On cramped residential construction and landscaping jobsites, compact utility loaders can excavate gaping holes with a brawny backhoe attachment. Whether you're digging a foundation, excavating irrigation lines or creating a small water feature, CUL backhoe attachments offer a dig depth up to 6 ft, bucket widths of 9, 12 and 16 in. and breakout force around 2,000 lbs. That’s no small potatoes when most residential construction utility lines are buried 4 to 5 ft deep.

Once the backhoe has been attached to the power unit, the hydraulic power from the compact utility loader provides hydraulic oil flow to the backhoe controls. The control levers allow you to operate the swing arm and bucket rotation, similar to that on a tractor loader backhoe. The operator is typically perched on a seat in front of the machine with the backhoe controls above the loader arm.

Most backhoe attachments don’t offer any options such as changeable controls (between ISO and SAE patterns) or attachments and thumbs. If excavating on a hill, you should be positioned facing up with the load behind you. Do not position the machine sideways on a slope, and always be sure to use the attachment's stabilizers, as they keep the backhoe from pulling the machine forward.

Go slow and take your time. This will help eliminate jerkiness. Typical backhoe attachments do not require much more than 8 gpm of hydraulic flow and do not utilize full hydraulic abilities. To solve this, most backhoes feature a hydraulic bypass that regulates flow to the attachment. However, in an effort to improve fluid movement with the backhoe, do not operate the attachment with full throttle on your compact utility loader.

Some manufacturers, such as Toro and Bobcat, offer backhoe attachments that are specifically designed for their loaders. If a loader manufacturer doesn’t offer a backhoe attachment, it’s a good idea to check with the manufacturer for recommendations. For instance, Compact Power recommends the Bradco 3265 backhoe for use on its Boxer compact utility loader. Depending on the manufacturer’s recommendation, you can expect a backhoe attachment to run up to $8,000.

- By Jason Morgan, associate editor of Compact Equipment.