It’s hard to imagine two completely different pieces of heavy equipment coming together to make one. Yet, for a backhoe, the combination works extremely well. Backhoes combing the nimble work of a loader with the grunt that excavator provides when digging trenches. As a piece of machinery, the backhoe looks to be an ugly awkward beast. I once made the comment that a backhoe looked like a deformed scorpion – it ‘s a reasonable description. Fortunately, they come with the sting.

Naturally, when you combine two different machines into one, that generally requires two sets of skills. For the backhoe, an operator needs to be competent at working as a loader, steadily filling trucks, or perhaps carting materials around in its scoop. The operator also needs to be competent at working as an excavator operator. This means knowing the digging limits of your machine. It also means knowing how to change and use the wide variety of optional tools associated with a backhoe.

Although a backhoe requires two sets of skills to be an effective operator, these skills are not difficult to learn, especially if you attend a well respected heavy equipment training provider. Backhoes, excavators, and loaders are amongst the skills available through a comprehensive training program, and these skills will help to establish you in a career as a backhoe operator. Backhoe careers are reasonably well paid and demand is slowly on the rise. Do you have what it takes to master two pieces of heavy equipment?

One of the most versatile vehicles in a heavy equipment fleet has to be the backhoe. To begin with, it is two vehicles in one – the front is a standard front end loader and the rear is a cut down version of an excavator. Because it has two tools, it can do a wide range of jobs. Backhoes can also be quite nimble so they can work over a variety of terrains. Their large heavy treaded wheels also help, even when the weather turns sour.

To become a backhoe operator you need to learn the skills of both a loader operator and an excavator operator. For this reason, heavy equipment training programs that introduce students to a variety of machinery are more important than programs that train an individual in a single vehicle. The skills learned across that range of equipment prepares the student well for a career as a backhoe operator – it also provides the student with more options once they have completed their training.

You will find backhoes working everywhere from home construction sites to large buildings. They are also often used to prepare the way for in-ground swimming pools or to dig trenches for underground services such as gas, electricity, and telephone. Backhoes are also often found on demolition sites, particularly during the end stages when a site is being cleared. Backhoes and excavators have many similarities and this includes a wide range of tools that can be added to the rear of the vehicle. These tools can do any number of jobs including digging post holes and breaking up concrete slabs or large rocks in preparation for removal. The loader can then be used to help load the material onto a truck.

Backhoes are a popular choice for those graduating from our heavy equipment training programs. They are also one of the most popular choices when it comes to setting up your own small business. The wide range of jobs that a backhoe can do means it is in constant demand. Interested in a career as a backhoe operator? Contact ATS for more information on our heavy equipment operator training programs.

Scenes coming out of the UK and Europe do not bode well for a pleasant winter for us. It was mildly amusing to watch the various equipment that had been modified as snow plows. Old tractors with dozer blades, bulldozers themselves, graders, and what looked like a modified beetle with a blade attached to the front – how that generated the horsepower required has got me. What it has done is remind me of how many operators are required when heavy snow falls do set in.

One news story showed a small village almost lost in seven or eight feet of snow. There were at least six units of machinery working to try and clear the roads of snow, and that, like I said, was one small village. I don’t know if we are better organized here, although that was unusually heavy and early snow. However, we do organize operators and equipment early with most areas already equipped and ready to roll.

The most popular heavy equipment used to clear snow, apart from dedicated snow plows, are bulldozers, graders, and loaders (either wheel loaders of backhoes). The only real requirement to operate this heavy equipment to clear snow is experience. If you have had a lot of experience working with various soils and terrains, it is a simple transition to clearing snow.

To gain experience as a heavy equipment operator, you need to gain employment and, in today’s working environment, that means being trained by respected trainers. One of the most respected training organizations around today is ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Training. While operators are busy clearing snow, that means there are opportunities elsewhere for new operators. Opportunities that will give you the experience that will one day enable you to work in areas where the community relies on you to clear the snow.

If you start a career off on the right footing, you will often find there are many directions you can take. Heavy equipment careers are one good example. A thorough grounding in a range of machinery can prepare you well for diverse employment opportunities. Backhoes, excavators and loaders are a prime example of this.

Excavators and loaders are very different machinery. Excavators are normally stationary and are generally used to dig holes and trenches. Loaders, on the other hand, are always on the go and used primarily to carry material. They are very effective at lifting loads of sand and gravel into trucks. What do they have in common? The backhoe! The backhoe takes the best of both machines and incorporates it into one machine.

