Best attachment for gravel drive

Doc · Jul 6, 2006

I have a gravel driveway. It is an L shaped drive. The gravel in the turn gets pushed all to one side. I've used my Box Blade and my light duty blade but have to wonder if a rake would be better. The BB will dig way down and refresh the drive, but that is not what I'm needing. The light blade will pull and push but it leaves to many uneven spots. It moves to much or not enough.
What do you guys use to keep your gravel drives in shape?

Melensdad · Jul 6, 2006

I've used a rake to groom a ATV trails, in fact my neighbor has my rake on his trails right now. Can't say that I've actually used it on gravel but I find that since I've gotten my Landscape Rake that my Rear Blade sits unused execpt in early season snow conditions. So while I can't tell you that the Rake is the right tool, I can say that the Rake seems to do a lot of jobs better than a blade.

BTW I have a Midwest Tilt & Swivel landscape rake. I've never used the Tilt function since I have a Top-n-Tilt on the tractor. Here is a photo of a 15 series Midwest rake, (mine is a 22 series so it is heavier and has the tilt function but I could not find a photo of a 22 series) They make them in several colors to match your tractor, plus gray too.

Jim_S · Jul 6, 2006

B_Skurka said:
Can't say that I've actually used it on gravel but I find that since I've gotten my Landscape Rake that my Rear Blade sits unused execpt in early season snow conditions. So while I can't tell you that the Rake is the right tool, I can say that the Rake seems to do a lot of jobs better than a blade.

My rake does a good job on gravel. I run it backwards unless I really have a lot of gravel to move. I find it easier to use than the box blade. I have a Leinbach 6 footer with gauge wheels.

Jim

Melensdad · Jul 6, 2006

Jim, good point about running it backwards. Also, another thing I figured out pretty quickly was that, when running with the rake in the forward position, if you shorten the top-link the rake is far less aggressive but if you lengthen the top-link the tines are much more aggressive. So the rake really becomes something that is pretty versatile.

Its great for preparing for a new lawn too as it does a great job of smoothing over a tilled area and picking up some rocks too. I've also used it to pick up sticks and branches.

I've had some snake problems at work and used the rake (shortened top link setting) by pulling it over the field behind the warehouse. It did not tear up the field but it did pick up (and kill) about a half dozen snakes that were in that acre area. The field is bordered on 2 sides by water and a third side by a detention area for overflow.

Jim_S · Jul 6, 2006

B_Skurka said:
I've had some snake problems at work and used the rake (shortened top link setting) by pulling it over the field behind the warehouse. It did not tear up the field but it did pick up (and kill) about a half dozen snakes that were in that acre area.

I use my bush hog for snake, mice, and rat control. Does a fine job. Rather than going around the field, go back and forth, driving the ones you miss towards your neighbor rather than your place.

Jim

Doc · Jul 6, 2006

Jim,
Are the gauge wheels useful when dressing the gravel?

Dargo · Jul 6, 2006

Until I find a spare 100k, I still have quite a bit of my driveway that is gravel. I've never used a landscape rake on my gravel for fear that the tines would spring back and forth and throw gravel into my yard, where it does a number on my mower blades. My rear blade is 9' wide and weighs about 1200 pounds. Unless I need to dig up some gravel with my box blade, it seems to work the best for me. I can bring the gravel on the edges back to the middle of the driveway and I don't have any fliers going into my yard.

Again, I don't know, but based on seeing how my landscape rake springs about, wouldn't it do the same with gravel?

Jim_S · Jul 6, 2006

Doc said:
Jim,
Are the gauge wheels useful when dressing the gravel?

Not really. They were great when I was doing the final leveling (and getting all the small rocks out of) the yard. They seem to get in the way more than they help on the road. It's probably that I didn't get them set properly but I was able to do what I wanted to do by taking them off.

Brent, I have some trouble when the tines are in the forward position but no problems when they are backward.

