Driveway Project

Help Support SkidSteer Forum:

dozer

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 26, 2009
Messages
126
I have been doing a driveway for a customer now for the last week. Its nothing super special. It is a 75' dirt driveway onto the street. The problem was that the angle of departure from the street to driveway itself was so sharp every time you backed off you bottomed out your vehicle. I even caught the bumper of my F-350!! I measured back 25' from the driveway as my point to angle too. I would have went back further but a buried electrical wire will not allow me too since it has to be 32" underground and it is already at that minimum. My question is what methods do I have to pack the dirt in preparation for gravel and what do I do to pack the gravel? I am 100 miles away from the nearest place to rent a vib-roller. I have so far done nothing more than back over every square inch of it with my tires. and ideas would be appreciated. thanks, Lucas
 

TriHonu

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 15, 2007
Messages
486
Well, it appears you are asking how to best compact without using a compactor.
It comes down to how much force can you focus on the smallest area. I would suggest getting a heaping bucket full of gravel and raising the heel of the bucket just enough to raise the front wheels just off the ground and keeping the weight on the front half of the cutting edge. This should put the maximum amount of weight on the smallest area. Back-drag multiple times to consolidate the gravel as much as possible. You will probably have to drag down hill. To back-drag uphill you will probably have to keep all tires on the ground and will also need to securely chain something heavy in the bucket. (Grapple bucket would be handy.)
Is this driveway to be paved in the future? If so the sub-base prep is everything. If it will remain a gravel driveway, it sounds like it is steep enough to suffer from washout at the street as the fines get carried downslope. Is moving/deepening the electrical line not in the budget?
 
OP
OP
dozer

dozer

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 26, 2009
Messages
126
Well, it appears you are asking how to best compact without using a compactor.
It comes down to how much force can you focus on the smallest area. I would suggest getting a heaping bucket full of gravel and raising the heel of the bucket just enough to raise the front wheels just off the ground and keeping the weight on the front half of the cutting edge. This should put the maximum amount of weight on the smallest area. Back-drag multiple times to consolidate the gravel as much as possible. You will probably have to drag down hill. To back-drag uphill you will probably have to keep all tires on the ground and will also need to securely chain something heavy in the bucket. (Grapple bucket would be handy.)
Is this driveway to be paved in the future? If so the sub-base prep is everything. If it will remain a gravel driveway, it sounds like it is steep enough to suffer from washout at the street as the fines get carried downslope. Is moving/deepening the electrical line not in the budget?
Moving the electrical line is not in the budget for the customer. But now it only rises about 4 feet in 25 feet wheras before it rose the same 4 feet in half the distance. I will try the bucket full of gravel slowly incorporating it into the soil. There will not be concrete going into it at any time so washout will be my main competition. I will take some pics of it when finished. Dozer
 
Top