Backhoe loader
Encyclopedia
Backhoe
A backhoe, also called a rear actor or back actor, is a piece of excavating equipment or digger consisting of a digging bucket on the end of a two-part articulated arm. They are typically mounted on the back of a tractor or front loader...
loader
Loader (equipment)
A loader is a heavy equipment machine often used in construction, primarily used to load material into or onto another type of machinery .-Heavy equipment front loaders:A loader A loader is a heavy equipment machine often used in construction, primarily used to load material (such as asphalt,...
, also called a loader backhoe, digger, or colloquially shortened to backhoe, is a heavy equipment vehicle that consists of a tractor
Tractor
A tractor is a vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery used in agriculture or construction...
fitted with a shovel
Shovel
A shovel is a tool for digging, lifting, and moving bulk materials, such as soil, coal, gravel, snow, sand, or ore. Shovels are extremely common tools that are used extensively in agriculture, construction, and gardening....
/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
Urban engineering
Municipal or urban engineering applies the tools of science, art and engineering in an urban environment.-Summary:Municipal engineering is concerned with municipal infrastructure...
and small construction projects (such as building a small house, fixing urban roads, etc.).
History
The backhoe loader was invented in the UK in 1953 by Joseph Cyril Bamford, founder of J. C. BamfordJ. C. Bamford
JCB is a global construction, demolition and agricultural equipment company headquartered in Rocester, United Kingdom. It is the world's third-largest construction equipment manufacturer. It produces over 300 types of machines, including diggers , excavators, tractors and diesel engines...
(JCB), by equipping a farm tractor with both a backhoe
Backhoe
A backhoe, also called a rear actor or back actor, is a piece of excavating equipment or digger consisting of a digging bucket on the end of a two-part articulated arm. They are typically mounted on the back of a tractor or front loader...
and a front-mounted loading bucket. Although based on a tractor, a backhoe loader is almost never called a tractor when both the loader
Loader (equipment)
A loader is a heavy equipment machine often used in construction, primarily used to load material into or onto another type of machinery .-Heavy equipment front loaders:A loader A loader is a heavy equipment machine often used in construction, primarily used to load material (such as asphalt,...
and the backhoe
Backhoe
A backhoe, also called a rear actor or back actor, is a piece of excavating equipment or digger consisting of a digging bucket on the end of a two-part articulated arm. They are typically mounted on the back of a tractor or front loader...
are permanently attached. Backhoe loaders are also not generally used for towing and usually do not have a power take-off
Power take-off
A power take-off or power takeoff is a splined driveshaft, usually on a tractor or truck, that can be used to provide power to an attachment or separate machine. It is designed to be easily connected and disconnected...
(PTO). When the backhoe is permanently attached, the machine usually has a seat that can swivel to the rear to face the hoe
Hoe (tool)
A hoe is an ancient and versatile agricultural tool used to move small amounts of soil. Common goals include weed control by agitating the surface of the soil around plants, piling soil around the base of plants , creating narrow furrows and shallow trenches for planting seeds and bulbs, to chop...
controls. Removable backhoe
Backhoe
A backhoe, also called a rear actor or back actor, is a piece of excavating equipment or digger consisting of a digging bucket on the end of a two-part articulated arm. They are typically mounted on the back of a tractor or front loader...
attachments almost always have a separate seat on the attachment itself.
In Britain and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
they are commonly referred to simply as JCBs due to the company being the inventor and major supplier. In the United States, they are often referred to as "Backhoes", although the term 'backhoe
Backhoe
A backhoe, also called a rear actor or back actor, is a piece of excavating equipment or digger consisting of a digging bucket on the end of a two-part articulated arm. They are typically mounted on the back of a tractor or front loader...
' only refers to one component.
In 1970, Hy-Dynamic now a division of Bucyrus-Erie, manufacturer of the Dynahoe was the first company to incorporate a four wheel drive
Four Wheel Drive
The Four Wheel Drive Auto Company, more often known as Four Wheel Drive or just FWD, was founded in 1909 in Clintonville, Wisconsin, as the Badger Four-Wheel Drive Auto Company by Otto Zachow and William Besserdich.-History:...
system into their backhoe loaders, allowing these models to go over almost any terrain with little difficulty.
Use
Backhoe loaders are very common and can be used for a wide variety of tasks: construction, small demolitions, light transportation of building materialBuilding material
Building material is any material which is used for a construction purpose. Many naturally occurring substances, such as clay, sand, wood and rocks, even twigs and leaves have been used to construct buildings. Apart from naturally occurring materials, many man-made products are in use, some more...
s, powering building equipment, digging holes/excavation, landscaping
Landscaping
Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including:# living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly referred to as gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal of creating a beautiful environment within the landscape.#...
, breaking asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
, and paving roads. The backhoe bucket can also be replaced with powered attachments such as a breaker
Breaker (hydraulic)
A breaker is a powerful percussion hammer fitted to an excavator for demolishing concrete structures or rocks. It is powered by an auxiliary hydraulic system from the excavator, which is fitted with a foot-operated valve for this purpose...
, grapple, auger
Auger
An auger is a drilling device, or drill bit, that usually includes a rotating helical screw blade called a "flighting" to act as a screw conveyor to remove the drilled out material...
, or a stump grinder
Stump grinder
A stump grinder or stump cutter is a power tool or equipment attachment that removes tree stumps by means of a rotating cutting disk that chips away the wood.Stump grinders can be the size of a lawn mower or as large as truck...
