May. 19, 2025
Road rollers may not feature at the start of a road construction project, but that does not mean they are less important. They come in handy in the final stages of a project to help with finishing the foundation. Road rollers are also valuable for residential or road construction projects like excavators, bulldozers, and wheel loaders. How can construction companies know which road roller is suitable for them before investing in this low-key construction equipment?
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Table of Contents
The future market share for road rollers
Factors to consider when buying a road roller
Types of road rollers
Key market players
The road rollers’ global market during - is projected to reach $.1 million by , with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.7%. This growth can be explained by significant industrial growth in the infrastructure market that requires heavy construction equipment. Most global economies, including Asia-Pacific (China, India, Australia, Japan) and LAMEA (Latin America, Middle East, and Africa), are expanding their infrastructures, roads, bridges, industrial parks, residential and non-residential buildings, and airports.
Construction companies may face a challenge in choosing the right road roller for their project since there are different types of road rollers in the market. The confusion may be heightened by different road roller features a company can choose from.
However, if a construction company knows how to analyze its construction need, it can make wise decisions regarding the type of road roller. Below are some factors a company does well to consider when choosing a perfect road roller for the job.
Before buying a road roller, the company should examine if the machine has an air-cooled or water-cooled engine. Although air-cooled engines have few components to maintain, regular services to these engines are still needed, especially if the project is in a dusty, hot climate.
If a contractor wants to buy a used road roller with air-cooled engines, it is good to look for any damages and excessive oil consumption from the oil pressure gauge, which could spell trouble with the machine.
A construction company looking for a water-cooled engine should also confirm if there are any fluid leakages. If there are cracks in the engine, valve covers, or head, the machine should be avoided.
The road roller’s engine power refers to power generated from the engine and its compacting power. Double drums have an added advantage in this area because of the two drums. Though single drum road rollers also have power, heavy machines like double drum rollers need more engine power to move them. High power means more efficiency. Nevertheless, power is not the only thing to consider in a construction machine.
Another factor is the road roller’s emission standard. Today, many governments lay a lot of emphasis on reducing emissions and sustaining the environment. The new road rollers are built with higher emission standards to help reduce pollution, so construction companies can switch to new machines. Alternatively, they can use HVO fuel instead of diesel or mix them, thus limiting the number of greenhouse gases emitted by the road roller.
A company must know the type of job it wants to undertake or the specific kind of compaction needed. Lengthy projects in a spacious area may require a double drum road roller, while smaller construction sites with limited space require a single drum road roller. Since lengthy and intensive site work needs more power, construction companies handling such work can use larger road rollers.
Road rollers and their drums come in different sizes. Before a company settles on a road roller, it will consider what works best for its task. Key factors that determine which drum size to choose are site location, soil type, and project size.
A modest road roller drum’s weight and size are suitable for different soil types and can work well with space constraints. However, a road construction company with work sites on the streets, banks, parking garages, and building establishments can benefit by purchasing the “7-ton drum, class 67” with road roller. Larger and extensive jobs such as highway construction, airport development, reservoirs, dams, and big commercial site constructions may require large road rollers with 84” width drums.
Since operators sit on their chairs for long hours, they need to feel comfortable for enhanced productivity. The type of operator station often impacts the road roller’s prices, with most modern models providing two configurations: enclosed ROPS (Roll Over Protection System) cabs fitted with A/C and open ROPS.
If the company operates in warmer climates, even in winter, open ROPS is an ideal selection. On the other hand, a company operating in extremely hot or cold weather would do well by purchasing a road roller with an enclosed cab machine fitted with climate-controlled A/C.
Another comfortability factor to consider is the effect of the road roller’s vibration on the operator. Some road rollers offer floating decks and drum vibration isolation systems designed to minimize the operator’s fatigue by insulating vibration effects.
A construction company intending to buy a road roller has to decide on the type of drum best suited for their operation for better compaction performance. For instance, a site with gravel, rock, semi-cohesive soil, or sand needs a smooth drum model. On the other hand, a company working on a site with more cohesive silts and clay needs a road roller with more kneading and compacting force, thus best suited with a pad foot drum roller.
A pad kit foot option is also suitable for companies working on sites with multiple soil types. Most manufacturers sell shell kits, allowing companies to bolt their smooth drums and convert them into pad foot drums.
Any construction work begins with a strong foundation often determined by the road roller’s compaction performance. Before a company considers a road roller compaction execution, it should check the type of soil to be compacted—granular (soil/rock/sand) or firm (thick/tacky).
Road rollers use two vibration modes for appropriate compaction. These modes are abundance—the drum’s upward development that determines outward power—, and recurrence—the number of times the shaft pivots in the drum.
A company working on milder soil and sand will do better with higher recurrence, while those operating on firmer soil will need lower recurrence.
Since road rollers are not used from the beginning of construction work, they may sit idle for some time before they are brought to action. When needed in the final stages for finishing and compaction, they should run efficiently without glitches. If they fail because they had been idle, thousands of dollars will be lost in productivity. Additionally, companies may incur unexpected temporary rental expenses to keep the project running. Therefore, the purchasing company should look for a manufacturer that provides a warranty for their road roller for compensation in case of a manufacturer’s fault. The warranty should be at least one year or 1,000 working hours, whichever comes first.
