone this year. Driveway was built in 2004
Rick

Muddy driveway

Rkh

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Rons b

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Geo-TH,In

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Donald Lehman

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farmerwithmutt

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neverfear

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Hay hay hay

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stonerock

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onefarmer

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kcm.MN

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Nick m

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showcrop

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flying belgian

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JK-NY

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Rick Kr

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