Backhoe loader

Backhoe Loader Cat 420E
A JCB 3CX backhoe loader
A JCB backhoe loader performing work in India

A backhoe loader, also called a loader backhoe, loader excavator, tractor excavator,[1] digger or colloquially shortened to backhoe within the industry, is a heavy equipment vehicle that consists of a tractor-like unit fitted with a loader-style shovel/bucket on the front and a 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 urban roads, etc.) as well as developing countries. This type of machine is similar to and derived from what is now known as a TLB (Tractor-Loader-Backhoe), which is to say, an agricultural tractor fitted with a front loader and rear backhoe attachment.

The true development of the backhoe actually began in 1947 by the inventors that started the Wain-Roy Corporation of Hubbardston, Massachusetts. In 1947 Wain-Roy Corporation developed and tested the first actual backhoes. In April 1948 Wain-Roy Corporation sold the first all-hydraulic backhoes, mounted to a Ford Model 8N tractor, to the Connecticut Light and Power Company for $705.[2]

  1. ^ "Vehicle licensing statistics: notes and definitions". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
  2. ^ "History and origin of the first hyadraulic Backhoe 1948, and the first Tractor Loader Backhoe 1951". www.digrock.com. Retrieved 2017-03-30.