Rosco, a Leeboy company, offers the 6.5-15 ton Tru-Pac 915, a ballastable nine-wheel rubber tire roller with the choice of an 85-hp Kubota turbo-diesel engine or an 83-hp Caterpillar turbo-diesel. Key features include: hydrostatic drive, articulated frame for “tru-tracking” compaction, ROPS with sunroof, 100-gal. pressurized water spray system, and coco mats with spring-loaded scrapers. The Tru-Pac 915 can be equipped as an 11-wheel roller if needed.

Contractors can choose from five different models manufactured by Hamm. Hamm offers contractors one unit, the GRW, with two different optional weights and a second unit, the GRW 280, with three different weight options. The GRW features two-point steering, a hydrodynamic gearbox, range of ballast variations, and sound insulation.

Keeping Rollers in Top Condition

Once you decide to invest in a pneumatic roller it is essential to maintain the unit in top condition. There are several areas of the unit that must have continued maintenance to achieve it.

• Contractors must regularly check tire condition and air pressure. “By adjusting the air in the tire you’re adjusting the ground contact pressure,” Connolly says. Therefore, the air pressure must be checked before each roll to ensure proper wheel load.

Many variables go into determining the life of a tire. Connolly says that the kind of material the rollers are on as well as the number of hours it is used will affect the life of the tire.

• It is also important for contractors to maintain proper care of the coco mats to preserve the life of tires. “Checking and/or replacing coco mats on the tires is one step to follow,” Chastain says. “The coco mats pick up some of the material off of the surface. They act like a brush to brush that material off of the tire to prevent material from collecting.” Chastain says that if contractors operate pneumatic rollers properly and use caution tires can last up to five years.

“Keeping loose asphalt or any picked up asphalt from building up on the unit is part of the regular maintenance that would help keep the unit running for many years,” Wilkens says.

• Along with proper tire care, it is important for contractors to follow standard general maintenance practices.

“The drive system should be maintained as the manufacturers ask them to maintain it,” Monical says. “Oil changes, filter changes, the hydraulic system needs to be maintained.”

Due to the large size of the equipment, Monical says that it is especially important to maintain the condition of the brakes.