Jim

Doc · Jul 6, 2006

I have a light blade and it is next to useless. Either I get to much with it turned forward, or turned backwards it rides up over much of the gravel. I'm needing to get gravel back in the driveway from the grass. Over time more and more of the gravel works it's way into the yard. I was hoping a rake would pull it back to the drive without tearing up the yard. Then I could dress the drive using the rake. Seem reasonable ....or anyone have a better idea?

DaveNay · Jul 6, 2006

Doc said:
....or anyone have a better idea?

Yard gnomes? If you pay them a premium, they will spend all night picking gravel out of the grass and putting it back in the drive.

Doc · Jul 6, 2006

Thanks Dave.

And what are they picking when they're not picking gravel? Or what if you don't pay them the permium?

cj7 · Jul 6, 2006

I use a 6' blade to dress my drive. I have found the using the backside of the blade and running the tractor in reverse does a fine job for the light dressing that is needed at times. If I have alot of gravel to move then using it in the forward position set straigh or angled works well.

I have heard of guys using rakes to dress also.

For me the blade works and I do not have to buy another tool.

Doc · Jul 6, 2006

cj,
I have a KK 6' footer. It is light. Do you have the same basic blade, or one of those heavy duty tilt blades like Dargo mentioned?

Grooming Snow · Jul 6, 2006

Got Just what you NEED

It's a snow trail groomer many sizes from 4' to 10' and up , can find older used one's from $750 on up do a great job on gravel or trails fills them right in and packs. What I would do is mount a roller on the back to do a better job of packing.
This unit I rebuilt for a snowmobile club in IL, last fall. I have a older 8x20 that I pull with a two wheel drive tractor to level of my yard & roads that lead to the farm fields

Melensdad · Jul 6, 2006

A trail groomer might be the ticket?

But on a smaller scale for a CUT size tractor application, what about a LandPlane or GradeMaster? (they are sold under a couple different brand names) Those are specifically designed to groom gravel driveways. They are sort of like a dual box blade but not quite. Two low angled parallel blades captured within taller side plates. I've never seen the LandPlane, but one of my local dealers sells the GradeMasters.

Picture 1 is a LandPlane.

Picture 2 is a GradeMaster at my local dealer, sorry about the quality, it is a cameraphone picture.

Doc · Jul 6, 2006

WOW! Those tools undoubtedly would do the job, but it's overkill for my 400' drive. I"m planning to give the blade a shot again and if I get frustrated with the results then I'll start shopping for a rake, only because that would be cheaper than any of the trail groomers you guys showed. Good ideas though and in answer to my question the trail groomers would most likely be the best tool for the job. Maybe down the road I could spring for one ....since I could use it on my trails also.

Melensdad · Jul 6, 2006

Well the GradeMaster is going to be about about $550-$600 if I remember correctly, a Landscape Rake is going to run you about $400. Give or take, and if you have gauge wheels it will be right in line with the GradeMaster price. But the GradeMaster is specifically designed to remove ruts and washboarding from a gravel drive, level it, and move the lose gravel from the edges to the center. With the GradeMaster you make a pass each direction and it pulls the loose side gravel to the center as you travel so you start out on the right side of your drive going from the garage to the road. You then line up at the road on the right side of the drive (which is obviously the opposite side) and pull it back toward the house. The angled blades automatically pull loose gravel to the center.

I know a guy who has used one on a field to make a road and swears it is far better than a regular box blade or any other implement for grooming a gravel or dirt road.

Again, I've never used one, but for a 400' gravel drive, I think I'd seriously look at a GradeMaster instead of a Landscape Rake.

cj7 · Jul 6, 2006

Doc said:
cj,
I have a KK 6' footer. It is light. Do you have the same basic blade, or one of those heavy duty tilt blades like Dargo mentioned?

I have a Woods 6' basic blade. I had endplates for it but have not tried them yet. It has angles forward and reverse, I can also tilt it at the blade plus three point adjustment. Use it behind an L2500

I also try to take small cuts at a time when moving just gravel back over.

Mith · Jul 6, 2006

Gee Bob, ever thought of being a GradeMaster salesman?

Doc, how about rear blading it, then dragging it with some chainlink fence to smooth it out some. It'd be a real cheap option, maybe worth a try?

