Dealing with ice on the road instead of sanding

[BiffNH]

I have over a mile of dirt road to keep open, and while plowing is easy, it is the ice coatings we get from time to time that is much more of a problem. I don't maintain a large supply of sand under cover or salted so I have to sand the road by hand - having a sander come in costs over $100 each time! To reduce the need for sanding I use a DR Power Equipment grader. https://www.drpower.com/Power-Equipment/Power-Graders/DR-Power-Grader-/p/PG21148XXN

I use this in all the other seasons to maintain the road and until last year it was put in storage for the winter. This piece of equipment has carbide teeth that scarifies the road, and then a blade behind evens out the loose material. Now I use it to break through the ice and it even pulls up some of the gravel under the ice so that not only is the ice disrupted it disperses enough of the road material to make the road as good as if I had sanded it. A few passes usually does all I need to do!

 

[Doc]

Interesting.
Here is a pic from the link above.

 

[bczoom]

I have one of those I'm wanting to sell. It has a wireless remote and battery on the grader itself.
Pretty sure it's the one pictured below.
It has an electrical issue. When you hit the remote, it doesn't lift or lower. I have the troubleshooting manual (direct from DR) to get it fixed. I haven't bothered (yet) in that I have a 3-point landscape rake on the tractor which is better suited to my needs and terrain.
$350 as is/where is. More if I do the troubleshooting and repair it myself.

 

[BiffNH]

I have one of those I'm wanting to sell. It has a wireless remote and battery on the grader itself.
Pretty sure it's the one pictured below.
It has an electrical issue. When you hit the remote, it doesn't lift or lower. I have the troubleshooting manual (direct from DR) to get it fixed. I haven't bothered (yet) in that I have a 3-point landscape rake on the tractor which is better suited to my needs and terrain.
$350 as is/where is. More if I do the troubleshooting and repair it myself.

View attachment 13660

Where is this machine? I am in NH and would consider this if not too far away.

 

[bczoom]

Western PA. The closest I get to your location would be Buffalo or Rochester NY which I visit a few times per year.
I did some troubleshooting on it. The hydraulic piston is shot. DR doesn't offer an exact replacement (for the wireless controls) but has a retrofit kit to switch it over to a wired remote setup. Unfortunately, this "kit" is $350.
I started looking for an electric linear actuator as a replacement but kind of lost interest in the project since it's not a grader I'm likely to use again.
I will say that if you're in a hilly area of NH and towing this behind an ATV on something like a gravel drive, going uphill while dragging, the ATV can have a tough time of it.
I also have a York Rake TA-1 that I'm considering selling. Looks like what's in the picture below. It's an older one but in very good condition. If I go back to looking at linear actuators, I was thinking of putting one on this rake.

 

[BiffNH]

Western PA. The closest I get to your location would be Buffalo or Rochester NY which I visit a few times per year.
I did some troubleshooting on it. The hydraulic piston is shot. DR doesn't offer an exact replacement (for the wireless controls) but has a retrofit kit to switch it over to a wired remote setup. Unfortunately, this "kit" is $350.
I started looking for an electric linear actuator as a replacement but kind of lost interest in the project since it's not a grader I'm likely to use again.
I will say that if you're in a hilly area of NH and towing this behind an ATV on something like a gravel drive, going uphill while dragging, the ATV can have a tough time of it.
I also have a York Rake TA-1 that I'm considering selling. Looks like what's in the picture below. It's an older one but in very good condition. If I go back to looking at linear actuators, I was thinking of putting one on this rake.

View attachment 13673

Thanks for getting back to me. I get out to Ithaca once a year and won't be back that way till next year. I pull my grader with my X1100C and also a 4x2 Gator with no problems. I sold my York Rake after I found the rear blade on my B7800 and the DR Grader did a better job of maintaining my roads. Good luck with selling both.

 

[Semper-Fi]

I went & did it. Ordered the 60" DR power grader. The anticipated ship date 1/31/2022. Will see how it goes. We have appx. 800 feet of gravel drive. Added the 12foot extension kit, whenever i use the RTV. plus, the cinder block tie-downs, which has already arrived.

 

[BiffNH]

I feel confident that you will find that you use it as much in the winter as you do the other seasons! Have fun with it. I welded up a bracket to hold the two 1/2 solid blocks. I can add a third block if I want.

 

[BiffNH]

I went & did it. Ordered the 60" DR power grader. The anticipated ship date 1/31/2022. Will see how it goes. We have appx. 800 feet of gravel drive. Added the 12foot extension kit, whenever i use the RTV. plus, the cinder block tie-downs, which has already arrived.

How did the DR Grader work for you? Given our warmish weather the winter we have had two episodes of ice on the road. Both times my DR Grader has made the difference and I have not had to use sand.