Quirky Chinese Backhoe Loader Concept

I came across this little backhoe loader like no other over the weekend and figured it would make for an interesting Monday blog post.

As we know there are literally hundreds of companies in China manufacturing construction machinery, with widely varying levels of quality. The most successful brands have already made it into the European and UK markets, but there are many more waiting in the wings to grab a slice of our lucrative markets.

The manufacturer producing this unusual backhoe loader is the Laizhou Lida Machinery Co Ltd, the company claim it is a patented design, but a search on the internet has not been very fruitful in terms of machine details.

The concept looks interesting, combining the 360^o abilities of a mini excavator with the mobility and versatility of a conventional backhoe loader. The operator can switch from excavator to loader operation with just one click of a switch in the cabin.

The machine looks rather crude, and looking at the rod left exposed on the main lift ram in the photo above, doesn't look like it would offer any great dig depth, but with some refinements you could potentially see this becoming a very useful tool for contractors working in the utilities sector for instance.

The machine doesn’t feature on the company’s website at the moment, but according to their Facebook page, the machines maximum boom lifting height is 4300mm, with a maximum unloading height of 3200mm. Maximum reach at ground level is 4800mm.

I found this short video of the machine on You Tube, check it out and see what you think!