Earlier this year at the first PAVE/X in San Antonio, TX, LeeBoy unveiled its brand new asphalt hot box the HB4T. Alongside that came their LB5013 plate compactor, which enabled the company to sell the asphalt repair trailer as a single package for pothole work. About six weeks later at World of Asphalt 2024, we spoke to LeeBoy about these new products, and asked specifically if there might be more to come from LeeBoy in the realm of compaction. At that time the answer was that they were always open to the possibility.
It seems that possibility was primed to become reality.
"That's exactly when the conversations really started," said Chris Broome, Senior Product Manager at LeeBoy. "It was an opportunity to to get back in the roller business."
It's true that LeeBoy previously had rollers in its lineup, like the fairly popular 400 steel drum model. However, in the intervening years the roller market has undergone a lot of change, why come back now?
"Our dealers have been really clamoring for another roller option for a while," replied Broome. "There's a lot of new technology in this market space right now, but there is still demand for a basic machine that just gets the job done and that's reliable. We think we've got a package that's up to that task."
The Target Contractor
Given the three type of rollers they are launching with this line, the question is: what contractors are these rollers best suited to meet the needs of?
"You have a LeeBoy customer who's doing a handful of driveways one day, and then turns around and has a small-to-medium sized commercial parking lot the next day," Broome explained. "These aren't highway class rollers, but they are everyday workhorse type machines, for sure. Dealers have relayed to us that people ask for a type of machine that is a little more lean and mean, something along these lines, and at a certain price point we believe this meets them at."
LeeBoy has a good handle on who their customer base is and what they are asking for, so the next logical question was what model LeeBoy paver is best matched with these rollers.
"I would pair the BR36 with our 8500 paver," Broome said. "That's really your driveway and small parking lot killer, your neighborhood paver. The BR48 might pair best with our 8520 or 8608. That's your giant, big box store parking lot type machine. The SR48 is a more niche, specialized machine. It's small enough to get into tighter spots that larger earthworks and base work rollers might not so easily have access to."
The new rollers come in three models
BR48 Asphalt Roller:
- 43.5 hp Yanmar @ 3000 RPM
- 47.2- inch steel asphalt drum
- Centrifugal force of 6,800 lbf
- Vibration frequency of 4,200 vpm
- Water tank capacity of 52.8 gallons
BR36 Asphalt Roller:
- 20.8 hp Honda GX630 @3600 RPM
- 35.5- inch steel asphalt drum
- Centrifugal force of 3,825 lbf
- Vibration frequency of 4,000 vpm
- Water tank capacity of 31.7 gallons
SR48 Soil Roller:
- 47 hp Yanmar @ 3000 RPM
- 47.2- inch steel asphalt drum
- Maximum centrifugal force of 19,109 lbf
- Vibration frequency of 2,460 vpm
- Optional dozer blade
- Optional padfoot drum shell