The front of a backhoe looks very much like a standard loader. There is a good reason for that since that is exactly what it does. Backhoes, when used as loaders, can generally do everything that a loader can do, and just as nimbly as well.

At the rear of a backhoe is an excavator tool that is used in the same manner as an excavator. It does the same work, digging holes and trenches. Over the past 20 years or so both have seen the introduction of attachments such as slab breakers, augers and just about any other digging or breaking tool you can think off.

Being trained in all three machinery means you are able to pick and choose workplaces. You are also more attractive to potential employers since they will then have the flexibility of using your skills across a range of machinery. Rather than approaching a career as an operator of one piece of machinery, take advantage of training that provides heavy equipment operator skills across a range of machinery. It can certainly give your career a boost.

If you are looking for a heavy equipment career that is always busy, there’s no getting past loaders. They are often the busiest heavy equipment on a construction site due to their versatility. The term loader these days is a misnomer since they are capable of more than just loading material into dump trucks.

Loaders are generally carriers. Their main role is to load material onto a dump truck, however, they are also used to carry equipment and building materials around a construction site and they can often be seen helping to break up old concrete slabs. In fact, loaders are one piece of heavy equipment that is frequently found on both construction and demotion sites.

Training to become a loader operator is not as difficult as many seem to think. Heavy equipment training that provides operators with skills suitable for entry level employment can be completed in as little as three weeks. Like most skill-based occupations, you continue to learn while on the job – an experience that will last forever as there is always something new to learn.

One of the great aspects of loader operations (like all heavy equipment) is how open it is to everyone. It doesn’t matter your gender, age (over 18) or background – you can train and work as a heavy equipment operator, loader operators included. These days, you don’t have to be built like a weight lifter to operate heavy equipment either – with power steering and touch sensitive controls, a baby could virtually drive them.

If you’re interested in becoming a loader operator, or in learning information on a variety of heavy equipment options, contact ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools. We have courses starting all the time in a variety of locations around the country.

If you need to move dirt then you’ll most likely see a bulldozer or front-end loader at work. If you want to dig holes then you’ll often see an excavator at work. If you need to dig holes and move dirt then the best option is to go for a backhoe. Why use two or three pieces of heavy equipment when one piece will do the job? Almost every decent sized construction firm has a backhoe or two and for most owner operators, their first equipment of choice is the backhoe.

Versatility is the key and for those just starting out in business having a piece of equipment that can do a wide range of jobs means they can tender and advertise for more work. If you own and operate a excavator, while there may be plenty of work available now, there will also be quiet times when excavators are not called for. The same can be said about loaders and bulldozers. Because a backhoe effectively crosses over the roles of loader and excavator, the amount of quiet time is much less. The same situation occurs in the workplace.

Training to become a backhoe operator is not that difficult. People from all walks of life and from all ages can and do train to become backhoe operators. Women have also found this to be an easier entry into the heavy equipment work force. After three weeks of heavy equipment training, graduate operators are ready for entry level employment in the heavy equipment industry. By selecting a career as a backhoe operator you can potentially open more doors than those that select single-use equipment like excavators and bulldozers.

If you’re interested in finding out more about heavy equipment in general, why not attend a free introductory class. These classes are totally free with no obligation and are conducted across a range of locations. Free classes are already scheduled up until mid-December so contact us at ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools to find out where our closest school is located and when their next free heavy equipment classes are scheduled. A single phone call could change your life and start you on the road to a successful career as a heavy equipment operator.

The mining industry has some of the best paid operators when it comes to heavy equipment. However, getting a start in that industry can be difficult, especially if you’re raw with no skills or heavy equipment experience. Excavators and excavator training can be an option to opening the door to a mining industry career.

Excavators are used widely across many industries. When we think of excavators, most people think about the machinery used to dig trenches for pipe laying. This has been the traditional role of an excavator, however, they are used far more broadly than that. In fact, excavators have been modified in specialist equipment and if you visit some mining sites, you would be stunned by the equipment in use. As an example, take your regular excavator – increase it in size tenfold, and you have one of the smaller excavators used in some open cut mines. To say they are huge is an understatement. Yet many of those operators started their careers as humble excavator operators, digging trenches on new housing estates.

To get into the mining industry, you need experience operating standard heavy equipment like excavators, bulldozers and loaders. To gain work and experience operating this machinery, you need to have the proper base training. Heavy equipment training should cover a range of machinery – this has a number of benefits to graduates including providing a much wider range of jobs to select from. Being multi-skilled is also one attribute that is preferred by many employers.

