Thanks for the info! The more I learn about these the better. I've got a 3.5 ton mini-excavator (35G) is that enough to pack them, or do I need to rent a roller?
I have done many driveways and access roads, as for is your excavator heavy enough, yes and NO
and the reason I says yes and no, is, yes it will pack things pretty well, but by design there made to NOT have a lot of down force on tracks, there designed to have low ground pressure, so to stay on top of things
so, while its a rather heavy machine compared to a car, its not like a vehicles of equal weight on tires
if you have access to a vibrating roller, that will always be best, as its what its made for!
but I have gotten very good results with just using other things too, depends on how professional you need it maybe!
what I do at hunting camp and others up that way, is,
for finishing things, I been using a skid steer (tires not tracks) about 8500 lbs mine is!
and run it over things in a few directions, to get it packed to what it can
I then take a larger tired vehicle, be it a dump truck or my diesel pickup truck, and roll it that way
the problem with the way I do things, is its very time consuming, but I typically only do this , that way on smaller jobs>
other wise a roller comes in
but as I said, it can be done, using your excavator, you just won;t get the same packing as you would with a vibrating roller!
also keep in mind when your adding the base layer and adding more fill to things,
PACK each layer as you go, by running tracks over every inch you can, and go just a 2-3-4 inches at a time when doing so with the tracks, as if you put down too deep a layer at a time, you will NOT get it packed tight!
keep in mind when building things, HOW much weight will be using the road./drive way and well, be honest HOW often will you be using it
as if its gets rarely used, or you can wait to use it when conditions are BEST, you can get away with a lesser road
but if your going to plan LONG term, and plans will change, do it right the first time, be way cheaper in the long run!
and don't forget that a lot of gravel, millings and such, can be spread with the dump truck doing , if they have the skills to do so!, that can save a ton of time spent in a machine spreading it out