What You Need to Know About Tractor Loader Backhoes
Dec 16, 2025
Buying a tractor loader backhoe is a big investment, and you don't want to buy the wrong equipment. Buying less power than you need can be disastrous, and buying more than you need is a significant waste of money. How do you determine what you need?
Start by answering a few questions:
Is this for a commercial business or a hobby farm?
Will you use the tractor for other purposes?
For what jobs do you need the backhoe?
How big is the job site?
Is the job site level?
Will you need to move between job sites?
WHAT'S YOUR PURPOSE? SMALL OR HOBBY FARM, COMMERCIAL BUSINESS, OR BIG AGRICULTURE?
When it comes to agricultural, residential, construction, and industrial workplaces, a backhoe loader is an extremely valuable and versatile piece of equipment. It is basically a tractor that features a large front end bucket that can push, scoop, and level materials, and can also carry heavy loads. Located on the rear end, is a bucket designed for digging, which allows the backhoe to perform a variety of tasks.
You can buy an industrial tractor with loader and backhoe permanently attached, but unless you need to perform a single type of job, like construction excavation, we don't recommend it. Most people need detachable implements for versatile operations.
There are businesses that need a tractor for a single purpose. Cities and municipalities, for example, buy big heavy tractor loader backhoes with rubber tires and the capacity to load debris into a dump truck. One piece of equipment to perform a single job, over and over.
Before you decide, consider everything you might want to accomplish with your tractor. Will you need it to grade, till, plow, mow, clear land, water plants, move hay, blow snow…?
Unless you have a very specialized task in mind, the answer is probably yes to all of the above.
We'll start there, with a tractor and detachable implements.
WHAT ARE TRACTOR LOADER BACKHOES USED FOR?
Typical tractors with backhoe and loader attachments are perfect for medium-sized jobs; powerful enough to get the job done, but smaller than their industrial counterparts. They have the added attraction of sufficient speed to drive them on the roads to a job site – no need for a trailer for short distances. With a top speed of about 20 MPH, you won't be making any friends on two lane blacktops, but you will save the time and aggravation of loading and unloading a trailer.
You can use a Backhoe:
Small tractor, medium tractor and big tractors can all use rear digging
You need a machine with enough power, lifting capacity, and weight to perform the jobs you need done. You also need to consider the size of the equipment. Some jobs may require more compact equipment with a tighter turning radius. In that case, you may want to consider a skid steer instead of a Backhoe. If you are attempting to clear and grade land or dig a large pond, then the excavator or compact track loader would be a better choice than smaller Backhoe machines. They are designed for heavy excavation and are much more efficient at putting your land on "grade".
BACKHOE SPECS
Believe it or not, horsepower isn't everything. It's important, but you also need to make sure you have the right backhoe for the job.
Digging Depth – The digging depth of backhoes vary by their size. Smaller backhoes can dig 7-10 feet deep, while other larger backhoes dig up to 14 or 17 feet deep..
Front Loader Bucket Width – Typically, the front bucket of a backhoe has smooth edges and sharp corners, making it easy to pus.