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Grading a gravel driveway

C

Chuck one

New User
I am having a hard time grading my gravel driveway level. I am using a 7' rear blade which I think is to big for my tractor.
I am creating large bumps along the road, every time I go up a bump the blade digs in then it lifts as I cross over the bump. I am haivng a hard time adjusting the 3 pt to make a level raod.
I am thinking a purchasing a box blade to see if it will work better. What are oyur opinions about the best way to grade the road level.
 
how long is the driveway? mines about 200ft long and i just drag a peice of concrete culvert about 5ft long down it. it pushes the lumps into the holes quite nicely. I've hear dragging an I beam does the same thing.
 
I agree with Richard H Back blading works for me

Only use the cutting side for getting a bit off dumped pile, and drag it flat.
 
CHUCK: I've done driveway grading with both types of blades. You can "pull the ditches" a little better with scraper than box, but that's about the only advantage. Use your toplink to adjust how agressive your box will dig in...and work "long runs" instead of trying to get [...} when its much better to get [............]. If you do carry too much surplus beyond where it needs to go, you can always lift/dump and then turn around and carry it back to where it needs to be. When I first started using a box, it aggravated me at first till I got the hang of it. I seldom use scraper for anything now except for snow.

Use a very light finger/feather touch on tractor controls and let your tractor "carry" some of the weight of the box...not leaving full weight of box on ground while moving/carrying material.

As far as width...box needs to be at least every bit as wide as your tractor...maybe a bit more.

Hang in there and have fun...you'll get it.

Rick
 
Any time you have something attached to the rear of your tractor, it's gonna do the opposite of what the front wheels do(hit a bump, blade goes down, etc).

Your best bet would be to make or find something to "drag" the road with. We use a length of old I-beam, heavy enough to dig in a little and move the gravel, but most anything straight and fairly heavy would work- old railroad tie, etc... Hook it up so it's at an angle that moves the gravel towards the center of the road. Go slow so it doesn't bounce, and it'll give you a nice smooth road.

My brother bought one of those box scraper deals....works good for moving dirt, but it's terrible on the road- leaves a berm of dirt on the outside edges...I keep telling him that you "build" a road, you don't "dig" a road...but he won't listen...
 
If your driveway is very long or you are looking at maintaining it for a few years, You would be way ahead by taking the blade to a fabricator and having a gauge wheel added to the back. A set-up with a screw adjust would be nice but one with simple adjustment by washers like on the back of a shredder would work well. With this arrangement the blade is vertically positioned by the smoothed ground instead of the rough stuff. Same idea as a road motor grader. Another plus is that you can still tilt the blade with the leveling box crank so you can crown your driveway, making the water run to the sides, slowing pothole formation.
 
Sounds like you have the blade perpendicular to the direction of travel; angle the blade.......a lot. Ever see how the blade was set on a road grader? Tractor w/rear-mounted blade won't do as good, but it can be made to work.
 
I have a long stone drive for the factory. In the spring I take the Glenco field cultivator with a spike tooth on the back and dig as deep or deeper than any ruts which levels the top fair and them back blade it to get it smooth and level. I Then roll it down with a big truck. It stayes nice until it starts to freeze and thaw in the winter. the chuck holes start to get deep and then I have to start over.

It has worked for me for thirty years.
 
You need to angle the blade and let it float. Put the angle around 30deg and pull from the outside to the center after you make a few rounds it will get better fast. Will work better after a rain.
 
I agree more angle is needed to get a better cut. Down pressure on the blade will help by added wieghts or 3pt hitch hydraulics. You may have to play with your lower 3pt links to build a nice crown in the driveway.
 
M J when you shorten it it will cut more. I know it don't sound right but that is the way it works. If you don't beleive me go ask someone who runs a motor grader.
 
You need to angle the blade. I thought a rear 3pt blade didnt have down pressure, the weight of the blade dug into the gravel/dirt.

You need to drive back wards to smooth it out after you dig in by driving forwards.
 
I have used a rear blade all my life for driveways and after getting used to doing it I have no trouble at all,I sometimes let it dig deeper and then back blade it to smooth it out,been doing it for 60 yrs or so
 
Use a chain in place of the center link so the blade will float more and that way when the front wheels go up the blade will not bite in deeper and cause problems. You can also dig a bed frame or I-beam behind the blade and that will help. Of course the best thing would be a grader or a mid mount blade so things stay on the ground level better
 
gun guru is right on- use reverse and let the shallow side of the blade push your gravel smooth. In my experience, a good dump truck driver will dump the gravel a heck of a lot smoother on the run than I have ever been able to spread it with a blade
 
I made this device to level gravel drives. I too have problems with a box grader and a back blade. This device has arms patterned after my RM660 mower so it can float.
a22575.jpg
 
The manual for my box blade says it's more aggresive with a shorter top link. Of course on a box blade you can set it so runs on the front corners of the side plates so it dosen't dig in. Other than that, a shorter top link does make it dig in more. You don't have to drop the blade all the way down though. A lot of times you can just skim the surface to avoid digging in too much. If you've got a rough driveway to begin with, you'll need to go slow and manually raise and lower the blade to get it rough levelled. Then you can set blade for the final levelling. It takes some practice. Pulling the blade backwards works good for final levelling. The biggest thing to watch for is larger rocks in your gravel. They will dig ruts and make it extremely difficult to get a nice even surface. If you see any larger rocks, stop and pick them up. Dave
 
i start out by angleing the balde to bring the material from outside edge to the middle of the road i do this to both sides when i am done i have like a windrow of material down the center of the drive.then i turn the bale around backwards so it doesnt dig in.i line the windrow of material up with the center of the tractor drop the blade and go the material will make its way toward the outside of both sides of the blade making a very nice looking appearence .RICK
 
The drive is 1/4 mile long, small grade/hill, I had a crown but had problems with the water destroying one side of the road that connects to a small hill, I have since put a straight taper across the entire road to let the water drain to a field on the low side... So far that seems to work, just having the leveling problems, some of the ideas I will try. Angleing the blade etc.
Thanks for the ideas, and photos, may try to build something like that also,, I have some scrap beams laying around, just need to line up a welder..
 
Most of the time I grade my driveway with an eight-foot York rake that has wheels mounted on it. If I need to be very aggressive I'll get out the box scraper, but it takes a very light touch to get good results. I only use my regular blade for plowing snow.
 
Might set it to "float," if you have that setting. I like to put blade with curve facing backwards, and driving tractor forward. This tends to make blade float and drop some gravel in lower spots.
 
I have found that changing the blade angle with every pass helps smooth things out.
When you make a second pass with the blade at the same angle as the first you just make the bumps and valleys worse. A different angle smooths things out.
 
I agree with as much angle as you can get. Also keep the center higher than the edges. Try to work the lane one the day after it rains and it is damp but not muddy.
 
Never used a back blade, but for many years I was a finish grade dozer operator. With a few years practice you can cut the grade + or - one half inch!
 
And you didn't ever (back blade) with the dozer??

That is what I always thought the float position on the stick was for.
 
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