I have several rutted roads I would like to smooth out. Seems to me the best way would be to lower the bucket, tilted down and drag backwards using the weight of the machine. Problem is my bucket has teeth that will wreck the road, the bottom of the bucket is too flat and smooth to really make a dent in it. Should I remove the teeth? Maybe some other technique? I have no clue what I am doing with this thing but I am having a pant-load of fun doing it. 28,000lb Komatsu d-41s
If what you're trying to grade is packed hard I think I'd backdrag with a very slight positive angle to the bucket so an inch or so of the teeh are penetrating and loosening the gravel. When you have enough loose material to fill with curl your bucket back so the teeth are no longer in contact and do your finish grading.
This time of year, I'll assume your roads are soft enough to smooth easily. I'd get a section of H or I beam as long as your bucket is wide or a plus a foot or two, then either bolt it to the bucket or rig a way to hang it with two chains so it gets pinched under the bucket when dragging back. Then you can adjust the angle also to slightly crown the road at the same time. That's just not a great tool for finish grading a road. Better yet, get a 2wd ag tractor and a three point blade, or just a pull behind driveway drag for behind a pickup or minivan or subaru.
If the material is not packed rock hard put the bucket level and back blade in float position. If the material is semi hard packed back blade in float with the teeth pointed down to loosen it. It will also knock the highest parts down. Then go over it again back blading with the bucket level in float position. Little grooves from the teeth won't make any difference since the road material obviously is affected by moisture. The teeth likely won't be a concern anyway as they are level with the wear strips on the bottom of the bucket. After back blading you could just drive on the road and pack it with the tracks. I have fixed many rough and muddy roads just by back blading with the bucket level in float position. That's what float is for. At the end of back blading you can slightly lift the bucket or curl up the bucket to feather any left over material out. Your bucket is plenty heavy enough you don't need down pressure and float let's you turn easily while backing up.
If you have real ruts and potholes in a hard road, the only way to fix them fully is to rip the road up to the bottom of the lowest rut or pothole. Otherwise, you are just putting more soft material in a hard bottomed spot that will let it go again. The other part of that is the repairs really only work when the weather is right and you have a roller. We don't all have a roller and grader with scarifier handy, so go ahead and rake up some workable stuff with those teeth and schmear it in, and then get a track on it if you can. You'll figure out how much to rake as you work it. It is trial and error and will change as conditions change.
Depending on the material you can turn side to side while backing up to loosen the top surface to have more material to fill and level minor irregularities. If you have deeper pot holes you should dig up around them to the same depth before leveling.
I am not sure my loader has “float” position. Off to figure that out.
It should if you push the lift control all the way down and then push it some more. Pretty much every loader has float position.
Yes it does have a detent below “down”. Never knew what it did. So what does it do? Lol I have no freakin clue what I am doing but I am having a lot of fun doing it.
The float position is putting the hydraulic valve essentially in "neutral". In this position the boom is setting down with only the weight of the bucket and boom on the ground and the hydraulic cylinders are not acting on it. As you travel it will float up and down with the terrain. When you are not in float the hydraulics are controlling the boom and the boom cannot rise without lifting the front of the machine up, and it cannot dig without pulling the front of the machine down. I don't personally find the float position very useful, but some guys like it.
Due to the geometry of the loader, it might or might not float going forward. Even with the bucket flat or pointing up, it can dig in and push the tracks up. In reverse it will float much better.
Not a good idea to use float going forward. If you happen to hit something solid or the bucket digs in the machine will keep driving essentially up the lift cylinders and slam the total weight of the machine on the lift cylinders which could cause considerable damage. Float works excellent for back blading and leveling or even just removing track marks. You have it, why not use it.