Backhoe VS Excavator

[Lil Foot]

Interesting.

 

[dirtydeed]

Ha. I saw this video as well.

No question that an excavator will "out dig" a backhoe. But let's see who wins when you have to move the pile of spoils to another area at the site without a dump truck... or, which do you think is faster at backfilling IF the backhoe operator had used his noggin and loader bucket? Pretty flawed demonstration.

I'd have to admit that my least favorite excavator task is backfilling without using the front blade.

I've said it before. The backhoe is still the "King" on a construction site.

 

[Jchonline]

Ha. I saw this video as well.

No question that an excavator will "out dig" a backhoe. But let's see who wins when you have to move the pile of spoils to another area at the site without a dump truck... or, which do you think is faster at backfilling IF the backhoe operator had used his noggin and loader bucket? Pretty flawed demonstration.

I'd have to admit that my least favorite excavator task is backfilling without using the front blade.

I've said it before. The backhoe is still the "King" on a construction site.

Yes just depends on the use case. If you have 100 acres and need to travel across it to get to a work site....it will take forever in an excavator. So many differences here you really can't compare them directly. Just for digging of course, but that is like saying a truck isn't as good at racing as a race car is.

 

[mikester]

Agreed. Also looked like the BH operator was either running on low throttle seeing how slow the functions were or they need to choose a BH with hi-flow hydraulics to compare against. I'd like to see who fills a full sized dump truck faster. They probably chose the compact BH due to the comparable reach to the mini-x.

 

[Lil Foot]

All good points, and the Backhoe is still king of versatility.

 

[Henro]

All good points, and the Backhoe is still king of versatility.

I am surprised no one pointed out that the backhoe weighs almost twice the amount the excavator does.

This is sort of like comparing the performance of a BX tractor to a L2501.

I think a more fair comparison would be between equal weight machines.

Still...no doubt the Backhoe is still the king of versatility. I am finding some of that with my B2910 TLB vs the old mini ex I bought, that has about the same digging capability. The mini ex does shine though in many ways...But the tractor can get there faster, tears up the turf less, and deals with the spoils better.

 

[RCW]

This is sort of like comparing the performance of a BX tractor to a L2501.

I think a more fair comparison would be between equal weight machines.

I'm not sure that's appropriate in this case. A 10 ton excavator would have demolished the BH in their "staged events."

Understanding the video is a promotion for Wacker, their sales point is less weight/fuel can still equal more work.

Couple years ago had a guy do some work here at the house. Had a little Cat mini-ex. He said the thing was a digging fool. He was raised on TLB's with his Dad. Also owned a Cat 328 for bigger jobs. The guy is like a surgeon with heavy equipment. Done it all his life.

But I had to move the sewage system stone with my little BX2360.....

 

[dirtydeed]

I did discover recently that wacker neuson has some mini-ex's that feature house/cab leveling. It allows the user to level the cab (and therefore the boom) while the tracks can remain on a slope. Useful when digging footings on a side slope. The footings would potentially have a flat/level bottom instead of a sloped bottom. Perhaps faster than building a somewhat level pad to dig from?

 

[torch]

If my business was digging all day long, then an excavator would make sense, probably as a second machine after a loader for moving material around the site. For my occasional use as a homeowner, a backhoe is a comparatively inexpensive attachment. As mentioned above, it does add another layer of versatility to an existing machine and lets me do some things I just couldn't do with a FEL. If something comes up that a backhoe just can't handle, there is always the rental option.

 

[Deleted member 47704]

Like any other tool it application oriented. Either one can outperform the other depending on conditions.
If you were digging holes to plant nursery stock the excavator would out dig the back hoe.
If you were to dig a trench and then carry gravel to it the back hoe wins.Back hoes are generally cheaper than excavators .
All depends on what you want to do.If in doubt buy both.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

didn't watch video... but...
the OPERATOR controls which machine is 'better'
new house build next door... guy used excavtor to 'relocate' 1/4ac of topsoil(2' deep), took all day, I'd have done the job in less time using the H-3 dozer.

