Not to be critical but I would have set the scarifiers into the dirt about 3/4” then used the rake with enough down pressure to raise help keep the scarifiers from digging to far into the driveway. Yes you would pull a bit more gravel than normal but at that point you are ripping into the ground better as well as covering everything with the rake as well. I have the TR3 for my tractor so things are a bit different for me. I really wanted one of these but the price for it was the same as my first TR3e Property Edition😮
That is an excellent suggestion. My only concern is that with the rake down, I would move too much gravel down the hill. I will have to give that a try.
I would you use the rake from the bottom up. On the initial runs I would just make passes in any direction but the tidy up passes would be with rake only going from bottom to top. Any gravel you drag at that point would fill in the ruts made by the scarifiers. You only need to adjust the rake to carry a little bit of rock as it goes. Or you can carry a lot depends on your mood at that point! Cheers!
The reason the vehicles are ' spinning ' is because over time rain and gravity has washed the biggest pieces of gravel down the hill. You need something bigger than that to fix your issues. Try taking a box blade and pulling all that stone up to the rest of the road.
I bought the exact same set up for my dirt road and going to try the crowning with the one wheel by side that allows you to do it. Have you tried doing a crown with yours yet? My road has been a work in progress adding filler as I can using asphalt dirt.
I purchased the 5'.5" model. I am using an ATV with 750 CC displacement. It works great. Y ou can see the recommended minimum size ATV/UTV fo each size here: www.abiattachments.com/product/gravel-rascal-atv-driveway-road-grader/
Hi Travis. Excellent suggestion. I had considered getting one of those.That would probably work well for a surface grooming, but it would not have dug down deep enough to bring the gravel back up from where it had been pushed into the base material.
I was nervous about spending that much money as well, but it is well worth the price for me. I have 3/4 of a mile of hilly, gravel driveway. I have used it several times now and it does a great job smoothing out and grooming the gravel. I have stopped for the winter, but am looking forward to next Spring. Being able to fix imperfections on my driveway before they get serious is extremely valuable. I expect that I will recoup my investment quickly as paying someone to bring equipment out and do work on my driveway is $300 to $500 a day, depending on what I need done.
Hi Cliff, You are correct, additional weight was what was needed, as well as a steady speed doing a pattern that eliminated the effects of the tool jumping caused by hitting larger rocks. The Gravel Rascal weighs 370 pounds which is plenty to penetrate most surfaces, but I am still learning how to set it up properly. You can adjust the weight on the rippers or the rake by raising the wheels/lowering the tool further. In my case, I don't think I used quite enough weight on the first attempt with the rake, resulting in the wash-boarding. The second time, when I did the serpentine pattern, I made sure that I increased the weight on the rake to get the impact I needed to smooth the surface down more deeply to eliminate the wash-boarding and re-lay the gravel smoothly.
The cheapest way to add weight, if you are a DIY Guy, would be to get some scrap metal and make a bolt on bar that holds weight lifting weights. They are cheaper than suitcase weights and can be bought at Walmart or any of those box stores, for cheap. I have the TR3 and had the TR3e Luv them both but couldn’t keep both so I stuck with the TR3. Haven’t regretted it and it makes quick work out of bad driveways in no time! I have some videos of it on my page, check them out
Viewed, Liked, Subscribed, Shared, Commented! Love driveway work, rakes, box blades, soil conditioners... Great video and content! Share more!
You have to loosen up enough material to get it to level out like you want it
In the UK here we use spike harrows mate that'll level it out mate 👍
How much did the Gravel Rascal Pro cost?
Not to be critical but I would have set the scarifiers into the dirt about 3/4” then used the rake with enough down pressure to raise help keep the scarifiers from digging to far into the driveway.
Yes you would pull a bit more gravel than normal but at that point you are ripping into the ground better as well as covering everything with the rake as well. I have the TR3 for my tractor so things are a bit different for me. I really wanted one of these but the price for it was the same as my first TR3e Property Edition😮
That is an excellent suggestion. My only concern is that with the rake down, I would move too much gravel down the hill. I will have to give that a try.
I would you use the rake from the bottom up. On the initial runs I would just make passes in any direction but the tidy up passes would be with rake only going from bottom to top. Any gravel you drag at that point would fill in the ruts made by the scarifiers. You only need to adjust the rake to carry a little bit of rock as it goes. Or you can carry a lot depends on your mood at that point!
Cheers!
looks 👍 good
What's that cost?
The reason the vehicles are ' spinning ' is because over time rain and gravity has washed the biggest pieces of gravel down the hill. You need something bigger than that to fix your issues. Try taking a box blade and pulling all that stone up to the rest of the road.
Would love to know what your update is on this? Are you still loving the tool? Would you buy it again?
I bought the exact same set up for my dirt road and going to try the crowning with the one wheel by side that allows you to do it. Have you tried doing a crown with yours yet? My road has been a work in progress adding filler as I can using asphalt dirt.
I have not tried doing a crown. My driveway generally is canted in one direction or another.
Great video. I’m curious. What size Gravel Rascal did you get? What are the ccs of you ATV?
I purchased the 5'.5" model. I am using an ATV with 750 CC displacement. It works great. Y ou can see the recommended minimum size ATV/UTV fo each size here: www.abiattachments.com/product/gravel-rascal-atv-driveway-road-grader/
Needs rolling afterwards ,can you fit rollers on the back of the rake 👍
I do not think that they are offered by ABI.
I’d go with a chain drag harrow.
How is the Rascal holding up?
how bout the ball field thing that drags like a chain fence but heavy for your situation
Hi Travis. Excellent suggestion. I had considered getting one of those.That would probably work well for a surface grooming, but it would not have dug down deep enough to bring the gravel back up from where it had been pushed into the base material.
I'm considering buying 1 of these, they're not cheap... Is it worth the money in your opinion?
I was nervous about spending that much money as well, but it is well worth the price for me. I have 3/4 of a mile of hilly, gravel driveway. I have used it several times now and it does a great job smoothing out and grooming the gravel. I have stopped for the winter, but am looking forward to next Spring. Being able to fix imperfections on my driveway before they get serious is extremely valuable. I expect that I will recoup my investment quickly as paying someone to bring equipment out and do work on my driveway is $300 to $500 a day, depending on what I need done.
Is it easy to attach and unattached from your quad?
Yes it is. I just make sure the rake is down, otherwise as it disconnects, the back goes down and it is impossible to reconnect.
More weight on it might work better mate 👍
Hi Cliff, You are correct, additional weight was what was needed, as well as a steady speed doing a pattern that eliminated the effects of the tool jumping caused by hitting larger rocks. The Gravel Rascal weighs 370 pounds which is plenty to penetrate most surfaces, but I am still learning how to set it up properly. You can adjust the weight on the rippers or the rake by raising the wheels/lowering the tool further. In my case, I don't think I used quite enough weight on the first attempt with the rake, resulting in the wash-boarding. The second time, when I did the serpentine pattern, I made sure that I increased the weight on the rake to get the impact I needed to smooth the surface down more deeply to eliminate the wash-boarding and re-lay the gravel smoothly.
The cheapest way to add weight, if you are a DIY Guy, would be to get some scrap metal and make a bolt on bar that holds weight lifting weights. They are cheaper than suitcase weights and can be bought at Walmart or any of those box stores, for cheap. I have the TR3 and had the TR3e Luv them both but couldn’t keep both so I stuck with the TR3. Haven’t regretted it and it makes quick work out of bad driveways in no time! I have some videos of it on my page, check them out
washboards