Any recommendations for a drag for the dirt road?
Dave
Does anyone have a suggestion for a home made drag, to haul
behind a pickup or van (both have hitches) to help with the
washboarding and the "hump" in the middle? The roadway is
graded decomposed granite (and dust). The heavy grading every
few years is not a problem, but we need something to do the
lighter work needed in between.
Tried just one railroad tie, and all it did was bounce, so that
idea needs more work. Other suggestions have been to drag a
length of chain link fence, with or without the railroad tie, and
to bolt several tires together.
Internet searches have come up with several ads for commercial
equipment, and photos of earlier road crew items, and plenty of
info on how to build a proper road, but nothing much so far on
small scale stuff.
What has worked for you???
I realise that probably the best is a commercial one for a
tractor, but we won't have a tractor for a few years.
Thanks,
Dave
The Rock Garden
"Dave" <clock...@prodigy.net> wrote:
> Does anyone have a suggestion for a home made drag, to haul
> behind a pickup or van (both have hitches) to help with the
> washboarding and the "hump" in the middle? The roadway is
> graded decomposed granite (and dust). The heavy grading every
> few years is not a problem, but we need something to do the
> lighter work needed in between.
Yo Dave:
Back more years than I want to recall, when we lived on a dirt road, as I
recall my father used to fashion two or three heavy planks (2x8, 2x10,
2x12?) together in tandem and pile rocks on them to hold them down.
Also as I recall, and you're *really* testing the memory here, try to drag
when the road is somewhat damp and drive slow to reduce the "jumping" by the
drag.
Skip
Skip & Christy Hensler
THE ROCK GARDEN
Newport, WA
http://www.povn.com/rock/
Iguana
wrote:
>Hi All,
>Does anyone have a suggestion for a home made drag,
I just heard a good idea for a drag.A trailer tongue off a
manufactured home. When it is delivered to the site, the axles are
removed and the tongue is unbolted , pushed under the home and hidden
with sidling. I,m going to pull mine out and use it on my four miles
of dirt road.
bherms
breaking up dirt clods? hmmm ... I guess some weight on them would
help.
Bill
Dean Hoffman
Part of a post from
clock...@prodigy.net (Dave):
>Does anyone have a suggestion for a
> home made drag, to haul behind a
> pickup or van (both have hitches) to
> help with the washboarding and the
> "hump" in the middle? The roadway is
> graded decomposed granite (and dust).
> The heavy grading every few years is
> not a problem, but we need something
> to do the lighter work needed in
> between.
You might be able to find something at a farm sale, cheap and ready
made. Modern farmers think they need a blade that tilts six ways to
Sunday. A drag small enough to pull behind a pickup should go cheap.
An alternative might be an old harrow. I think the sections were six
feet wide. The tines were adjustable with a single lever on each
section. A harrow like this is obsolete. It should be almost free at a
farm sale. Farmers used these in gangs of three or five in my area
years ago.
Check with farmers you know, especially the older ones. Somebody will
probably have an old harrow out in the trees.
Good luck,
Dean
David Sewell
Dave <clock...@prodigy.net> wrote:
>Does anyone have a suggestion for a home made drag, to haul
>behind a pickup or van (both have hitches) to help with the
>washboarding and the "hump" in the middle?
I've just created a web page with photos & description of a very
low-tech homemade drag bar that my brother-in-law built to drag
the 1/3-mile steep gravel driveway at our place:
http://www.people.virginia.edu/~drs2n/dragbar.html
--
David Sewell, University of Virginia
dr...@virginia.invalid (replace "invalid" with "edu" to reply by email!)
http://www.people.virginia.edu/~drs2n/
Core DumpŠ
bru...@concentric.net says...
I'd like to see someone pull out the tongue from under the home. That's
one of those ideas that sounds easier than it really is.
Let us know how you did it....
--
- gw
Now with our exclusive TimeBack Guarantee.
If you feel that your time has been wasted reading this post,
we will gladly add the time back to the end of your life span.
Ecnerwal
depends which way you want the excess dirt to move). Weight variable
(pile things on it). Accessorires (chains, etc) optional. Bolting a
couple to a few railroad ties will make the whole assbmbly longer, which
makes it grade more and follow the humps less.
jerry dowdy
If you can find it ,the best home made drag
for smoothing up dirt/gravel roads can be
made with 2 6' lengths of 8" channel iron.
