Drum Roller Compactor

[River19]

I maintain our gravel drive of 550' that has a pretty decent slope to it with some water mitigation challenges.

We received 7" of rain in the past week and thus I needed to bust out the box blade and regrade. Challenge is after I regrade it needs some compaction obviously otherwise I run the risk of the fines washing away again if we get rain. That happened last nice and some of my work needs to be redone as we got a nasty overnight storm and downpour.

So besides the fact I am working on additional water mitigation improvements I was thinking of a simple water filled drum roller/compactor on the draw bar to smooth it all out.

Something simple like the Agri-fab 60" drum......gets to 1100lbs with water etc. and for a simple roller I think Agri-Fab is probably fine.

Am I thinking about this right?

 

[GreensvilleJay]

It'll work fine, just don't try to make sharp turns !! I had a 4' version 'BigJim' brand,wnen empty I'd firm in the 'Winter rye' into the veggie patch. when full you KNEW it was behind you.Also be 100% SURE to remove the plug ,drain, and tilt BEFORE Ol' Man Winter arrives....

 

[River19]

In looking locally it seems the 48" is much easier to get than the 60" which not only is more spendy but requires heavy freight charges.

The 48" can get to 920lbs filled and I can run an offset bar on the 3pt to get it over behind my right rear tire.......thinking of going that route.

 

[ruger1980]

I would personally wheel roll it with a heavy vehicle as a steel drum roller will bridge any low spots and not seal or compact your substrate. If you are filling in trenches or ruts you will have to be concerned with differential compaction where the area filled will compact to a greater degree than the area around it and will eventually result in a low spot.

The best thing you can do is make sure you have sufficient crown in the roadway and make sure the surface is flat and sealed so that water does not permeate into the surface. But with a gravel surface this will take constant maintenance.

 

[jimh406]

It will pack if you drive it with your tractor. I do have a roller, but it’s not that heavy compared to my tractor with loaded tires.

 

[bmblank]

Ditto what Ruger said. I've got a 500gal propane tank that was converted into a roller. It does mostly good, but it IS lacking, particularly on the road. It may seem to push down the high spots, but what you end up with is a dense spot surrounded by a fluffier, less compacted area. That'll wash out, leaving the dense spot and you end up with a high spot in the same spot.

Big roller works well for sand, works mostly well for soil and for gravel roads... Maybe as well as adequate...

 

[William1]

When I have releveled areas, I just drive back and forth over it, over and over, moving about 6" to the side with each pass. It does not require a lot of attention or effort. Keep the FEL full of material and if when I make a pass, if I feel a dip, I scoop out of the FEL, and drive over again.
Gravel with only high spots, a roller is awesome and fast. But if there are holes, you have to fill and compact them first. Or box scrap to the lowest point and level (horrible job to do).

 

[River19]

I guess I can just regrade it for now and drive drive drive and let the loaded tires do the work..... the box blade does wonders for maintenance.

 

[Dave_eng]

After fighting wash outs and pot holes in my farm lane (3-400 feet long) I decided to invest some $ and use geo cell technology to re-build the worst areas.

geo cell

The cells go down over a geo textile fabric and are then filled with gravel. The cell structure keeps the gravel contained against wash outs and is often used in erosion control.

Before starting work I decided to make two cross drains in the areas where the worst water damage was occurring.

The cross drain was just a shallow trench (18" deep) dug across the lane way and extending a few feet on either side. A corrugated drainage tile was laid in the bottom of the trench.

Geotextile fabric was laid on top of the drainage tile and then road gravel with max 3/4" stone used to fill the depression.

To my amazement these two cross drains stopped all damage. No pot holes, no ruts.

The roll of geo textile 12' wide and in a roll 16" in diameter has been sitting on my front porch where the squirrels are ripping pieces off for nests.

There is no formal place for the cross drains to drain to yet they manage to deal with what once was a small river running down the lane..

I probably have $4,000 in geo cells and geo textile sitting unused because of the effectiveness of the cross drains.

A lot to say that if you focus on the water, the granular compaction you are considering as a solution to your lane damage will take care of itself.

Dave

 

[NHSleddog]

I grade a lot of roads and driveways and a roller will give an initial set to the surface. It is not compacting it down but nesting the loose surface together. I makes a big difference to how long the surface holds up. I know this from doing the same driveways year to year. It makes a big difference.

With the granular rake/blade finish, you never get a full flat surface, the same is true for compacting with your tires. Using the tires only does an ok job compacting but a terrible job for a flat graded surface, you will continue to add new ruts and tire marks.

 

[River19]

I grade a lot of roads and driveways and a roller will give an initial set to the surface. It is not compacting it down but nesting the loose surface together. I makes a big difference to how long the surface holds up. I know this from doing the same driveways year to year. It makes a big difference.

With the granular rake/blade finish, you never get a full flat surface, the same is true for compacting with your tires. Using the tires only does an ok job compacting but a terrible job for a flat graded surface, you will continue to add new ruts and tire marks.

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Thanks sir, this is what I had in mind.

I get that nothing is perfect, but that initial setting of the fines is what I had in mind. Multiple passes with the tractor tires is fine for when I am working a specific stretch but I don't think that is practical for all 550' over and over again.

The other thing this heavy period of rain has shown me with this property is that the wildflowers/weeds and associated dirt that tend to line the driveway act as a barrier/berm not allowing water to slide off the side but to pick up speed and follow the fall line down the driveway adding to erosion.

So short of water bars, I took the box blade on an angle and cut that berm down and created a better slope off the side into the drainage ditch. We'll see how it works.

 

[B737]

500 pounds empty, 1500 pounds full.

 

[NHSleddog]

500 pounds empty, 1500 pounds full.

Very nice. I like the 4 point stands. Mine just flops over on the ground.

 

[River19]

500 pounds empty, 1500 pounds full.

Wow. I didn't realize Ferrari built a roller......but if they did, that is it right there......

 

[B737]

I begrudgingly purchased that roller. But I think it is a practical solution to set very soft material the rake leaves behind. Most boring attachment ever!

 

[NHSleddog]

...Most boring attachment ever!

But one of my tractors favorites.

 

[B737]

before ordering I was very careful to consider tractor HP and PTO output

 

[Lil Foot]

60", 920lb roller.

 

[River19]

before ordering I was very careful to consider tractor HP and PTO output

Well of course. The last thing you want is an underpowered PTO when rolling......the roller could catch up to you and crush you...........

 

[bmblank]

Well of course. The last thing you want is an underpowered PTO when rolling......the roller could catch up to you and crush you...........

Hey, you laugh, but... Well, nothing to do with PTO or anything, but, when I'm pulling my 500 gallon roller full of water with my B7100... I have to be very careful when turning. 500 gallons of water doesn't like to just change directions on a whim.