just looking for feedback on what different factors cause duck walking and if anybody knows any good techniques to deal with it?
My opinion on what starts duckwalking:
when dumping is when one of the rear tires raises on the dumped material before the other and if the speed of the machine is constant, it puts the machine in a perpetual state of "wave" because of the weight of the machine that doesnt go away until both rear wheels are traveling on the same level at the same time for enough distance to get balanced.
when cutting, the opposite is true: it's when one side of the cutting edge hits the cut before the other or when the material you are cutting is softer or harder on one edge of the cut.
If I start duckwalking when I start dumping, I slow way down and lower the can so I'm half dumping, half grading. Of course you have to be very careful with the crowd so you're not putting too much pressure on the apron. If you're running by yourself (or without a motor grader cleaning up) and not worried about what's behind you for the other guys and i start duckwalking sometimes I'll just slow down a little and ride it out and let it duckwalk until I'm empty, then when I return to the fill with the next load I'll split the last one in half, keep the apron closed and lower the can and start grading at a slow speed (like 1st or 2nd gear and taking out the high spots) with the can until it's grading smooth then open the apron and crowd the material out really, really slow. On a side note, 9 times out of 10, I run with the cushion hitch ON in the fill. If I have to take out duckwalk tracks, I turn it OFF. I know it's supposed to be OFF in both the cut and the fill but that's how I roll.
If the machine starts to duckwalk almost immediately after you start cutting, slowing down and laying off the rear engine until it's cutting smooth again almost always helps. If it's near the end of the load before it's starts doing that, I'll just finish the load and split that cut in half the next time. So does lifting up and traveling forward until the rear wheels are past it and trying again. Just try a few different things until you find what works best for you.
stripping and placing topsoil is the worst because generally it loads and dumps in clumps so no matter what you do, you'll fight this phenomenon all day.