Set them side by side about 5 or 6 feet
apart and bolt or weld two cross pieces
to hold them in that position ,bolt or weld
the ends of 10' of 5/16' chain to the ends
of one of the 6' channel
irons drop the center of the chain over your hitch ball make sure the channel
is web side
up . You can add weight, if needed with ties or logs laying across the channel
and tied to the
braces. I tow this with a ford f250 2 wheel drive no problems ,speed should be
around
5 or 6 mph to reduce bounce. I also used a
20' version to smooth up a 1/2 acre gravel
parking lot it took about 10 minutes with an
old massy mf80e pulling it.Old trailer frames
are a good source for the channel,also heavy
angle will work it just wears out faster.
Jerry the blacksmith
Rally
put weight on the top......tires, timbers, whatever, it
works......gives enough clearance for the smaller stones to bounce
through........
Good luck
Rally
Larry Caldwell
> Hi All,
> Does anyone have a suggestion for a home made drag, to haul
> behind a pickup or van (both have hitches) to help with the
> washboarding and the "hump" in the middle? The roadway is
> graded decomposed granite (and dust). The heavy grading every
> few years is not a problem, but we need something to do the
> lighter work needed in between.
How are you with a welder? You really need something a couple feet wider
than the driving surface, to rake the gravel back onto the road. Cars
driving through puddles toss a lot of gravel off the road, which builds
up on the shoulder and makes the ruts worse. You need something shaped
kind of like this on the leading edge:
\_______/ which you could weld up pretty easy out of heavy angle iron.
Hook three of these together with steel cable, with maybe something with
teeth in between, and you would have a pretty good drag. Put the
transfer case in low range and take it at 1 mph. Your bouncing problem
was because you were going too fast, plus the railroad tie didn't have a
cutting edge.
Alternatively, try welding angle iron to the bottom edges of the railroad
tie. It will cut better. You still need something longer than the road
is wide, so maybe a tie and a half, bolted together on an angle iron
base.
You can sometimes find junk angle iron pretty cheap. I picked up several
lengths of 5x5x3/8 that used to be a radio tower for $.03 a lb. not long
ago. It went for scrap because it had a bunch of bolt holes drilled in
it. BFD.
If you don't have a cutting torch, chuck a metal blade in a sawzall and
keep cutting oil on the cut.
Ecnerwal
with 16d nails driven through.
Jeepers!
> Hi All,
> What has worked for you???
>
An old cattleguard, upside down. Works extremely well.
Also...
Three large tractor tires, liad out in a triangle, bolted together through
the tread, chained with two chains to a to bar, chained to the hitch.
They use this method in south Texas where they (Immigration, Border Patrol)
drag these things for miles & miles down the side of the highways to detect
footprints of illegal aliens (wetbacks) crossing the roadways. This leaves a
very nice flat roadway.
--
RANDOM THOUGHT FEED©
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he
will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.
John Eaton
: Hi All,
: Does anyone have a suggestion for a home made drag, to haul
: behind a pickup or van (both have hitches) to help with the
: washboarding and the "hump" in the middle? The roadway is
Go to your local gravel hole and ask them about their worn out
gravel screens. These are used to sort the rocks into various
sizes and do a great job when pulled down a driveway.
John Eaton
John Gilmer
"bherms" <bhe...@rnet.com> wrote in message
news:3c31b533...@news.earthlink.net...
> My step dad said an old bed springs was good ... or was that for
> breaking up dirt clods? hmmm ... I guess some weight on them would
> help.
Hey, run an ad. Maybe some couples will PAY YOU to ride on top of that
spring set!
>
> Bill
Dave
I must be getting slow... It took several readings before I got
that just now...
dave
Dave
wrote:
>Hi All,
Thanks everyone for your help!
A search of the Obligitory Junk Pile did find an old military
style cot frame with wire and springs, but also a six foot
section of what appears to be caisson section. This is a z
shaped piece of about 12" steel, with channels at the ends for
locking together, and it ought to be heavy enough by itself to do
the job. Now for some chain, and holes in it to attach the
chain!
Again, Thanks!
Dave