Hard to get info.on late 60's tow behind roller

That is why they had the over-centre remote clutch or remote throttle control, so that you could get moving before you turned the vibartor on or stop the vibrator before you stopped the tractor. Most of them drove the vibrator through a centrifugal clutch that engaged automatically when you revved the engine up and the remote control actually operated the throttle for this reason.

The company that I currently work for has 3 of them, used for compacting house pads. The beauty of these rollers for this sort of work, assuming that your tow tractor is big enough, is that you can hang them right over the side of a fill to compact the batters as you build up each layer. Try doing THAT with a self-propelled vibrating roller.

If you are planning on buying this roller, check the mounting rubbers that hold the roller to the frame, check the scraper bars that keep the drum clean or, if a sheepsfoot type, the bars between the rows of sheepsfeet that remove buildup of dirt from the drum.

From your post, it apparently does vibrate but check the bearings, both for normal tightness and for end float. End float may allow the drum to hit the insides of the main frame. On a sheepsfoot version, it will also allow the sheepsfeet to hit the cleaners bars too. In fact, checking the sides of the cleaner bars on a sheepsfoot roller is one way of checking for end float in the bearings.

Most of these rollers had at least two grease points on each end of the drum, one each end for the main bearings and one each end for the vibrator shaft. They should be greased at least every two hours of operation with a grease specifically designed for this purpose. The only such grease that I know of is Shell Alvania grease. Don't be sparing with it. This is largely the life of the roller.

The hitch needs to be kept in good condition on these rollers, especially if you are going to hang them over batters, because the vibrators do give them a bit of a workout, as does being towed behind a crawler tractor. It pays to throttle down before changing direction. Safety chains are a good idea too, again especially of you are hanging them over batters.

None of the ones that I have operated had any oil in the drum so there was nothing to leak out.

Hope this helps.

You have a wonderful day. Best wishes. Deas Plant.

I'm not all that familiar with this kind of bearing and or assembly, but it would not hurt to carefully inspect, look for leaks, I vaguely recall while working for the same company, one of the older Cat vibratory rollers having an issue in that area, I was running it, called the mechanic to the site, as thought I recalled that it was leaking some sort of lube, hopefully someone who knows these will comment as I'm really not all that knowledgable on the mechanics of them.

I will tell you that I thought highly of that old unit and made good use of it on that job, had never seen one before that job, worked great, dam never leaked. I was sent to one of their yards to pick it up, all our other rollers were busy, sure was the strangest thing when I first saw it, I figured it was from the 50's or something.