On some machines, the bucket can be filled with water on site to achieve the required weight. In space, lighter machines are easier and cheaper to transport between work sites. On a pneumatic tyre roller, the body can be ballast with water or sand, or additional compaction with wet sand. Modern tyre rollers may be equipped with steel loaders to provide more even balance and better compaction.

Additional compaction can be achieved by vibrating drums, allowing for small, lightweight machine operation, as well as heavier machines. Vibration is usually generated by a freely rotating hydrostatic motor within the drum with an eccentric weight on its shaft. Some rollers have a second counterweight, which can be rotated relative to the main counterweight to adjust the amplitude of vibration and thus the pressure intensity.

The surface of the roller can be water-lubricated by the onboard "spray groove" to prevent hot asphalt from sticking to the roller.

Hydraulic transmission allows for greater design flexibility. While early examples used direct mechanical drive, the hydraulic system reduced the number of moving parts exposed to contamination and allowed the drive of rollers, providing additional traction on slopes.

A roller driven by one person may have only one roller.

Self-propelled rollers can have two rollers, one mounted in front of the other (called a "duplex" format), or three rollers, or just one roller, the rear roller can be replaced with pneumatic tires to increase traction.Vibratory Roller