Wear life is a huge priority during the winter months for plow blades. Having longer wear life means less blade changes in sub zero weather in the middle of a job, lower overall replacement costs, and reduces safety concerns.
Gravel roads have 3 main elements.
- A crowned driving surface
- A shoulder area that slopes directly away from the edge of the driving surface
- A ditch
The basic shape of the cross section must be correct, or a gravel road will not perform well, even under very low traffic.
According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), There are approximately 4,071,000 miles (6,552,000 km) of roads in the United States, with 2,678,000 miles (4,310,000 km) paved and 1,394,000 miles (2,243,000km) unpaved.
Keeping these roads in working condition requires a ton of maintenance. Depending on the health of the road, varying degrees of upkeep are required. Here are six types of road maintenance that can be used for each job.
A scarifier is used for tearing up pavement, or when a gravel road surface is too hard for a standard motor grader blade to cut through. It can also be used to break up packed ice and asphalt.
Scarifying can be done by attaching extremely strong “teeth” to the grader that dig into hard surfaces without damaging the grader blade. It has 11 removable teeth that can be adjusted to cut a maximum depth of 12 inches. There are options to use both scarifier teeth and tools depending on the job.
Using the wrong bolt can result in lost production time, costly maintenance time or expensive equipment damage. Look for the Xtendor® logo to ensure you are using the highest quality fastener on the market today. Don’t take a chance on using the wrong bolt when assembling your plow blade and scarifier blade systems.
Are you new to the industry or just confused by some of the road maintenance terminology? Here is a brief glossary of some of the more widely used terms in the road maintenance industry.
Gravel roads are farm to market roadways. As traffic has increased and gravel roads become more prevalent and are carrying larger loads it’s imperative to follow good maintenance protocol to keep roads safe and stable. You can think about gravel road maintenance in two categories: repairing and reshaping.
If you recall, we recently exhibited at the APWA Snow & Ice Show 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. We're so grateful to everyone who stopped by our booth and Chill Zone to say hello.
