My new road roller

[3v0]

People have been asking what I have been up to. The list is long but this is one of the fun ones.

I have been eyeing this road roller parked out behind the city equipment barn for some time. This month I landed it via a sealed bid auction. My $61 bid was $11 above the next guy. The data plates are hard to read. I know it is a Essick 1 ton vibratory road roller. Based on an a web add I it maybe a RT30 from about 1970. The motor is single cylinder Wisconsin.

**broken link removed**

This is am image of it sitting on its trailer behind my little toy pickup. The roller has steel drums for wheels. The rubber tire is part of its trailer.

The unit had sank into the ground about 10 inches and the front roller did not turn. I dug a ramp with my little Kubota BX loader and managed to drag it up to ground level. A removable half link was unseen while the drum was in the ground. That allowed me to removed that and the chain to get it to roll. A little more work and the frozen steering started to work. At that point I went home to get my wife who rode on the unit to steer it while I pushed it backward up the ramp onto its trailer.

There is still a lot of work to do. It does have an electric starter. Need to figure out if it is 6V or 12V. Clean up the carb and gas tank and see if it will fire up. For sure I want to have the seat reupholstered and restore the cracked steering wheel. Debating if I want to repaint it to its original red color or leave the unrestored paint as is.

 

[jpanhalt]

That would be fun to have! Its own trailer too. I guess for $61 it doesn't matter, but does the motor start?

John

 

[bryan1]

Nice Find 3VO,
For our roads I have a 1+ton rock I put in the bucket of my MF50B backhoe then just set it to auto level but a road roller would be a nice toy to have

Regards Bryan

 

[3v0]

That would be fun to have! Its own trailer too. I guess for $61 it doesn't matter, but does the motor start?

John

The flier from the city says it has motor problems but I am expecting it to be minor.

We also scored a lot of air cooled engine powered devices. There are several trash pumps, a 15A 115V generator, and a 3 cylinder air compressor driven by a 2 cylinder military 6HP engine with a whopping 6 to 1 compression ratio.

I am toying with the idea of getting an ultra sonic cleaner to clean carbs with.

 

[BGAmodz]

Nice vehicle , just need to be fixed and repainted .

 

[tcmtech]

Very impressive!

A few years ago I scored a old vibro packer as well but mine weighs around 2 - 3 tons and is pulled behind a tractor.

Similar deal cost wise as well. I got mine for around $50.

It has a Y114 I4 continental engine though which is mostly junk. I have been thinking about redesigning mine to be PTO powered so I can just run it off whatever tractor I put it behind.

 

[throbscottle]

So, I am slightly bemused... once you have restored it, what are you going to do with it?

 

[3v0]

Park it next to the loader tractor and the backhoe.

I doubt it will get much use. It is well suited for compacting the substrate for patios, driveways, and sidewalks.

 

[tcmtech]

So, I am slightly bemused... once you have restored it, what are you going to do with it?

You know how sometimes the neighbor's garbage cans blow into your yard and the don't come and get them for a week or more?

Well...........

 

[ronsimpson]

I know the answer but I want to ask the question anyway.
Note; the packer has 15" tires that are 3 feet wide.
The trailer has 14" tires that are 4 inches wide.
Does this seem reasonable?

**broken link removed**

 

[3v0]

I expect it is. The engineers did a good job designing that trailer. A pin is used to lock the roller to the trailer once loaded. The roller + trailer are over a ton and the trailer hitch load is such that I can pull it with the little toy pickup.

Several people have suggested squashing thing but I don't think the rollers are tall enough. Most things will just get pushed along. Maybe oil filters and pop cans sized objects. Canned green beans or peas perhaps.

Every toy needs a home. I am working on rebuilding a lean to for it to live in.

 

[killivolt]

I expect it is. The engineers did a good job designing that trailer. A pin is used to lock the roller to the trailer once loaded. The roller + trailer are over a ton and the trailer hitch load is such that I can pull it with the little toy pickup.

Several people have suggested squashing thing but I don't think the rollers are tall enough. Most things will just get pushed along. Maybe oil filters and pop cans sized objects. Canned green beans or peas perhaps.

