When buying gravel for fill – The best gravel for your driveway will be 5/8″ minus, that will have sharp edges. Large or flat gravel pieces or smooth, roundish rocks cause problems such as pits. The pea-sized gravel tends to clump when pressed down by a tire, which is helpful.
The “quick fix” approach to gravel driveway maintenance – Over time, your gravel drive will inevitably develop potholes. You can get a pick and shovel and even out the gravel, then tap it down, but this solution leaves a weak area that will only produce another pothole in the same place. And it won’t take long for it to reappear, either (hence the term “quick fix”).
Long-term solutions to gravel driveway maintenance – Long-term repair solutions all have to do with big tools and heavy machinery. If you fix it yourself, these approaches require buying, renting, or borrowing machinery that can spread and compact gravel to form a smooth surface and reduce loose layers of rock.
You can hire this project out, and spare yourself the trouble of collecting a tractor, chain harrow, grader blade, box scraper, and all sorts of other intimidating machinery and tools. This was our choice for the first several years of our gravel driveway maintenance, and it worked out well, but your decision will be based on your own expertise and experience.
The proper care and feeding of a pothole –Potholes can be a pretty serious problem. Your best bet is to widen the pothole by taking out the entire section, then fill in the hole with layers of gravel, compacting each as you go.