 

[Hot Rod]

I watched about a third of the video and man was that a put on.
The backhoe operator started out great, but when it came to getting near the finish I believe the company told him to back off because you could see him gnawing at the hole with several bucket rotations before he picked up a load, If I was in that backhoe I would have dug a hole in the time allotted and pushed that excavator in there . Ha!Ha!
The excavators are usually smaller and on tracks which don't damage lawns and such as a wheeled tractor does.
Now for large jobs like digging a lake a large excavator will do the job, but I think you are better off with a D8 or 12 caterpillar.

Each piece does a certain job, comparing one with the other is idiotic.

I believe these videos are for the newbies, the long time users know better.

Just my opinion and I am stickin to it.

 

[Lil Foot]

Again, good points. The only reason I posted it was that I may end up with a micro excavator in addition to my tractor, and was watching lots of vids for pros & cons, and techniques.
If it works out that I get it, I will probably remove the backhoe from the tractor and put the box blade back on, giving me more versatility without having to swap any implements.

 

[ruger1980]

I watched about a third of the video and man was that a put on.
The backhoe operator started out great, but when it came to getting near the finish I believe the company told him to back off because you could see him gnawing at the hole with several bucket rotations before he picked up a load, If I was in that backhoe I would have dug a hole in the time allotted and pushed that excavator in there . Ha!Ha!
The excavators are usually smaller and on tracks which don't damage lawns and such as a wheeled tractor does.
Now for large jobs like digging a lake a large excavator will do the job, but I think you are better off with a D8 or 12 caterpillar.

Each piece does a certain job, comparing one with the other is idiotic.

I believe these videos are for the newbies, the long time users know better.

Just my opinion and I am stickin to it.

Working in the construction industry for 30+ yrs I can guarantee an excavator of equal size will out perform a backhoe when excavating any day of the week. Most serious contractors run excavators for excavating and SSL's or wheel loaders to move material. The vast majority of end users that buy TLB's now are municipalities.

 

[motionclone]

Again, good points. The only reason I posted it was that I may end up with a micro excavator in addition to my tractor, and was watching lots of vids for pros & cons, and techniques.
If it works out that I get it, I will probably remove the backhoe from the tractor and put the box blade back on, giving me more versatility without having to swap any implements.
View attachment 64932 View attachment 64933

I got rid of my backhoe attachment and bought an excavator. Nothing like diggin the base of a tree with one scoop then pushing the tree over roots and all then tearing all the branches off and putting them in a pile for burning, all within about 3 minutes.

As others have mentioned about backhoe vs excavator. The pros use excavators and track loaders on construction sites now. Never see a backhoe.

 

[PaulL]

@Lil Foot : It all comes down to the question.

If the question is "can a backhoe or an excavator dig faster", the answer is probably an excavator.
If the question is "I have $20K, am I better buying a TLB, or trying to buy a tractor + an excavator", the answer may be that you're better with a single $20K machine than 2 x $10K machines that are pretty run down.
If you want a machine that's mostly a tractor, but to be able to dig sometimes.....clearly a backhoe is it.
If you can afford both, then you're like my father - a small old Massey135, a large Kioti, and a small Takeuchi mini-ex with a tilting bucket for doing track work and trenching. He's happy as with that.

There's no one right answer. To me, if you already have a tractor and you want to do some digging, then it's a question between about $8K of backhoe, or a beat up $8K ex rental mini-ex. If your wife will drive one, get both machines. If you have to drive over the farm to then do the digging, and you're on your own, then a mini-ex will kill you, a backhoe is better. Otherwise you drive the tractor over, walk back, drive the mini-ex over, dig, backfill, drive the mini-ex home, walk back, drive the tractor home. Yuck. Or maybe you leave the tractor at home and drive slowly in the mini-ex. Or maybe you put the mini ex on a trailer and tow it with the tractor, now the mini-ex can fill the trailer, tractor can take it away. Suddenly makes sense.

There's a lot of nuance, and no one right answer. Depends what you have, and what you're doing.