Every toy needs a home. I am working on rebuilding a lean to for it to live in.

There is lots of stuff to smash, just post them on Youtube. Just make sure you put a stop gap or switch, so the grandchildren can't start it.

Have fun.

 

[fezder]

hehe, well that's vehicle that isn't seen on traffic daily! but, maybe it's for best, or them traffic comes...well slower. how fast does that goe anyway? But, that shouldn't be main issue, after all its an tool, no need to rush things

 

[3v0]

I have yet to find a set of manuals and am still working on the engine as it is a back burner sort of project. To be effective I expect it has to move rather slowly.

 

[killivolt]

I have yet to find a set of manuals and am still working on the engine as it is a back burner sort of project. To be effective I expect it has to move rather slowly.

Best wishes, just be careful, don't be in front of the beast or under it, ever.

Just my worries not realized and you didn't know about. Friends and Family Impinged or crushed by not thinking or knowing.

Sorry, again for my worry, I know you will be safe. Not withstanding.

kv

Edit: Ok, so I'm a safety Marshall

 

[tcmtech]

Just my worries not realized and you didn't know about. Friends and Family Impinged or crushed by not thinking or knowing.

Yea.... You do understand how terribly slow those little roller machines are?

 

[3v0]

I talked with my neighbor who is a city employee. He drove this thing back when it was in use. He said never to operate it on much of a side hill. Seems it likes to tip over!

I have the carb for it rebuilt but the 1/8" rod between the governor and the carb is broken and rusted into the bit where it joins the carb. It is steel on steel. Going to try using a small torch to heat it up in a few days. Worst case I would have to replace the throttle shaft in addition to the rod. Neither is easy to find at a reasonable price.

I made the carb gasket with the cricut and make-the-cut software. Started with a picture of one from ebay. Used inkscape with it's push-pull curves and control points to get a line representation. Cut it on paper for a test fit. Made a few adjustments and cut the gasket stock. The image shows an early paper version of the gasket.

**broken link removed**

 

[jpanhalt]

Can you post a picture of the throttle rod? There may be some model parts at a local hobby shop or online that can be used. Threaded 4-40 steel and clevis couplings work great on smaller engines. With giant scale models becoming so popular, larger hardware is now available.

John

 

[3v0]

Thanks John
The throttle shaft is somewhat complicated in that it has a lever on the end to connect to the governor and a flat spot for the throttle plate. I have a few things to try to save the old shaft. If I can find my little torch I will see if heat will loosen the rod. The bit the rod screws into wobbles on the lever and I may be able to tighten that by peening but I am not sure I can get to it. The first 2 images are of new throttle shafts. The 3rd shows a governor control rod rusted into a throttle shaft. Ignore the "Mouse over to Zoom"

**broken link removed**

The governor rod is 1/8" or #5 screw size with 40 threads per inch on one end and a hook on the other end with a hole for a cotter key. I can make this part if I have too. Found it one place for under $1 but S&H brings it to about $13. For that I can get a #5 die.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

This reminds of an old experience back in the 60's

I was 12/13 years old or so, and the 'older lads' (14?) bought an old car to drive round the moor - it was a 'sit up and beg' Ford Popular, they paid £3 or £4 for it.

They had it about a week, and it was totally trashed - so we bought it off them for '30 bob' (£1.50 in the new money).

First job we got a hacksaw, and sawed through either side of the widescreen - these simple two cuts allowed us to pull the entire body off the chassis (told you it was well trashed).

This left us two front seats and a bare chassis behind

Next job was the throttle - it was made up of ball jointed metal rods, and some of these had fallen off, leaving the accelerator pedal doing nothing.

Easy fix - we tied a piece of string to the carburettor and ran it through where the windscreen used to be.

So it took two to drive, one working the steering, clutch, gears and brakes - and a friend in the passenger seat pulling the string to work the throttle

Needless to say it was huge fun, there was no weight to it, so it went quite well, and the back end was easy to slide round as what little weight there was, was in the front.

It actually lasted a fair few weeks, and we great fun with it - makes you wonder how you ever survived been a kid?.