Grading a driveway.......on the cheap

[snowwolfe]

Our gravel driveway is about 550 feet long and 10 feet wide. It has slowly been getting worse over the year and today we hauled in a scoop of crusher run gravel and filled in the low spots and tried to rake them level.

Own a ATV and a 4x4 pickup. What are some economical ways to re level most of it?

[tja6435]

Drag a railroad tie with steel cables or chains attached to it

[samari46]

I've seen lengths of galvanized fencing with two steel pipes at each end and one end tied to a tractor. Check out Northern tool's website for pics. Scrap yard would be the best place for the pipe, the heavier the better. Or if you could find some oil well pipe. Frank

[funnyjim014]

Depending on the size of the rock and how packed , I now some one who used a old box spring that was stripped down . I think he weighted it with cinder blocks

[bdicki]

Depending on the size of the rock and how packed , I now some one who used a old box spring that was stripped down . I think he weighted it with cinder blocks

Use old tires to weight it down, the bigger the better.

[Boolit_Head]

I've seen lengths of galvanized fencing with two steel pipes at each end and one end tied to a tractor. Check out Northern tool's website for pics. Scrap yard would be the best place for the pipe, the heavier the better. Or if you could find some oil well pipe. Frank

I believe that is called a chain harrow or something like that. That will turn the top of the soil in something like a seedbed but I doubt it will level gravel.

The best tool would be a box blade on a tractor. With the teeth it could break up the existing gravel and level it all out. Not the cheap solution though. Another option would be a land plane but it's another big tractor tool.

Got any friends with a tractor? Box blades are fairly common and maybe you could induce them with food and beer?

[jmort]

I had a 400 pound I-Beam that I dragged around. Since you really want a crown on your driveway, get a 4 to 5 foot what ever. I used to maintain miles of of private dirt roads and driveways. Some of it was really steep and needed many cut-outs. The best are three point road graders with two blades set a few feet apart if you have a tractor. A box blade cannot make a flat road, it will be uneven.

[Boolit_Head]

A few minutes with google turned up this. How handy are you?

[bdicki]

Drag a railroad tie with steel cables or chains attached to it

Or a log.

[ARKLITE881South]

Hire some one with a dump truck, get a good load of 1'' crushed rock, set the chains for about a 2'' spread, and if the guys any kind of a driver he should be able to lay it down as good as a graded road.Have him walk the rock in a little before he leaves, this will help compact it. Then, when you or anyone else drives it, off set your tracks and make sure every one drives slow, going and coming. If the rock has some good fine's in it, or a little dirt all the better. It will pack in, and be a good road/lane if every one does their part. It'll cost a little more this way, but, it will end up being a good driveway. I've made several driveways like this, as well as repair gravel roads.

[winelover]

Hire some one with a dump truck, get a good load of 1'' crushed rock, set the chains for about a 2'' spread, and if the guys any kind of a driver he should be able to lay it down as good as a graded road.Have him walk the rock in a little before he leaves, this will help compact it. Then, when you or anyone else drives it, off set your tracks and make sure every one drives slow, going and coming. If the rock has some good fine's in it, or a little dirt all the better. It will pack in, and be a good road/lane if every one does their part. It'll cost a little more this way, but, it will end up being a good driveway. I've made several driveways like this, as well as repair gravel roads.

That's how I maintain my long gravel driveway, every couple of years. The cement company, in town, delivers and spreads the stone. I ask for a certain driver, by name, and tip him.......accordingly.

Winelover

[bedbugbilly]

On the farm, we use three old steel tire rims (from wood wheels) that were about 4" more or less in diameter. We changed two so that they were side by side and the third so it trailed behind the two. I have no idea whee a person could find old wood wheel rims in today's world though. Pulled behind the old 8N they did a good job of keeping our farm roads and lanes smother out.

I have also seen an old set of bed springs used - pulled behind a tractor or similar.

All depends on the condition of your driveway. At our ould house, ours was about the same length as yours. When we built, I laid down a good bed of crushed sandstone from a local quary. Basically it was the "sweepings" on the bottom of the quary after they had removed the sandstone. I then had good gravel hauled in and put it over the base of the crushed sandstone. We did the same on our farm roads/lanes - especially in the low spots.

Old tires wired/chainged together would work just as well too I would imagine. And - they'd probably be free. Stop at a tire store - tell them what you want to do with them and I'm sure they would probably fix you up.

Ideally, you want a little 'crown" to you drive.

[WebMonkey]

Chain link fence with EXTRA twists of metal pointing down = harrow
Same thing flipped over = leveler

Seriously, I use the weighted chain link fence a lot for gravel and soil leveling.

Good luck!
'Monkey

[Smoke4320]

yes sir as many have stated here about 4-6' of chain link fence weighted down with cinder blocks work real well

[waksupi]

I happened to catch the guy grading the road in front of my property. For $20, he graded my drive. Wish it was that easy every time!

[Boolit_Head]

It also depends on what you have for a road material. Around here they use Kalechie and once packed even the breaker teeth of a box blade can't dig into it.

[country gent]

I have sen the box springs used around here, a couple of the schools and parks used them behind a lawn mower to level out the ball diamonds also. A length of I or H beam works well and the narrow edges do a good job of scraping the high points off. This I would make a solid tongue for so it dosnt roll or spin. On your equipment the blades are going to take more to push or just slide and kick out. ATVs a bigger one with a smaller blade might work slowly A blade on the 4x4 will have a fold over point and gravel will trip it also most truck blades are power up gravity down so they will float a lot more.A 4'-5' length of 6" I or h beam with the tounge welded center will scrape and level from the weight and gravity if your equipment will pull it a few concrete blocks will aid this. The I or H beam is double sided a piece of channel works but is only one sided and not quite as heavy.

[OS OK]

A few minutes with google turned up this. How handy are you?

These drags work pretty well, I bought one about 7 years ago by DR Power Eqpt. : http://www.drpower.com/power-equipment/power-graders/

the problem with these drags and the ATV's is that you have to run in 4WD and low gear to get them to level and you can take too big a bite and the ATV just wont pull it without spinning the tires (not enough pull weight) overheating or wearing out a belt.

I'm not saying an ATV won't do though.

[Petrol & Powder]

If it's not too bad the above methods will work. If it's bad, don't waste your time. Hire someone with a tractor and a blade that knows what they are doing and set right. Once you get it right, it's MUCH easier to keep it right.
A good crown on the road with a solid bed of large rock covered by a bed of smaller, tightly packed rock will last if you keep the water from running down the middle of the road.

I was taught at a young age to never drive in the same tracks on a farm road and to avoid creating washboard roads at all costs. (avoid putting a lot of torque on the drive wheels, accelerate & brake smoothly)

Contrary to popular belief, small gravel and even gravel dust is very durable once you get it packed down sufficiently.

Good Luck.

[ARKLITE881South]

I really enjoyed grading roads, and driveways, delivering/spreading rock. I'd do the best i could to make the person's driveway too look like i was doing it for my grandma. Very fun job for me, seeing just how good of a job i could do and the look on peoples faces and the thank you was my pay as far as i was concerned.