The trusty backhoe loader is next to join today's list of high-tech earthmovers. Top: New loader can be ordered with advanced electronics. (Photo by Tudor Hampton for ENR.) Soon, Caterpillar Inc. will ...

The modern backhoe-loader traces its lineage to a hydraulic digging attachment developed in the late 1940s Some basic concepts that still survive today were developed during this same time period.

The backhoe loader has a material-handling bucket at the front and an excavating tool (backhoe) at the rear. Most use two large wheels at the rear of the chassis to power the vehicle, and two smaller ...

Backhoe loaders, once the victims of cannibalization from compact excavators and skid steers or compact track loaders—and perhaps thought to be relegated to being a niche machine for municipalities ...