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New gravel driveway install with a 1025R and backblade/FEL

15K views 20 replies 13 participants last post by  firemachine69 
#1 ·
Hi all, I'm going to install a new gravel driveway on virgin soil with my 1025R

My plan will be to use my box blade with scarifiers fully deployed and angled forward for maximum bite, dig approximately six inches

I was thinking about using my FEL backdragging to compact the earth under the topsoil, but have been advised that a mechanical gas powered compactor would produce the desired results

Then fill in with #2 crushed stone and run FEL backdrag over that (or mechanical compactor)

Thoughts? Has anyone put in a driveway with their SCUT? Also have a rear blade and landscape rake and backhoe available as needed
 
#6 ·
I just put in mine with a 2210. It is probably 12 feet wide by 200 or feet long. It turned out pretty good but I wouldn't say it is perfect nor is it too any sort of standard. You can use a SCUT to do this but probably the best machine to do this type of job is a tracked skid steer. They are heavy enough to compact the gravel and it appears a skid steer bucket does a much better job of smoothing things out.

I attempted to use a box blade to level things out prior to spreading gravel but I had mixed results at best. I eventually used some clay-sand to fill my low spots then compacted it with my 4 foot steel roller. I came back and spread several inches of crush & run on the clay-sand and called it a day. It looks decent and is holding up well. I will need to add more crush and run over time but I can do that at my leisure. The important part is I have a driveway that isn't a mud pit. I used my bucket for back dragging and spreading the gravel. I did not use anything else. The only problems with using a SCUT for this is your FEL loads are small and the tractor doesn't weigh enough to use it to get good compaction.

I would start surfing You Tube as there a lot of videos on this subject, some better than others. Remember though you need to build the drive according to your local conditions and what your wallet can afford so it might not be quite the same as what you see on the videos. Also there are a fair amount on this subject in the sub-forums that talk about land etc. Good luck with your project. :cheers:
 
#7 · (Edited)
I have put in several driveways and parking lots over the years with tractors so it absolutely can be done without an arsenal of equipment. Although the general ideal is the same, different regions are simply just that, different. 3-6" is pretty much the norm on what we have to cut to lay a base around here. Use your loader and box blade to get a base down and generally spread. Since you have a blade, spin the blade around and pull it backwards and it will level fairly nice. Drive on it for a couple weeks to month then have your crush spread by the trucks. They can spread it and the tailgate will most likely get it more level than you will with a tractor and blade. Once the trucks have spread it use the blade to fine tune. You can use a cheaper material for a base and that will cut down on how much crushed you will need and most folks don't complain about saving some cash.
 
#8 · (Edited)
SCUT works

I have 3 driveways 10-12' wide that in total are close to 700' long. I used my 1025R with blade box and fel to spread 6 twelve ton loads of gravel. I had the deliveries spread out so I didnt have huge piles. I had the trucks spread the dumps so all iI had to do was spread it evenly and level it. This is over clay soil. It takes time, but certainly not all summer. I did it in 4 long days with plenty of fuel for the tractor and water for me. A heavy skid steer would be faster, but I have the 1025R, not a skid steer. A rented plate compactor really helps, but a heavy SUV with wide tires works OK, especially if the gravel us wet down in layers as you level it. Wet it as you go, no matter what. You'll be on the tractor a long time. Wear earplugs.
 
#9 ·
I re graveled my driveway with 1025 and box blade tipped all the way forward (short top link). This allowed the 3/4" crushed stone to flow smoothly under the blade.
For most of the driveway I just backed up to the pile with the box blade all the way up then dropped it into the pile and pulled up the drive.
 
#10 ·
Rent a small riding vibratory compactor to compact the soil and gravel. They are easy and fun to operate and the job they do is worth the bucks.

Make sure there is enough 'fines' in the gravel so the stuff locks together tightly.
 
#11 ·
Hi - I put in a 40X200 driveway to my new pole barn last summer, using my new 1025r tlb. Worked pretty well. I removed about 8" of top soil, layed down some road fabric and filled with 2" cruser run. Time will tell, this spring, but that was the recomendation from several landscape contractors in the area. The fabric is a regularly used product around here, in northern NY.
 
#12 ·
I thought about using a fabric when I did mine because I saw so many you tube videos where they used it but around here no one uses fabric for a drive. Either we are too cheap here in NC or it simply isn't needed. So I tried to be like most of the drives I see around here. My area either has a sandy soil or clay. Unfortunately my property is mostly clay. It packs hard and is good for a driveway but is not a such a good material for a yard.
 
