I've had several large trucks drive over my lawn and have left ruts that I would like to fill and smooth over. With ruts I know there are high spots on their edges so would a box blade be what I should use to cut down the high spots without digging up the rest of the lawn? I could dump some loam at the beginning of the ruts and pull it along to fill the rut while cutting down the high spots. Any suggestions on the right implements for the job would be appreciated.
Best implement for rutted lawn?
- Thread starter rAzkid
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802Driver
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LX2610SU 60" Bucket Land Pride54" Box Blade Farm King 4572 Rear Blade
I think your best bet is filling it with top soil with a shovel, I had a set of ruts from my truck that I filled, after it rained I walked along the edges and pushed them down with my feet, minimal damage that way. If you use your box blade, your going to tear up your grass I think and have more to repair.
85Hokie
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BX-25D ,PTB. Under Armor, '90&'92-B7100HST's, '06 BX1850 FEL
My first thought is a box blade too - but as 802 said - filling them (if not 100's of feet long) would be the easy method, remember the ruts are compacted dirt, with the box blade - you will basically remove the high spots WHICH were the original yard elevation..... so cutting will not get back to where you were before the ruts.
And if you bladed that - you will have 4 times the "grass" to fix !
I would fill the ruts .... then compact with tractor a bit, or even just walk across them, after you planted some seed.
Just guessing without more knowledge or pictures. Wait until some of the moisture evaporates causing the wet condition and use your tractor tire to go over the edges to tamp the soil back in place.
RCW
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BX2360, FEL, MMM, BX2750D snowblower. 1953 Minneapolis Moline ZAU
I have had truck damage in my yard more times than I can count over the last 40 years, and besides the hints above using hand or foot work, dumping some topsoil into the ruts, and evening it out with a landscape rake if it is really dry out helps. After that it is tincture of time. It generally takes about a year. The dry part is critical. I got in a hurry because it was December and tried to flatten out the edges of a trench with the tractor. The edges had a lot of clay and the mud just wrapped itself around the tires filling up the space between the tire and the wheel well. So then I had to clean up the tractor.
i7win7
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BX2370, B2650 grapple, tree puller, trailer mover, 3 point hoist, mower, tiller
Hoelscher Commercial Products - RB Scraper
Hoelscher is a Bushton, Kansas hay baling equipment and earth moving equipment manufacturer.
www.hoelscherinc.com
Best Implement for rutted lawn?
I tried taking pictures but you really can't see the ruts very well. The sides of the ruts are raised and not level with the original grass. I've run over them with my BX2200 but there are still high spots.
Maybe the LX3310 will be heavy enough to push down the high spots. It's being delivered tomorrow but I'll have to wait until the next few days of rain are over to try it. Thanks for responses!
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Maybe the LX3310 will be heavy enough to push down the high spots. It's being delivered tomorrow but I'll have to wait until the next few days of rain are over to try it. Thanks for responses!
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802Driver
Active member
Equipment
LX2610SU 60" Bucket Land Pride54" Box Blade Farm King 4572 Rear Blade
WOW! lol, wagging the dog comes to mind, that is one huge box blade!
Ruts from Trucks are nothing compared to the hog damage on my 10 acre turf aircraft runwayI repaired with this Ferguson Compactor Roller when I found the damage so bad my little 9N Ford couldn’t even drive over it. No kidding!
I tried discing it...didn’t work. Tried tilling it. Didn’t work. Waited until it rained and ran this over it a couple times.... Yep! This did it! For 57-cents per lb. (14K lbs) Fun to drive.
(FUnny story about this... My 16 year old grandson was sitting in the seat absolutely spell-bound as I taught him how the Hydrostatic-drive works. He’s got a girlfriend at school and about to get his driver’s license, so I looked him in the eye and in my most-solemn voice said to him:
”Chase... now listen up, son! If you work hard and make Good Grades this year in school....(at this point he’s looking intently into my eyes...expecting some great-reward from his Pop-Pop...)..... I’ll let you TAKE THIS OUT ON DATES!”
YOU SHOULD have SEEN HIS FACE!
I
I tried discing it...didn’t work. Tried tilling it. Didn’t work. Waited until it rained and ran this over it a couple times.... Yep! This did it! For 57-cents per lb. (14K lbs) Fun to drive.
(FUnny story about this... My 16 year old grandson was sitting in the seat absolutely spell-bound as I taught him how the Hydrostatic-drive works. He’s got a girlfriend at school and about to get his driver’s license, so I looked him in the eye and in my most-solemn voice said to him:
”Chase... now listen up, son! If you work hard and make Good Grades this year in school....(at this point he’s looking intently into my eyes...expecting some great-reward from his Pop-Pop...)..... I’ll let you TAKE THIS OUT ON DATES!”
YOU SHOULD have SEEN HIS FACE!
I
Last edited:
Creature Meadow
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2012 L4600, Disk, Brush Hog, GB60 Garden Bedder, GSS72 Grading Scraper
I second the wait till it dries some and run over edges with tractor. Then if need shovel some topsoil into the areas and pack again.
I do the same in my garden the furrows I make are high and disking is a pain so I drive over them several times to pack them then disk. Similar concept to use in your yard.
Good luck and let us know what works best so we can learn.
Jay
I do the same in my garden the furrows I make are high and disking is a pain so I drive over them several times to pack them then disk. Similar concept to use in your yard.
Good luck and let us know what works best so we can learn.
Jay
Bingo.
If the OP lives in freezing climate, the ruts will eventually go away, though it may take several years, depending upon how severe the rutting is.
D2's advice regarding rolling the edges down when the ground is soft will also help.
SDT
I have this problem frequently. I usually run over the edges with the tractor tires.
Another method I have used is to put the bucket in the 'dump' position where the blade is almost straight down and put the bucket in the float position then back over the ruts. The weight of the bucket in the float position is usually enough to scrape the edges down. This is also the best method (in my humble opinion) of spreading sand in the ruts.
Another method I have used is to put the bucket in the 'dump' position where the blade is almost straight down and put the bucket in the float position then back over the ruts. The weight of the bucket in the float position is usually enough to scrape the edges down. This is also the best method (in my humble opinion) of spreading sand in the ruts.
Be careful doing that... if you get too aggressive you can bend/damage your dump-cylinders by bending the shafts.
As others have mentioned, spreading THIN layer of dirt over the top can go a long way towards getting it smooth again.
I used to live where every six months, the lawns would be mowed close and an inch of sand was spread over. In this case, the intention was to push the roots down deeper.
Before spreading, MOW AS CLOSE AS THE MOWER WILL GO. In this way, the grass will effortlessly grow right up thru the new soil.
If grass is left long, it will "bend" over when the soil is spread and may not come up through. (Grass does not inherently "know" which way is up besides finding the sun.... being bent over sends the leaves sideways)
I used to live where every six months, the lawns would be mowed close and an inch of sand was spread over. In this case, the intention was to push the roots down deeper.
Before spreading, MOW AS CLOSE AS THE MOWER WILL GO. In this way, the grass will effortlessly grow right up thru the new soil.
If grass is left long, it will "bend" over when the soil is spread and may not come up through. (Grass does not inherently "know" which way is up besides finding the sun.... being bent over sends the leaves sideways)
Don't drag with the bucket cylinders extended all the way. They are surprisingly weak in that position.
I use sand and my bionic blade. If real bad, I have had to use my friends Harley rake.