Grade-A Power Grader - Green Gazette

This utility vehicle attachment can smooth out even the roughest driveways, and costs considerably less than tractor-mounted blades.

October/November 2006
By Bryan Welch 
DrivewayGrader
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This DR Power Grader can smooth out even the roughest driveways.
BRYAN WELCH
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Anyone who has graded a driveway using a blade on a tractor knows that you need to put a lot of weight on the blade to do any good. But that’s not the only approach that works.

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Last year DR Power Equipment introduced the Power Grader, an ingenious invention that grades dirt and gravel surfaces using a lawn tractor or ATV. We took advantage of the company’s trial offer and discovered that the grader works great!

The Power Grader is equipped with a line of carbide-steel “scarifiers,” or teeth, like those on some tractor blades, positioned in front of the grader’s blade. What makes the Power Grader different (in addition to not requiring a big tractor to pull it) is an actuator that lets you adjust the height of the grader’s wheels, raising or lowering the scarifiers.

I set the teeth a few millimeters below the roadbed for the first pass, then gradually lowered them until I had loosened 2 inches of rock and gravel. Then I pulled the grader up and down the driveway until it was just beautifully smooth. Compared to the tractor-mounted blades I’ve used, the Power Grader was easier to use and less likely to wreck the driveway.

At under $1,000 the Power Grader costs less than a box blade — not to mention the tractor you would need to pull it. And if you get some of your neighbors to share the cost, it becomes a very affordable way to keep country driveways in perfect condition.

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Comments

  • Emillie Eck 4/2/2009 4:56:00 AM

    My in-laws ordered one of these a while back and my DH and I helped put it together. It took quite a few passes on the long driveway for it to do its job. I dont recommend it for anything more than a regular driveway (no larger sized stone, gravel or rocks - a smoother surface to start or make sure its not too packed in - and that it isnt too "hilly"). Other than that its a good investment for the ex roadmaster for the township (my father in-law) or someone who just wants a good-lookin' driveway too impress the kin-folk!! :)

  • johnf 2/6/2008 9:44:52 AM

    The best investment I ever done. It works great!

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