Warning: GPS-guided excavator leveled my driveway wrong

I tried using a Trimble GPS system on my skid steer to grade a 40-foot driveway near Omaha last week. Set it up with the digital plan and everything, but the machine dug 6 inches too deep on the east side because I didn't check the base station calibration. Turns out the reference point was off by a foot from a previous job... the dirt work looked perfect on the screen but the slope was all wrong. Has anyone else had their fancy guidance system give them false confidence?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_robin28d ago

The 6 inches is not great but honestly I have seen way worse from guys running tape measures and string lines in this area. You said the slope was wrong but was it actually un-driveable or just not what you had in your head? A lot of people freak out over half a foot of grade change on a driveway that is still going to get gravel on top anyway. That GPS stuff is just a fancy tape measure with a map. It still needs a human to check it once in a while.

patking28d ago

Fancy tape measure with a map" is right, but @anna567 has a point about rain turning that half-foot into a real mess.

anna56728d ago

Disagree. Six inches of wrong slope turns a driveway into a liability after rain.