BadAttitude · Jul 6, 2006

Doc

I maintain my 600'X18' drive with a 6' rake, but IMO...the gauge wheels make all the difference. Without them it's nothing but a PITA. My drive is top coated with 3'4" stone and has a 20* slope with a curve at the bottom. So I know all about the material working its way to the outside.

As far as moving to much or not enough...BTDT...I find that it's easier to do a rough pass at first(angle the rake) to move the bulk of the material away from the edge. Then take multiple passes with a light cut so that it flows out evenly.

Doc · Jul 6, 2006

B_Skurka said:
Well the GradeMaster is going to be about about $550-$600 if I remember correctly, a Landscape Rake is going to run you about $400. Give or take, and if you have gauge wheels it will be right in line with the GradeMaster price. But the GradeMaster is specifically designed to remove ruts and washboarding from a gravel drive, level it, and move the lose gravel from the edges to the center. With the GradeMaster you make a pass each direction and it pulls the loose side gravel to the center as you travel so you start out on the right side of your drive going from the garage to the road. You then line up at the road on the right side of the drive (which is obviously the opposite side) and pull it back toward the house. The angled blades automatically pull loose gravel to the center.

I know a guy who has used one on a field to make a road and swears it is far better than a regular box blade or any other implement for grooming a gravel or dirt road.

Again, I've never used one, but for a 400' gravel drive, I think I'd seriously look at a GradeMaster instead of a Landscape Rake.

Good info Bob.

From the looks of them I would have guessed the price was a good bit higher. With the price that close I'll have a look at both. I have 3 miles of dirt / grass trails that the trail master could make short work of.

Thanks all for the replies.

Doc · Jul 6, 2006

BadAttitude said:
Doc

I maintain my 600'X18' drive with a 6' rake, but IMO...the gauge wheels make all the difference. Without them it's nothing but a PITA. My drive is top coated with 3'4" stone and has a 20* slope with a curve at the bottom. So I know all about the material working its way to the outside.

As far as moving to much or not enough...BTDT...I find that it's easier to do a rough pass at first(angle the rake) to move the bulk of the material away from the edge. Then take multiple passes with a light cut so that it flows out evenly.

Thanks BA. I've tried something close to your method withh my blade, but without gauge wheels. Maybe with more practice I'll get better at it.

Good to see you back posting again.

Grooming Snow · Jul 6, 2006

The key to grading a snow trail or gravel road is to have some thing that is 4' longer than it's wide , and with weight ! If it to light it will not cut and you end up going back and fourth. And the longer it is the more the gravel move's back and fourth, from blade to blade , kind of a mixxing action & then have a grader blade just before the back packer pan, kinda like a box scraper now that is what give's you you finish .This drag is 18' long & 8' wide and is about 3200# & has spring loaded blades, which will trip if they hit a rock that it can't pop out .

Just one other thing they work great to move dirt or gravel to fill in a low spot .

Doc · Jul 7, 2006

Grooming Snow,
I had never seen anything like those groomers you've posted. They sure look like they'd do the job. I see hydrolics on them. So I'm guessing you need top and tilt to operate them. Sure would be easy to keep at the exact height you need.

Grooming Snow · Jul 8, 2006

The Drag in the picture needs to have 2 set of hyd remotes to run them one for the rear wheels and one for what we call a high rise hitch . This helps when going through ditch, you can rasie the front of the drag to stop from cutting in. Or you can use a turn buckle in stead of the ram . In snow grooming we use the 3 pt' lift draft control to keep the drag level, much like when you plow .The thing is that they need to be long so that the gravel move's back and forth filling any holes . The front blades are set about 3/4" lower then the side rails and as get to the last set they are flush with the side rail. And the older snow drags only sell for $750.00 and up so really if you look at what a good 3pt blade will cost, not a bad deal and will need up doing a much better job