There are different types of road rollers for different construction projects. This knowledge is vital in choosing the right machine. Below is a discussion of road rollers:
A single drum road roller is a piece of construction machinery with a giant front drum driven by two special tires to avoid flats. The machine’s tires are sturdy and durable, suitable for construction or road sites.
The operator sits in the middle for optimal performance. The modern models come with three configurations to suit the needs of every surface compaction. Since they are relatively small, they can easily fit in tight spaces and specialized projects.
Single drum rollers are often used in creating building foundations and paving highways and sidewalks. However, their heavy weight means they are not suitable for other surfaces.
Pros
Cons
The double drum roller has two drums, one in the back and the other in the front. As the machine moves, the drums roll, compacting the ground. The vibrations from the drums help to efficiently and quickly compact any highway section they roll through. Tandem rollers are effective in compacting gradual or flat surfaces like asphalt. However, since they have no traction, they are not suitable for certain projects.
Pros
Con
The sheepsfoot road roller has many rectangular-shaped feet or lugs. They are ideal for compacting roads with soil or silty clay. Since they are fitted with serrated protrusions, they can compress materials deeper. Additionally, the Padfoot drum’s weight can be enhanced by ballasting it with damp sand and water or mounting it with steel sections, thus providing a better compacting job.
A company working on projects with deep fine-grained soils or wet clay will perform its compacting job well with these rollers. After running the area with a sheep folder, an operator can run over the area with a pneumatic roller for finer results.
Pros
Cons
Pneumatic road rollers are vital to job sites that need kneading and sealing effects. They are flexible and capable of working on aggregates and asphalt sites. The operator can adjust the tires’ pressure while in the cab, and they are ideal for large projects. The tire air pressure adjustment feature makes pneumatic rollers versatile since they can fit specified desired pressure for particular jobs. Furthermore, a ballast package can be included or removed to improve the machine’s efficiency.
Pneumatic tired rollers provide improved static penetration into the site soil. This type of roller, when used in road construction, will prevent untimely road damages, breakage, and potholes resulting from poor construction equipment.
Pros
Cons
The sheepsfoot roller has its shortcomings with granular or stony materials, and the grid roller was developed to solve the problem. With its heavy cylindrical surface, this machine is fitted with steel bars to form a grid. Some constructors also ballast the roller with concrete blocks to enhance its efficacy.
Though it exerts higher contact pressure than the sheepsfoot, it provides minimal kneading action. Grind rollers are suitable for weathered rocks and well-graded coarse soils in sub-base and subgrade road construction projects.
Pros
Cons
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Vibratory rollers are similar to single drum smooth drum rollers; the difference is that vibratory rollers have specialized vibrating components. As the operator drives the roller, it compacts and flattens the soil. The vibration helps seal any spaces in the soil, concrete, or asphalt that could cause the building to sink. This machine is essential for enhancing construction project integrity.
Pros
Cons
Conclusion
Although road rollers are not given as much credit as other construction machines, their value cannot be overemphasized. Every lasting construction project needs a stable foundation to withstand the test of time. Road rollers help to strengthen these foundations, but construction companies must first choose the right type based on the project at hand.
While they're not commonly used across all types of construction like soil compactors, road rollers are explicitly used for road projects. Also widely called tandem rollers and asphalt rollers, these machines are great for all types of asphalt compaction jobs including roads, sidewalks, parking lots, airports, and more, and can be rented on DOZR.
Ride-on asphalt rollers have several standard drum width sizes ranging between 32" and 84". Pull-along rollers have drum widths between 14" and 32" for smaller jobs, but this spec guide will focus only on the ride-on models. North America's top road roller brands include Ammann, BOMAG, Caterpillar, Dynapc, HAMM, Sakai, Volvo, Wacker Neuson, and XCMG. Click each of the brands below to go to their respective spec guides.
Ammann
BOMAG
CAT (Caterpillar)
Dynapac
HAMM (a John Deere company)
Sakai
Volvo
Wacker Neuson
XCMG
Before we get into the specs and sizes for each brand, it's important to know the difference between the two types of road rollers. There are also single-drum rollers and compactors but those are used for aggregates and soils and should be avoided when working on asphalt.
The first type of road rollers are tandem rollers, also called double-drum rollers, which are used to compact and level surfaces like roads, cycle paths, roadways, and parking lots. They have two large steel drums on the front and back of the machine that work together to compact the surface.
When operating, the drums provide vibration to the ground that helps compress and compact the materials. The level of force changes depending on the size of the roller and increases as the machines and their weight get bigger and heavier.
The double drum design allows for more compaction to get done in fewer passes, thus increasing efficiency and productivity. Newer tandem rollers may have modern features like water systems to decrease the likelihood of asphalt sticking, better vibration systems for better compaction, and more.
Pneumatic rollers, unlike tandem rollers, do not have any steel drums. Instead, they use pneumatic tires to compact the asphalt. Pneumatic rollers are heavier and typically designed for wider projects, as seen in the spec charts below.
