bumper-mount washboard grader?

[saltamontes]

i am thinking of mounting 2 spring-loaded "claw-type" graders off the frt bumper directly in front of the tires to grade out washboards.

they would need to have tungsten or carbide tips for longevity, an adjustable spring exerting about 10-40lbs of downforce, each be as wide as the tires and run about 18" in front of the front tires.

i could mount them in duel front hitch receivers for quick de/install

would this actually work or have i gone totally lavadero loco?

 

[mountainpete]

I could see it working, but my first reaction is to put the teeth in the back of the vehicle and not in the front. Graders usually pull their claws don't they?

 

[ntsqd]

Air up the tires & drive faster. Works for me.

If knocking down the washboard is the goal more than simply smoothing out the ride you're going to need shocks on the linkage btwn the 'blade' and the vehicle. Easier would be to weight a section of chain link fencing ( even better would be some spud digger chain), put a drawbar across the front of it, and drag it behind you.

 

[gjackson]

I think you'll be burning so much gas grading the road you won't be able to get anywhere. A grader is a BIG machine. Mass is on its side. You don't have mass and you have a bunch of stuff that could get royally screwed up if the road proves tougher than your truck!

Just my 0.02c

cheers

 

[Haggis]

What kind of material are you trying to grade? Hardpan or gravel? If it's hardpan you will not get good results because you will need downpressure to act with the dragging motion to dig into the material, without it you'll just bounce over the top of the troughs. If you leveling gravel, washed or bank run, a good old school trick is to take and old boxspring lay it upside down, throw a piece of plywood on top, load up with rocks, blocks or whatever for weight, attach to your truck with a length of chain and tow away. Works really well for such a redneck contraption. I wouldn't attach anything to your bumber, it would be just asking for some damage. In the long run it would probably be cheaper just to hire a guy with a small dozer or if you have some experience operating just go rent one with a six way blade for a day.

 

[HenryJ]

Rail it. If you are trying to grade the wash board on a gravel driveway it will work.
Chain two pieces of railroad iron in a "V" .You will need to have mounting points spread apart to keep the V open and chains long enough to allow it to lay flat when being pulled. This smooths and levels.

 

[Signcutter21]

Besides the V or chain link meathod, heres a trick the Border Patrol uses for smothing out the edges of roads. Takes multiple passes but over time soften ups the dirt for the season. Grab three, or six, old tires. connect them in a V formation with small chains with Tbars or one LONG piece of rope wire. Put a loop on the V end and hook it up on the tow hook/ ball on the rear bumper. pull it slowly down the road to tear up the ground, but not so much to leave a dust cloud to blow it all away.

still like the idea of renting/ hiring a bulldozer to help you out.

hope that helps. mike

 

[saltamontes]

i am brainstorming this idea for traveling on dirt roads in the middle of nowhere that i may not travel back over.. ever.

for example, baja roads w/ heavy washboard that can be "graded down" to be more manageable at speed.

granted, the road would have to consist of sand/gravel and the washboards must hot have hardened too much but a lot of the washboard i see seems to be comprised mostly of non-packed sand and small crushed rock that is easily knocked down by 1/2 height just w/ your hand.

putting the grader behind the truck would not help as the ride i am hoping to improve is my own (unless i drive in reverse).

the width of ea of the 2 "graders" would only need be the width of ea tire and the preload would be adjusted just to knock down the top of the washboards.
as such it should not have an appreciable affect on the forward momentum of the vehicle.

i do not think a snowplow shaped grader is needed as the washboards only need be knocked down, not flattened smooth.
the end of the grader arm impacting the dirt may be as simple as 3 or 5 carbide tips (like those seen on a ditchwitch) arranged in a forward triangle pattern.

adding a shock to the spring is a good idea to dampen rebound.

true, its a hassle to put on /take off .. but if you are faced w/ 50 mi of washboard roads .. it may improve the ride and allow for greater speed w/ less vehicle vibration.

you would have to safety cable it in place to ensure you do not run over something if it brakes.

following vehicles would also benefit by following in your tracks.

somewhere where asphalt is rare, someone must have experimented w/ something like this... unless i am totally nuts

i have the feeling however, thats the vibrations have less to do w/ the top 1/2 of the washboards that are somewhat "smoothed out" as the tires pass over, and more to do w/ the compacted 1/2 of the washboard that exists underneath (that is too hard to level w/out some serious equip)

 

[ntsqd]

Having run some of those Baja roads (B1 -> El Arco, San Ig -> El Currenta -> San Juanico, etc.) I'll re-offer my first suggestion. Air up, use your choice of Bils/SAW/Fox/King dampers, drive faster.

For instance I found that 43-45 mph with a ~5k lbs, 129" WB @ 50 psi worked exceptionally well on the road to El Arco, but 20 mph would vibrate your fillings loose. Usually the point where you feel the least in control is just short of the speed where it smoothes out. Bring your A driving game though.

 

[Haggis]

saltamontes, not to sound like an *ss, but if it's not your road or your property why are you wanting to graded it. Enjoy the road the way its is and travel at a speed your comfortable with or don't go on it at all. As a property owner of my own and with the business (timberland holdings), people mucking with the access roads is a great way to get yourself and other people kicked off the property. And natives don't like tourist mucking with their lands.

 

[viter]

IMO, this would just be a hassle that will slow you down and not improve the ride that much, because if the layer you are thinking of grading is easy enough to grade with what you are suggesting I would think the tires themselves would flatten it out. and if the tires (each one having about 1000 lbs. of weight on it can't smooth out that layer then I doubt a light-weight grader set-up would. another thing you might be risking is running into an unexpected bump on the road that the "grader" attachment will "bite" into instead of sliding over it, thus inflicting a big rearward force on the vehicle and possibly breaking things.

although, I don't think the nattives would mind you making their road smoother

so IMO, it is too much hassle and risk for too little benefit

if it was me, I would just experiment with tire pressure to find that "sweet spot" where it feels the best...

good luck!

 

[ntsqd]

As I recall from reading the report on a study done years ago in Alaska about how washboard is created, it is primarily the fault of the tires and secondarily caused by the dampers (or lack thereof).

What happens is that each tire pushes up a "bow wake" of dirt. When that moving pile gets big enough that it can't all move out to the way fast enough the tire rolls over it and the process starts again. Poor damper performance & low tire pressure each contributes to the formation of washboard.
The first vehicle to drive down a freshly graded road re-starts the washboard process. The next vehicle's suspension is excited by the miniscule washboard left in the wake of the first vehicle. Each succeeding vehicle's suspension is excited by the existing washboard and promotes the process, gradually deepening the washboard until grading is again required.

If the dampers are effective then it is much harder for the washboard to excite the suspension, nipping the promotion in the bud.

 

[saltamontes]

yeah i read that report also. i think it also mentioned that if everyone kept it under 20mph there would be no washboards.

 

[ntsqd]

It did say that. I contend that it's wrong using Baja's backroads and the native's normally slow speeds as an example. Can not convince me that the Norte's cause all of the washboard down there with their higher speeds.

The root of the problem is poor damping, not speed. Off road race courses get rough, but I've never seen one develop washboard.