Lawn Roller for Gravel Driveway

[lyle11]

I read the past topic on lawn rollers, but my intended use is not for rolling over grass. I need a roller for a 1/4 mile long driveway. I plan to pull it with a Cub so I put this on the Cub forum. This is at my place in Wisconsin which I have closed up until next spring, but I want to get a roller by next April and might find an end of the season sale so I figured I’d start looking now.

What I have is a neglected driveway that hadn’t had gravel added for almost 20 years. This fall I had 5 loads of gravel spread which covered about 1/2 of the length of the driveway. It is the type of gravel that consists of small rocks, sand and some clay and is supposed to repel and shed rain once it is compressed.

Unless it can be fabricated very easily I’m probably looking at buying the roller. I have found there are basically 2 types of rollers that you fill with water. Poly and steel. Poly costs about 60% of the cost of a steel roller. They weigh in the 500-1000 LB range full of water depending on the size. I read the reviews and it’s sounds like most function fine but may have some fixable design flaws.

I have found at least 2 that are manufactured in USA which are Brinly and Ohio Steel. Other brands are Fimco and Agri-Fab but I haven’t researched them. They are typically special order items at places like Home Depot or Menards and not in the store to look at.

Ideally I would like a 5’ wide roller that I could take up and down one time to roll 1/2 of the width of the gravel on the way down and 1/2 on the way back up.

I realize I can call the manufacturers and ask questions but mainly I wanted to ask if anyone has used one of these store bought rollers to compress gravel. My concern is whether the poly is will hold up on gravel. I read it is about the thickness of a 5 gallon pail. The steel rollers are more durable but eventually rust out because it’s impossible to drain 100% of the water. For one I read the steel is 14 gauge.

Also, other than volume to add water for weight, I’m not sure if a 5’ wide X 24” diameter would be better than an 5’ wide X 18” diameter roller.

From what I have read the Cub should be able to handle a 1000 LB roller. The driveway has a steady (guessing 20 degree) incline.

I’m just looking for any comments or opinions on what might work for this application, whether you have owned one or not.

Thanks

[Eugene]

Own a 30 gallon poly lawn roller. Works well for lawns, not so sure about a gravel drive. The poly gets significant cuts/dings from parking area gravel that creeps into the lawn.

Might try the equipment rental locations to see if they have one and cost.

Have a gravel drive on the acreage. Compacting is not a problem. Lots of traffic; large trucks, tractors with trailers, and cars compact fresh gravel.

[Ky Cub]

Buy a steel and fill it with sand, works good.

[lyle11]

Thanks Eugene. I could probably drive my Cub, or heavier but unreliable Allis Chalmers B, up and down the driveway to pack it down. I only go there 6 times per year, about a week at a time, so it doesn’t get regular traffic. There are some big ruts under the gravel I had spread. Some places the new gravel is at least 8” deep and other places 4” deep. So I’m trying to find a way to smash it down more uniformly so the surface is flatter. It was way too wet when I was there last week to do anything.

I’ll see what other opinions I get but a $200 poly roller wouldn’t be that big of any expense if it only held up for a few years until I get it back into reasonable shape.

[lyle11]

I was just walking my dogs and saw this at the local park. I’ve walked here almost every day for years and never saw it before. Maybe it’s an omen telling me to get a steel roller.

C6F3A5DA-0239-45A6-9415-88591D6C03D3.jpeg (44.58 KiB) Viewed 7407 times

[Don McCombs]

I definitely think you would be disappointed with a plastic roller, for the task you want to accomplish.

[dgrapes59]

I bought a used 4' plastic roller (I am cheap), it appeared to be well built and in good shape. I filled it with water and used it to pack down the crushed limestone I spread in part of my driveway. I watered it after I spread it and it packed down real nice. I used it to roll a lot of places in my yard, pulling it with a 4-wheeler and my RTV. It developed a crack in the plastic near the axle. So much for it!
I picked up a metal one, Ohio Steel, looks similar to the one you posted, for $50 at a garage sale (I am cheap). It has bearings in the center for the axle and is built much better than the plastic one.
So, based on my experience, if you intend to use it a lot, spring for the metal one and I don't think you will be sorry.
Good luck,

[lyle11]

Thanks very much for the replies. I’m going with steel. I’ll probably start with enough sand to get it up to about 500 LBs and see if it’s heavy enough to do the job. Wish I could find a used one but I’d have to haul it 700 miles.

[Winfield Dave]

Keep an eye out on Craigslist and Facebook marketplace. I have seen several steel ones in the past cheap.

[outdoors4evr]

Definitely fill it with something other than water. Cement or Sand. I have a 1000 lb steel roller and it doesn't do much on my driveway. The weight is spread out over 5 feet.

[Don McCombs]

Of the three, concrete has the highest specific weight at 148 pounds per cubic foot. A little hard to get in that little fill hole, though.

[Jim Becker]

Keep in mind that dry material, like sand, will be very hard to pull unless you completely fill the roller.

[Eugene]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_pressure

Above link has a chart of the approximate ground pressure per vehicle or animal.

Suggest figuring out the approximate ground pressure of the filled roller, then compare to the chart.

My thought is that it would be faster, cheaper, and do a better job, to drive your vehicles over the gravel several times to pack it down.

[wrink3]

I use the Ohio Steel one that has a 24x48 steel roller and is supposed to weigh ~920 lbs when full of water. The 184 pulls it easily but it is better to go slow when trying to compress material. It does pretty with crushed base limestone mix with a couple of passes.

I can easily pick up one end and dump the water out of it for winter. Water is also cheap. The roller is probably thin enough to knock a hole into it if you go too fast when it's empty and hit a sharp rock. I also like that it is easily transportable(loaded with water) on the tractor trailer on so I can use it at another place I have that doesn't have water.

[lyle11]

Thanks for all the replies. I have my sister who is local to the Wisconsin place keeping an eye out for a used one on Craigslist, etc. It costs me nothing to follow Eugene’s advise. Worst case is I don’t like the result and buy a roller to smooth it out.

I’m hindered by the fact that the place is 700 miles from where I live. We had 4 1/2” of rain in the gauge when I arrived there last week and my new gravel was like freshly mixed cement. My foot would sink in several inches. I drove my car up and down with the tires on one side in the new gravel and it picked up enough gravel in the wheel that it threw the balance of the wheel off and I had to stop and clean it out at a rest stop the next time I drove the car over 60 MPH. It’s been such a wet year there that it actually took several weeks to get dry enough conditions so the dump truck could spread it.

So, even though tractor tires or car tires will compress it better, it’s a mess of ruts underneath the new gravel and my hope was that as the Cub wheels compress the gravel, the roller behind it smooths it out so my surface doesn’t mirror the ruts underneath the gravel. The gravel was spread heavy in the rutted areas and about 4” in the smoother areas.

At this point I’ve got 5-6 months to decide what to do and see if a used roller becomes available.