Cool Jobs: Backhoe Operator
By Chuck Cage
TM reader and photo pool member Jason offered up some great pics of the view from his office — in a backhoe! And yes, operating a backhoe appears to be as cool as we’d imagined. Jason writes: “All that videogame playing has finally payed off! The button at the top of the right-most lever activates the jackhammer. The foot-pedals swing the arm from side to side.”
There are quite a few more photos in the set he shared in the pool, so if you’d like to see more, give it a look.
Toolmonger’s Photo Pool [Flickr]
November 2nd, 2007 at 3:10 pm
Probably West of the Mississippi. Backhoes are typically available with multiple control layouts, and there is a definite regional preference. In the Northeast backhoes typically have 2 lever (wobblestick or John Deere style) controls and full cabs, while the Northwest favors open cabs (despite the rain) and 3 lever controls (Case style) with foot pedal swing like the photo. The ones I saw in the Midwest also typically had open cabs, and either 3 or 4 lever controls.
Backhoes are fun to operate but personally I prefer track excavators, I’m better with the digging bucket than the loader bucket.