There’s no question a steel drum multi-tyre Combination Roller is the most cost effective plant for gravel road maintenance and construction, either towed by a grader for single operator road maintenance, or on a tractor ballasted up for construction grade compaction.
For four decades the Broons BH-1830 towed combo roller has been best in class for local government and earthmoving contractors looking to maximise productivity with their limited staff. No other compaction plant has the added convenience of being able to drive to site and avoid the time and cost of floating.
The specialised 16” tyres aren’t just for compacting gravel roads – they’re also road rated – so you can tow the roller on bitumen to the next site fast, just drop your signs and its straight into the job. That’s not where the convenience ends either, when paired to a grader one operator can rip, grade and roll a gravel road unassisted – an impressive use of staff when there’s never enough hours in the day.
The family owned Broons company has been engineering rollers for near on 50 years from their South Australian factory, with an obsession for quality. You could expect a
15-20 year plant life out of these units treated well, because they’re built like the proverbial brick outhouse. It’s not just the toughness that the Broons BH-1830 brings – it’s very easy to keep alive. With no computers, motors and sensors there is little that can go wrong with this simplest of designs. A few well aimed shots of grease each day and you won’t hear a peep out of the combination roller. Sealed for life bearings also put an end to the perpetual care of the 11 compaction wheels, which can virtually run themselves when solid filled for puncture prevention.
For owners in Victoria where brakes are mandatory, or if you work in undulating terrain the electric over hydraulic disc brake option gives the operator and other road users complete peace of mind. No caravan brakes here; this is heavy plant and needs to be treated with respect. With its own on-board battery, the roller’s breakaway system ensures immediate braking in the freak event of a separation between roller and towing vehicle. It might sound complex if you damage a tyre? Not an issue with the quick release couplings, which isolate the individually braked wheel to eliminate a full bleed of the lines. Safe and smart!
That’s the wheels covered so let’s look at the smooth steel drum, which is centrally mounted in the chassis. A rolling width of 1830mm – hence the name – provides excellent coverage when putting the total weight to the pavement. Ideal for splitting and submerging small stones into the road surface, the drum can be ballasted with 1670 litres of water, easily pushing the weight to 10 tonne. Dealing with the rotational load are double row spherical bearings that survive via an oil bath. This can be easily checked from a dedicated inspection and filling point on the exterior. Changing back to the road rated tyres and ball race turntable takes us full circle, and is a simple hydraulic function from the seat of the cab.
Twenty options fill the BH-1830 catalogue, so customising your roller is only a tick of the box away – just another great reason for buying this local legend.
[colored_box color=”yellow”]Contact Broons today on (8) 8268 1988 or mail at info@broons.com.
You can download a brochure from www.broons.com/combination[/colored_box]