Designed with specific patterns to increase productivity and efficiency, the compaction level of pneumatic rollers changes depending on how much air is in the tires. The tread pattern of the tires is also designed to provide even compaction. One of the use cases of using pneumatic rollers over tandem rollers is that the cushioned tires decrease the chances of cracking or deformation of the asphalt.
Now that we've covered the difference between the two roller types, we've compiled a list of all the road roller brands and their current models. The specs we've highlighted in these charts are the drum width, operating weight, and type of roller.
Width is important because it gives an understanding of the size of the machine and what jobs it can be used on. Operating weight is a good spec to know because it gives an idea of the compaction force of the machine. And lastly, we highlight whether the roller is pneumatic or tandem.
Founded in , Ammann has been manufacturing construction equipment for more than 150 years. Starting with agricultural equipment, now they're one of the leading brands in compaction equipment.
Ammann currently manufactures more than 20 tandem rollers with drum widths ranging from 32" to 84". The weights of their machines also range from 3,000 lbs to just over 30,000 lbs. They have one pneumatic roller, the ART 240, and one electric tandem roller, the eARX 26-2.
The model names change slightly depending on the use case of the machine. The ARX and AVX rollers are vibratory rollers and articulated tandem rollers while the ARPs are the rigid tandem rollers.
Founded in Germany in , BOMAG is a Fayat group company and one of the most respected compaction equipment manufacturers. They manufactured their first vibratory roller in the s and have one of the most expansive product lines in the industry.
BOMAG road rollers range in size from 3,500 lbs to 32,000 lbs and drum widths from 35" to 84". They have 20 tandem rollers that they classify as lightweight, 17 heavy, and two with pneumatic tires. They also have two electric models, the BW 100 AD E-5 and the BW 120 AD E-5.
CASE was founded in Wisconsin in and started out designing machines for farmers. They have since expanded their product line to include several sizes of road rollers.
Overall they have 11 tandem rollers and one pneumatic roller, the PT240D. These products range in size from 39" drum widths to 78" and operating weights from 4,600 lbs to 23,000 lbs. The newly designed E-series double drum rollers from CASE have new operating interfaces and better seats.
Easily one of the most popular construction equipment brands, Caterpillar also started by creating machines for farmers. Since then, they've added more and more machines to their portfolio including rollers and compacting equipment. Today, Caterpillar has 19 current asphalt rollers and three pneumatic rollers.
Their double-drum rollers range in size from 3,500 lbs to 32,000 lbs while their pneumatic rollers weigh 11,000 to 33,000 lbs. As for the drum width, it ranges from 35" to 84" on the tandem rollers and 68" to 84" on the pneumatic rollers.
Dynapac is a Swedish company that was founded in Sweden in the s. As of the s, they've been one of the leading asphalt and paving equipment manufacturers in the world. Like BOMAG, they are another Fayat Group company. Today, they have 21 road roller models on the market in North America.
These products include their small asphalt rollers, the CC VI to the CCC VI, large asphalt rollers, the CC VI to the CC VI, and their pneumatic roller line, the CP to the CP. The small rollers have drum widths ranging from 42" to 54", the large rollers have widths from 66" to 84", and the pneumatic rollers have widths from 69" to 91". The weights of these size classes are up to 9,500 lbs, 27,300 lbs, and 28,000 lbs, respectively.
As for the naming of the equipment, the "VV" means they come equipped with two vibrating rollers, the "VO" models have vibration and oscillating drums, the "VT" models have a roller drum on the front and a set of wheels on the back, and "OT" models have oscillation on the front drum and wheels on the back. There are also the "VV-S", "VO-S", and "VT-S", which refers to the machine having split vibration. These different features are the main reason why there are so many different HAMM road roller models.
They also have three pneumatic rollers ranging in compaction width from 68" to 72". As for weight, it ranges from 13,000 lbs to 21,000 lbs.
Similar to Caterpillar, Volvo manufactures a wide range of construction equipment, with some of those machines including asphalt compactors and road rollers. Currently, they have 14 asphalt compactors that they're manufacturing including 12 tandem models and two pneumatic options. Similar to other companies listed above, their asphalt rollers range in drum widths from 35" to 84" and in weight from 3,300 lbs to 52,910 lbs.
The "DD" in the model names refer to them being double-drum rollers. The "CR" means that they are combination rollers with a drum on the front and tires on the back. And lastly, the "B" and "C" at the end refer to the size with "B" representing more petite, more compact models and the "C" referring to larger models.
With an 80-year history, XCMG is one of the largest global construction equipment manufacturers in the world. However, it wasn't until the s that they started to develop road rollers and compaction equipment on a larger scale. Now they have eight road roller models in the North American markets.
While they may not have the variety of options that other brands on this list have, they do cover the typical drum width range with models available from 39" to 54". What they do lack is the operating weight range with models only between 5,800 lbs and 9,500 lbs, outside of their one pneumatic model, the XP165U which has an operating weight of 35,272 lbs.
XCMG does have combi-units like the XD120VT, XD130VT, and XD140VT which have drums on the front and tires on the back.
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