Power Harrow question

Dukes Fit

Member
Location
Aberdeenshire
Looking for a relatively cheap 3m power harrow to rip up and level my driveway as the postie and numerous van drivers have left it looking like the RAF have been conducting bombing raids on it!

Question is would a reciprocating harrow do as good a job as a rotary one? They seem to go for a lot less money.

It's basically to fill all the holes and level it before beating it in to submission with a vibrating roller. Have been looking for Maschio as they are a decent machine and cheaper than Kuhn or Amazone.

Any advice?
 

Dukes Fit

Member
Location
Aberdeenshire
It's basically a hardcore/gravel drive. Nothing too serious, the guy that built the house wasn't exactly generous with the stone content.

I fixed it just under 2 years ago but it's full of holes again. Gave several posties and van drivers a bollocking after many polite attempts and it slowed them right down but they're back to normal again.

Thinking if I work it about 4 inches deep and keep a slow forward speed it'll not be too sore on it and it'll fill the holes
 

DrDunc

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Dunsyre
A forklift or loader with a heavy bucket back blading some tar planings or type one, then a vibratory roller will create a lovely smooth road. It's what I did with the farm road here.

The trick is to then keep water off the surface. That's what does the damage, vehicle traffic doesn't churn it up unless it's softened first.
 

Dukes Fit

Member
Location
Aberdeenshire
The levels are all to cock but that's only the start of the problem. I've got a video of the postie van going so quick down my road that at one point you actually lose sight of the van as he hits the puddle so fast it's like a WRC car :mad::mad:

Came back one day to find wheel spin marks about 50m long and you could see where he changed gear because you could see the tread marks of the tire appear! I lost the plot that day and got the local manager out to see it for himself. At the same time I told him one of his vans had a buggered gearbox, he replied it did and asked how I knew, told him because I can hear it crunching in to 3rd gear before it gets past my kitchen window! I also promised violence if the same postie ever appeared again.

The plan is to get some planings in if I can get them locally. Haulage from any distance would be a nightmare as I'd need about 200 tons.
 

agrimax

Member
Location
Co Down
You need to break the surface with a heavy duty grubber or the like first. Then the ph might have a chance of levelling it.You'll break bolts,tines,rotors,ruin the slip clutch and shake the linkage arms etc to bits if you keep the ph on hard ground for any length of time,especially at 4'' deep! Loosen it first.
 

Dukes Fit

Member
Location
Aberdeenshire
You need to break the surface with a heavy duty grubber or the like first. Then the ph might have a chance of levelling it.You'll break bolts,tines,rotors,ruin the slip clutch and shake the linkage arms etc to bits if you keep the ph on hard ground for any length of time,especially at 4'' deep! Loosen it first.

Planning to give it a loosen up with the land rake on a 360 or just tooth it with the 3cx first. Admittedly 4" is too deep, just want to get enough material to fill the holes and get a uniform surface before battering it down with a twin drum vibe roller
 

KennyO

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Angus
@Dukes Fit Once you get it nice and level what about sticking a post box at the end of the road. Stop the postie fecking it up again.

We have a mile long dirt road up to Mum & Dads (and 6 other houses) It is a nightmare to keep level- as soon as Dad sorts it the traffic gets faster.

ps we just use a home made levelling bar. Sometimes give it a run with a grubber to slacken it. It would kill the power harrow.
 

Pennine Ploughing

Member
Mixed Farmer
needs to be done when really dry, speed is not as big a problem as water, you need to keep the water off, or you are just wasting your time, needs to be higher in the middle than the sides, and really well compacted good and hard, once its a really good job it will last a lot longer, you could put some motorway crash barrier in laid in the track to shed water off, they work well if put at an angle with fall, some speed bumps would slow them down, but as I said speed is not the real problem, as for a power harrow it would need to be small stone and lousend up first, a good 3cx driver would be better back blading with front bucket and back arm to one side sticking out, then other way, this will leave it high in the middle for water run off
 

snipe

Member
Location
west yorkshire
heaviest girder you can find the width of track, cut and weld in middle at a slight angle to leave the middle of track a bit higher, x2 weld one in front of other about 2.5 meters apart with some girder down the side. drag it one way with a chain then drive round other side and drag it back. can have some one following and keep tipping road plannings in middle of 2 girders. couple of hundred £££s.
 

Dukes Fit

Member
Location
Aberdeenshire
@Dukes Fit Once you get it nice and level what about sticking a post box at the end of the road. Stop the postie fecking it up again.

We have a mile long dirt road up to Mum & Dads (and 6 other houses) It is a nightmare to keep level- as soon as Dad sorts it the traffic gets faster.

ps we just use a home made levelling bar. Sometimes give it a run with a grubber to slacken it. It would kill the power harrow.

That's the plan, post box at the end of the road and a sign telling them to slow down.

@Pennine Ploughing agree water is usually the main problem but in this case it's definitely speed. There's stones in the grass where they've come flying out with the force they hit the puddles at.

Going to pull all the stones back in to the road with the 3cx, loosen it all up with the teeth of the 3ft bucket then as others have suggested either a levelling bar or power harrow to get it uniform then get the roller on to it.


Still though nobody has answered the original question?
 

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