#13 · (Edited)
I used 3B as the base stone. It is the size of a baseball and horrible to walk on but, it serves great as a base. Once the 3B is down and run it/compacted you then spread 2B on top of that. Since the 3B is already around 3 inches two layers will fill a six inch depth (roughly, with some compaction and shifting sideways of the layers) so I would go a little deeper than 6 inches.

The 2B will fill in any of the voids that it can work its way into. Run in/compact that layer over a couple of days/weeks. You can walk on the 2B without twisting your ankles. Once that has run it and you have had some rain on it layer in some 1A - 1A is unwashed chips.

The 1A will contain the limestone dust that isn't washed away. If you see the pattern you are getting larger to smaller in size of gravel. Each successive layer will fill in the voids in the layers below. The dust in the 1A will act somewhat like a cement in that it will run down into the voids. I found that two to three layers/treatments of the 1A over a three year period really was all that is necessary when low spots developed.

If you can afford to put down the landscape fabric I would totally do it. Use of the method above over fabric can help keep the 3B from pushing down into the soil layer. The only disadvantage to this method is that if you do not get down deep enough or you don't provide enough base is you can push the 3B into the soil and digging it up/re-leveling with a box blade will be difficult because you will not have your layers anymore.

Take the time and effort (and money) to do it right now or you will likely be doing it again in five years.

my $0.02 - YMMV

P.S. Think about the drainage underneath of the 3B layer. You want to get water to drain from under the driveway neat and clean without eroding the soil underneath or washing out your 1A. Keeping the water flowing/out from under the base will keep the frost from wreaking havoc on your driveway. My current driveway is going to be getting this treatment this summer. The previous owners of the old house just poured gravel on the dirt and called it a driveway. The freeze/thaw this year was murder on it.
 
#15 ·
Bump?? It's been over a year and a half since you started this thread. Have you not done the driveway yet? You're as much of a procrastinator as I am!! :lol::lol::lol:

I spread new gravel on my drive (first put in around '99 or '00 by the previous owner) in December of 2013. I don't remember all of the particulars, but they put one layer down of slightly larger stuff (I think it was washed crusher run) and then I had them top that with "chips and dust" (crusher run with all the fines and "dust" still in it). It looked great!

Road Natural landscape Asphalt Tree Thoroughfare


I had thought about renting a plate compactor to really pack things down, but I didn't. My neighbor across the street who knows a lot more about this stuff than I do (he's the road maintenance supervisor in the next town over and a farmer all his life) said "that's a long driveway for a walk behind compactor!". He suggested renting a ride-on compactor, but it never happened. I wished I had done it just so I could say whether it would have helped or not, but I think it would have. I do have several potholes in the driveway now, but that might have happened whether I compacted it or not.

I have a "driveway repair tool" reserved from the local rental place for next weekend. I will be putting up a thread on it once I'm done (and assuming I don't mess up my driveway toooo much). If I'm able to reclaim a lot of the gravel as I'm hoping to, I will be renting a plate compactor to finish things up. The driveway is only 350' long, so while the walk behind may be a bit of work, I think it will be doable. I may try to rig something up to push or pull it with either my 3520 or one of my Gravelys.

I'm not a driveway installation expert in real life, but here on the internet I'm an expert on just about everything. :laugh: I think you've been given some good advice above to 1) excavate until you reach something other than topsoil, otherwise your gravel will just sink into it, 2) use some sort of geotextile fabric under everything and 3) rent a compactor of some sort (either a plate compactor or a ride-on vibratory) to compact it down. That will compact things evenly. Just driving on it will compact where the tires go and you'll eventually end up with a "hump" in the middle.

Also, don't be afraid to use Round-Up on the driveway to keep the vegetation from growing in the middle and edges of it. That will help the top layer from breaking down from the vegetation pushing into it. Actually, in about an hour I'll be out spraying my driveway to kill what's out there so hopefully it's all dead before next weekend.

Let us know what progress you've made.
 
#17 ·
Mark02, it looks real nice in the pic.
 
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#20 ·
Too bad that was 5 years ago. I won't show you what it looks like now! :hide:



Rent the ride-on vibratory compactor as it will do a much better job than any walk behind compactor ever will; especially for that length of driveway. I rented a small ride-on vibratory compactor and I'm glad I did, and my driveway is maybe 1/3 the length of yours.

Plus they're fun and easy to operate. :)
THANKS for that advice. I'll check on the price of rental and delivery.
 
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#19 ·
If that Bulmag is anything like a walk behind trencher, I'll pass on operating one.

I've never heard the term 'pulls' before as they've always been called 'lifts' where I'm at. :dunno:
 
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