An excavator and a backhoe are crucial pieces of heavy equipment for your essential earth moving and excavation work. But before you dig into anything, there’s a number of factors that make each of the two suitable for specific jobs, and thus it’s crucial to pick the right one for your project.

So, spend some time with your project specifics because renting a new machine will make a huge difference in how you’d do certain jobs. You need an all-rounder that can offer quick and agile actions for material handling and can be effective at ground preparations and clearing up after.

So, let’s explore some of the most significant differences between renting a backhoe and an excavator and this will ease up your decision about what works best.

Feeling intrigued? Let’s jump straight in.

Access

In the past when excavators were only thought of as giant machines, backhoes were used when you have space constraints or limited access. But those days are certainly gone as the introduction of mini-excavators has just eliminated the need for backhoes. So, you don’t have to compromise productivity when you can do the same job with a mini-excavator hire.

Swivel and Swing

Both backhoe and excavator have a different swing mechanism and thus both are different to operate. A backhoe has a swivel seat so the operator can face the excavating bucket that can only rotate at about 200 degrees. On the other hand, an excavator can rotate its entire assembly on the undercarriage chassis. Due to such fundamental differences, an excavator can provide a greater range of motion during on-site operation.

Long and Effective Reach

Because of the zero-tail swing, an excavator offers long and effective reach in confined spaces, and thus even for smaller job sites; excavators are the best in the business.

Extra Digging Muscles

When you’re on commercial or industrial projects where the extra digging muscle is a need; an excavator hire has a lot to offer. Its long-reach and the powerful hydraulic engine can deliver the extra digging muscle which can considerably uplift your on-site performance. Whether you need septic tank repairs in a small area or you need to undertake heavy-duty trench excavation; an excavator’s powerful engine can handle a variety of tasks.

Transportability

Wheel-mounted excavators can travel easily across a job site and that’s crucial when you have to do multi-tasking. So, if you’re looking for versatility and superior experience; a hydraulic excavator is a better pick.

The bottom Line

Backhoe loaders are arguably easily replaceable by newer machines like a mini-excavator. That’s the reason why a lot of contractors and construction experts won’t find it valuable. Because of a multitude of reasons, a hydraulic mini-excavator has proven as a top contender for the replacement. So, with the above text, you can easily conclude why renting an excavator is better than a backhoe.

If you’re still unsure which pick make sense for your project, reach us at our official email and our team will guide you with all the choices.