If a well paid career in the mining industry sounds attractive then look at heavy equipment training as a starting point. Follow this up with employment as an excavator operator and over time you will develop the skills necessary to gain employment in the mining industry.

Three heavy equipment vehicles that can often be seen working together are loaders, bulldozers and dump trucks. They do make for a perfect team with the bulldozer’s sheer grunt giving it the ability to move a lot of dirt around fairly quickly. Loaders then transfer those piles of dirt to dump trucks to be carted away. You will often see bulldozers, loaders and dump trucks working together in areas such as pre-construction of buildings and roads.

Bulldozers do one thing – they move dirt and they do it well. With plenty of grunt in the engine, and a good strong blade at the front, they can carve out a new road or building site fairly quickly. It is interesting to watch the bulldozer take an area of land that is lightly vegetated and transform it into a flat clean area of land ready for whatever project is intended. The only sign of the bulldozer’s presence being the piles of dirt and rubble scattered around the edges of the site.

Bring in the loader and those piles of dirt and rubble are soon gone, all transferred to waiting dump trucks for removal. Loaders don’t rely on brute forward strength. Their power revolves around their ability to quickly maneuver around a site and to lift large loads, particularly overhead and into dump trucks. Where bulldozers rely on tracks for mobility, loaders are generally wheeled and often articulated, giving them even more mobility.

Dump trucks complete the picture. With open top bodies, they can be quickly and easily filled with dirt and rubble. Being trucks, they can take that load to any destination, including driving on the open roads. Dump trucks get their name from the action of dumping, or tipping the body upwards to ‘dump’ out their load.

These three vehicles work independently yet each relies on the other to complete its job. For those looking at a career in heavy equipment, standard training at ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools introduces students to all three vehicles (and many others). If you are looking for hands on training that prepares you for the workforce, check out your heavy equipment training options – perhaps a career as a dump truck driver, bulldozer operator or loader operator is right for you.

If you like variety in your career then backhoes are the answer when it comes to careers in heavy equipment. Loaders, while doing a range of jobs, really rely on the one instrument, a shovel. Excavators, while having a range of attachments that make the job more interesting, rely on a bucket. Bulldozer and graders rely on blades to get a job done. Backhoes, on the other hand, are multi-function machines.

For starters, backhoes have a bucket at one end and a shovel at the other so they perform the roles of both a loader and an excavator. Like an excavator, the backhoe also has a wide range of attachments that can perform a variety of tasks. Gaining backhoe skills also sets up an operator with the option of operating loaders or excavators as well should the need (or demand) arise.

In today’s workplace, being able to operate a range of equipment makes you a valuable addition to any workplace. Backhoes provide that career option. You could find yourself working on a housing project this week, a road building project next week, and a demotion project the following week. And that is just a taste of the types of work available.

ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools makes the task a little easier for you as well. Our heavy equipment training programs cover a range of equipment including loader, excavators and backhoes along with the traditional bulldozers and graders. If you’re looking for a career that has variety then consider a career as a heavy equipment operator, particularly a backhoe operator.

If you’re looking to get a start in the heavy equipment industry then loaders can be your best option. They form the backbone of most construction sites because of their versatility and their ability to often get into tight spots. Loaders are used in a wide range of industries ranging from agriculture through to manufacturing. Construction is the major user, either on road building projects, land clearing projects or building projects.

The loader’s main role is the movement of earth. Whether it is moving loads of earth from one place to another or loading the trucks, the principles in use are the same. Loaders are also used to carry heavy objects in areas where fork lift trucks and manual lifting is not possible. You will often see loaders carrying machinery and pipes around a construction site.

One of the important roles of a loader is the cleaning up that occurs once a construction project nears completion. Loaders can scrape the ground pushing debris into piles, then load those piles into waiting trucks. Smaller versions have been built that perform a similar role in tight spaces such as around new homes. They have also become extremely popular with landscape gardeners.

Because of their ease of use, they make a perfect vehicle for those wanting to enter the heavy equipment field of employment. Training for loaders is generally undertaken as part of a wider heavy equipment training program. This is ideal for newcomers to the industry as it provides training on a range of heavy equipment types.

You may gain a start in the industry operating a loader, but through your training you can move onto graders, bulldozers, excavators or backhoes. Loaders – they really are the backbone of most construction sites, and that’s from start to finish.