. Enhanced articulation
Articulated vehicle
An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent pivoting joint in its construction, allowing the vehicle to turn more sharply. There are many kinds of articulated vehicles, from heavy equipment to buses, trams and trains...
of attachments can be achieved with intermediate attachments such as the tiltrotator
Tiltrotator
A tiltrotator is an hydraulic attachment/tool used on most excavators, and backhoes between 3-30 tons in the Nordic countries...
. Many backhoes feature quick coupler
Quick coupler
Quick couplers are used with construction machines to allow the rapid change of buckets and attachments on the machine. They remove the need to use hammers to manually drive out and insert the mounting pins for attachments...
(quick-attach) mounting systems and auxiliary hydraulic circuits for simplified attachment mounting, increasing the machine's utilization
Utilization
Utilization is a statistical concept as well as a primary business measure for the rental industry.-Queueing theory:In queueing theory, utilization is the proportion of the system's resources which is used by the traffic which arrives at it. It should be strictly less than one for the system to...
on the job site. 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 cylinder
Hydraulic cylinder
A Hydraulic cylinder is a mechanical actuator that is used to give a unidirectional force through a unidirectional stroke. It has many applications, notably in engineering vehicles.- Operation :...
s on the end of the loader arm assembly which can expand and retract allowing different tools to be attached to the unit. Advanced couplers like the tiltrotator
Tiltrotator
A tiltrotator is an hydraulic attachment/tool used on most excavators, and backhoes between 3-30 tons in the Nordic countries...
allow for greater articulation of attachments and makes the backhoe an effective tool carrier.
Because the design is intrinsically top-heavy and the swinging weight of the backhoe could cause the vehicle to tip, most backhoe loaders use hydraulic outriggers only at the back 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
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
projects such as construction and repairs in areas too small for larger equipment. Their versatility
Versatility
Versatility is the eleventh album by The Jets. This album features nine siblings of the Wolfgramm family, with LeRoy being the only remaining original member of The Jets...
and compact size makes them one of the most popular urban construction vehicles. For larger projects, a tracked excavator
Excavator
Excavators are heavy construction equipment consisting of a boom, stick, bucket and cab on a rotating platform . The house sits atop an undercarriage with tracks or wheels. A cable-operated excavator uses winches and steel ropes to accomplish the movements. They are a natural progression from the...
is generally used.
In recent years, small compact tractors from manufacturers such as Kubota
Kubota
, is a tractor and heavy equipment manufacturer based in Osaka, Japan. One of its notable contributions was to the construction of the Solar Ark. The company was established in 1890.The company produces many products including:...
have become very popular with private homeowners. Subcompact tractors, the size between a compact tractor and lawn tractor, are also often sold in backhoe loader setup, sometimes with a belly-mounted mower
Mower
A mower is a machine for cutting grass or other plants that grow on the ground. Usually mowing is distinguished from reaping, which uses similar implements, but is the traditional term for harvesting grain crops, e.g...
also included. These tractors offer private homeowners the ability to perform minor excavation projects.
Manufacturers
- Bharat Earth Movers LimitedBEMLBharat Earth Movers Limited now known as BEML is an Indian Public Sector Undertaking, with headquarters in Bangalore. It manufactures a variety of heavy equipment, such as that used for earth moving, transport and mining....
- Case CorporationCase CorporationCase Corporation was a manufacturer of construction and agricultural equipment. In 1999 it merged with New Holland to form CNH Global, a Fiat Group division...
- Caterpillar Inc.Caterpillar Inc.Caterpillar Inc. , also known as "CAT", designs, manufactures, markets and sells machinery and engines and sells financial products and insurance to customers via a worldwide dealer network. Caterpillar is the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas...
- John Deere TractorsDeere & CompanyDeere & Company, usually known by its brand name John Deere , is an American corporation based in Moline, Illinois, and the leading manufacturer of agricultural machinery in the world. In 2010, it was listed as 107th in the Fortune 500 ranking...
- FiatFiatFIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...
- Ford Motor CompanyFord Motor CompanyFord Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
- Hitachi, Ltd.Hitachi, Ltd.is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Marunouchi 1-chome, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company is the parent of the Hitachi Group as part of the larger DKB Group companies...
- HydremaHydremaHydrema is a dump truck manufacturer based in Støvring, Denmark, founded in 1959. They have specialized in the manufacture of articulated light dump trucks and earth moving equipment. A variety of models are produced, with a payload of up to 20 tonnes. A company subsidiary is also operating in...
- J. C. BamfordJ. C. BamfordJCB is a global construction, demolition and agricultural equipment company headquartered in Rocester, United Kingdom. It is the world's third-largest construction equipment manufacturer. It produces over 300 types of machines, including diggers , excavators, tractors and diesel engines...
(JCB) - Komatsu LTD
- MahindraMahindraMahindra may refer to:In People*Mahinda, the son of Emperor Ashoka and proponent of Buddha's teachings in Sri Lanka*Anand MahindraIn Companies* Mahindra Group...
- New Holland AgNew Holland AgNew Holland is a full range manufacturer of agricultural machinery. New Holland agricultural products include tractors, combine harvesters, balers, haying tools, equipment used in lawn, grounds and turf care, grape harvesters....
- TerexTerexTerex Corporation is an American-based diversified global manufacturer of a broad range of heavy equipment for a variety of industries, including construction, infrastructure, quarrying, recycling, surface mining, shipping, transportation, refining, utility and maintenance...
- Venieri
- Volvo Construction EquipmentVolvo Construction EquipmentVolvo Construction Equipment is a subsidiary and business area of AB Volvo. Volvo Construction Equipment develops, manufactures and markets equipment for the construction and related industries.- Overview :...