Doc · Jul 8, 2006

Grooming Snow said:
The Drag in the picture needs to have 2 set of hyd remotes to run them one for the rear wheels and one for what we call a high rise hitch . This helps when going through ditch, you can rasie the front of the drag to stop from cutting in. Or you can use a turn buckle in stead of the ram . In snow grooming we use the 3 pt' lift draft control to keep the drag level, much like when you plow .The thing is that they need to be long so that the gravel move's back and forth filling any holes . The front blades are set about 3/4" lower then the side rails and as get to the last set they are flush with the side rail. And the older snow drags only sell for $750.00 and up so really if you look at what a good 3pt blade will cost, not a bad deal and will need up doing a much better job

Yep those would do a heck of a job on my drive, but since I do not have any rear remotes at this time, this would by far be the most expensive option for me.
It's something I'll keep in mind for later though.

Doc · Jul 8, 2006

Mith said:
Gee Bob, ever thought of being a GradeMaster salesman?

Doc, how about rear blading it, then dragging it with some chainlink fence to smooth it out some. It'd be a real cheap option, maybe worth a try?

I used the chain link fence for smoothing out ball diamonds, but for this application whenever I turned I'm afraid it would drag gravel into the yard since I couldn't raise it when I'm turning.

My plan is to try my blade again. I'm also going to keep an eye out for prices on rakes and the trail groomers. I'm having the part of my drive by the house concreted (about 40' of drive & parking pad) in the next week or so, and I'll have the gravel I can salvage from that area to spread over the rest of the drive.

Trakternut · Jul 8, 2006

Or....if you're really looking at inexpensive.....go to your local scrap recycling center (junkyard) and buy a chunk of good I-beam. Weld lengths of chain at each end. You can shorten one side to pull the beam at an angle to pull loose material up from the sides, then pull it straight for a final pass down the middle. Does a pretty fair job and not many $$$$ involved. If you've got deep ruts or washboard, try using a disc harrow lightly to break the ridges up so the beam can move that now-loosened material into the low spots.

Grooming Snow · Jul 10, 2006

You gota have the right tool for the JOB ((A Don't ya know)) :burp:

Or some times it has to do with how much money you got to spend :confused2:

If you fall in to the $10 to $100 bracket then go to the junk yard and pick up the I beam and may be some wire fence , nexts bracket $101 to $300 find a used light duty 3pt blade or box scrape, next bracket $301 to $600 good used heavy duty blade for a 60 hp tractor or box scaper that will last more then 2 or 3 trips down the drive way ,next bracket $601 to $1200 used snowmobile trail groomer ! May need paint and a few welds but will do one hell of a job

or box scraper for up to 150hp tractors or heavy 3pt blade, now the big jumps in cost $1200 to $3,500 new heavy duty blades box scrapers and very nice used snow groomers :wave:

Ok the next $3,500 to $12,000 new trail groomers not the top of the line buy nice or all hyd 3pt
blades 10' wide with tilt & angle or big box road levelers next jump $12,001 to $ 24,000 top of the line pull be behind road graders ,14' wide road that move in to the ditch to reclaim gravel while the Truck or tractor depend what is pulling it. And can't for get them snow groomers they would be the top of the line and are used on ATV trails in the summer time. Will post a picture off the grader

Melensdad · Jul 10, 2006

OK Doc, barring the multi thousand $$$$ investments advised by Dale in the above post, here is my Midwest Landscape Rake "LR22-72"

From the photos you can see that this is a very stout implement. Compared to the Howse brand, this is a Cadillac. The welds are better, the design is better, and it is stronger too. The finish is powder coat too, not just paint. (I know this because I have another friend who is a Howse dealer and wonders why I don't buy from him!) This rake swivels and tilts. Most just swivel. I also like that all the adjustment pins are toplink pins with oversized grab handles. If you lose one, any toplink pin can be used to replace these. The oversized grab handles allow you change the settings with your gloves on.

My neighbor returned it today and he wants one really bad, but I think he knows were he can borrow one for free whenever he needs it. Works out well for me because he is a mechanical genius, so he helps me more than I help him.

However he did say that for the ATV trails it is much better and faster to smooth them out with the rake than with a box blade. He said it did a better job getting rid of washboard ripples too.

Best attachment for gravel drive

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