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A typical European backhoe-loader. The backhoe is on the right, the bucket/blade on the left. European backhoe-loaders have a side-shift rather than stabilizer legs.

A backhoe with a snow plow attachment clearing snow

Backhoe loader, also called a Loader backhoe, is an engineering vehicle, which consists of a tractor, fitted with a shovel/bucket on the front and a small backhoe on the back. Due to its (relatively) small size and versatility, backhoe loaders are very common in urban engineering and small construction projects (such as building a small house, fixing city roads etc).

The backhoe loader was invented in the UK in 1953 by Joseph Cyril Bamford, founder of JCB, by equipping a farm tractor with both a backhoe and a front-mounted loading bucket. Although based on a tractor, when both the loader and the backhoe are permanently attached the vehicle is almost never called a tractor, is not generally used for towing and usually does not have a PTO. When the backhoe is permanently attached, the machine usually has a seat that can swivel to the rear to face the hoe controls. Removable backhoe attachments almost always have a separate seat on the attachment itself.

Backhoe-loaders are very common and can be used for a wide variety of tasks: construction, small demolitions, light transportation of building materials, powering building equipment, digging holes/excavating, breaking asphalt, and paving roads. The backhoe bucket can often be replaced with other tools such as a breaker for smashing concrete and rock. Some loader buckets have a retractable bottom or "clamshell", enabling it to empty its load more quickly and efficiently. Retractable-bottom loader buckets are also often used for grading and scraping. The front assembly may be a removable attachment or permanently mounted. Often the bucket can be replaced with other devices or tools. The backhoe loader must be equipped with a tool coupler in order to mount different attachments to the loader. A tool coupler consists of two hydraulic cylinders on the end of the loader arm assembly which can expand and retract allowing different tools to be attached to the unit.

Because the design is intrinsically top-heavy and the swinging weight of the hoe could cause the vehicle to tip, most backhoes use hydraulic outriggers when digging and lower the loader bucket for additional stability. This means that the bucket must be raised and the outriggers retracted when the vehicle needs to change positions, reducing efficiency. For this reason many companies offer miniature tracked excavators, which sacrifice the loader function for increased digging efficiency.

Their relatively small frame and precise control make backhoe-loaders very useful and common in urban engineering projects such as construction and repairs in areas too small for larger equipment. Their versatility and compact size makes them one of the most popular urban construction vehicles. For larger projects, a tracked excavator is generally used.

• The cutting of network cables during road repairs is now so common, that network engineers often refer to "backhoe fade" as an inevitable cause of communications problems.

• JCB
• John Deere Tractors
• Case Corporation
• Terex

• backhoe
• National Association of Heavy Equipment Training Schools – US educational organisation

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Backhoe loader

• Backhoe-loader Reference
• How a backhoe-loader works
• Backhoe pictures
• Backhoe Loader Photo Gallery and Product Tour