So which is right for your customers?

What it really boils down to is evaluating your customers' jobsites.

"If your customers have limited space, a skid-steer loader or compact excavator combination may be appropriate. If space is not much of a concern, then the higher specs of the backhoe may be the way to go," says Tyler. "Or if your customers are going to be using a loader all day, then they might be better off with a compact loader. If they're going to be digging trench all day, then a compact excavator may be the better choice."

But if they're going to do some of each, then this is where the backhoe shines - it's more of a 'jack of all trades'."

Schaefer adds, "The size, number and variety of tasks to be done and the distance between those tasks are key indicators in the decision to use a backhoe-loader versus an alternative."

Barth agrees, adding, "You would be hard pressed to locate another machine that could do as many jobs, at as low a cost, as a backhoe-loader. On a building site, it can level aggregate for a parking lot, unload palletized materials from trucks, dig footings for a building, dig trenches for sewer water lines and electrical services, then drive down the road when the job is completed."