Total Landscape Care Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/165924
equipment matters How To Master the BACKHOE BY LAUREN HEARTSILL DOWDLE Turn off ride control before setting the machine for backhoe operation. Crank up operator efficiency with two-in-one machine W hether digging a hole for a pond, installing an irrigation system or excavating a site, you only need one piece of equipment for all of these tasks: a backhoe. "Versatility is the name of the game with backhoes," says Louann Hausner, backhoe loaders and tractor loaders product marketing manager, John Deere Construction & Forestry. To make sure you are getting the most from this machine, here's how to become a more efficient backhoe operator. Less is more A rookie mistake many operators make is pushing the equipment to its max to finish faster. But in reality, they could be adding more time to the tasks and costing the owners more in the long run. Instead, you should know the optimum speeds and when to use certain functions when operating and traveling on the jobsite. Turn off ride control before setting the machine for operation, says Katie Pullen, marketing manager, Case Construction Equipment. "You're going to want to use the loader bucket for stability, and if that loader bucket senses a load on it, as it would while supporting the rest of the machine, the arms are going to float up and down and complicate operation," she says. And for traveling across the site or lifting and lowering, Jamie Wright, product manager, Terex Construction Americas, recommends selecting the single hydraulic pump mode. S E P T E M B E R 2013 TLC0913_EquipMatters.indd 17 TotalLa nd s ca p e C a re . c o m 17 8/27/13 10:07 AM