Backhoe VS Excavator Control Patterns 

The backhoe pattern just makes more sense to me, not because it's what I learned on, but I like the "big" controls like the boom and the swing to be one the same joystick. Then the two motions I need more fine control over are both on my dominant hand. Plus all excavators from our local rental house come delivered with SAE selected so I don't have to worry with changing it

Personal preference. I cut my teeth on backhoe controls. I prefer them on everything. I can run CAT controls but look like a asshat doing so... I still think backhoe makes more sense. The stick is attached to bucket. One control for that. The main boom is attached to cab... one control for that. Bata-bing! 😁

Very smooth operator on the excavator and no slouch on the backhoe! Thanks for the show!

The Backhoe The One That Dug Up The Furlings With Its Back Bucket While They’re Trying To Run Away From It

Lmao. That long dipper pond excavator you rented before was deere pattern. I remember that

I learned two things from this video. One is that a backhoe can have a extendable stick. Which is cool by the way. The second is that everybody needs a pile of dirt to take apart and put back together for practice and fun. lol

Thank you for doing this! Recently purchased my first backhoe and this vid gave me an idea of what a good operator looks like and what Im capable of!

Thanks for taking the time to explain the controls on the 2 different machines

Chris. Thank You very much for showing everyone the different machians with their different control stick patterns. Thank You for the ride along video's. Take Care and be safe.

You are still above average on that pattern you dont prefer! And you are by far the best opperator I have ever seen on the pattern you do prefer! Super great opperator!! Great video!! Thanks!

Thanks for explaining the difference sir. Never ran either but always wondered how it's done. Excellent video.

I'm 100% with you man. When you can turn 360 degrees. From 180. It just changes everything.

Should've thrown the classic 3 stick case in for haha's.

Definitely different Chris plus you make it look so easy 👍🏻

It is pretty clear. Thanks for taking the time.

Nothing wrong with backhoe controls 😉🤣 it’s definitely all about what you are use too. I’m that way on something all depends what machine you are on

My hat's off to you, sir. I recently had a job where I had two pieces of equipment, a skidsteer and a mini excavator- just switching between the machines was a problem. Had to sit there for a second and remember what I was sitting in, and what the hell I had to do. Pretty close up to a house, too, lucky I didn't knock a wall in...

Awseome video Chiss. Love the information and watching your vids... Not boring at all. Great to learn this way. Thanks!

Yep can definitely tell when you changed in the yanmar you did alright but it was funny as hell it does look confusing when you have 2 different control patterns 🤔

Just gotta use what your use to and they make it easy to switch it for different operators!! Thanks for sharing!!

Thank for that great video. I worked for city of Kalamazoo in Mi. for 30 years,26 yrs on backhoe Started with Ford 4 stick. Then to JD310. On Ford 555 a little. Had JCB and Case, but liked Deere best Smooth controls. Good stability. Keep up the great vids. Thanks again!

I’ve been paying really close attention to your recent (2024) videos to see if I could figure out the pattern. But one of your commenters put a link to this video which demonstrates it all! Thanks!

We have a John deere 250 excavator that is setup like his mini. We also have 2 gradalls that are set up similar to a backhoe. It's a hell of a learning curve when you start to go from one machine to the other.

When your worst operating is still better than mine 😂

Thanks for documenting this definitely helped me to understand the difference in controls my dad has a little CAT excavator I haven't run yet but I have run backhoes which is what he had before he got the CAT

LIKE the Fun Facts ... nice to hear it from Owner / Operator viewpoint

I’m glad they are switchable, I run everything on backhoe pattern, the other day for fun I switched to cat controls and tried loading trucks with the 320 and it was hilarious, kinda scary too!

i always wondered what the difference was between the two. Thanks!

Great learning video. Thanks for the show.

Just for fun make a video of you running either machine with your left hand on the right joystick and your right hand on the left joystick! Seriously though- It's pretty cool that you can run both patterns.

It's like a righty learning to use his left hand...very awkward looking, but gets the job done

As an operator myself, and a musician, I always compare it to switching from iso to sae is like playing guitar left handed on a right hand guitar then given a left hand guitar to play. Your brain has a harder time unlearning something than it does learning.

What I've been able to determine, is the location of the hands.......... joysticks are out and to the side where you sit comfortable in the seat (relaxed state). Wobble sticks are out in front with hands closer together.... typically in a more upright position. Those are the differences where the mind/position tells you subconsciously what to do with your hands.......... still with scratcher (backhoe) controls, periodically, I can still find myself goofing up.

Only machine I’ve logged many hours on was an old International backhoe from the mid 60s it has 6 levers 3 on each side of the seat. Right side of the seat stabilizer swing and bucket Left side of the seat stabilizer stick and boom. Thank you for the great video Chris bet you could dig blindfolded.

Honestly a hardcore video gamer wouldn't have any problems with either pattern. It only takes me a very short time to figure out left right up and down in whatever game I'm in

Really good vid... will help new operators a lot. I started with backhoe controls and even up to 800T machines this was the pattern to use because having slew and boom together made it possibe to use the radio with a free hand. It wasn't until I had to use a machine with excavator pattern that I couldn't change which forced me to learn the excavator pattern but glad I did. Still takes half hour to switch comfortably though.

Its what ever you are used to, backhoe control pattern is usually used by old guys its what they are used too as backhoes were a lot more common back in the 70s-80s. A friend of mine he is in his mid 30s he learned on a gray market excavators which were backhoe controls he can't operate "Cat" controls.

Thanks for sharing @letsdig18 I didn't know that, which if I do remember right I think someone told me once but am not quite to sure though, cuz I thought before backhoes and excervters controls operates the same way, so I'll bet it does get confusing...lol but inerways again thanks for sharing. But good work.

Yep did enjoy bro. I guess it is like going to a country that is right hand drive it would take a bit of getting used too.

Wow, that’s pretty good that you can run either, so you could handle any situation. I learned on a backhoe, SAE controls, so that’s how I run both types of machines. But I’m not a proffesional so I guess that’s not really that surprising.

Thanks for the informational vid . great job

I learned to run backhoe on an international harvester with 4 sticks so going to a Ford 4 valve is no problem and going to a case 3 lever with foot swings is also no problem. They all put the boom control in the right hand and stick in the left. So when I get on a two stick, the iso controls work best. On almost any other type of machine you get on the boom control will be in the right hand.

All about time in the seat..nice demonstration.

Congratulations on knowing how and operating different patterns. Operators can train themselves on various machines with efficiency....that is one of the designations of a great operator! I, like you and others, have owned and operated different patterns, "just some time in the seat"! For a fun time on an excavator with a 5 y.o. grandson, I set him on the seat in front of me and had him place each of his hands on top of mine. After a few repeat movements (20-30 minutes) I noticed that he was trying to help...lol.

Never operated in my life, but for my taste SAE is just more "intuitive" Left control handles the first two movements of the arm Right control handles the last two movements BTW: Never thougth I'd ever say that US>ISO... - normally metric systems wins for being more intuitive.

I used to be able to run backhoe controls on a wobble stick and excavator controls in a excavator. My old boss would always say “your going to end up killing someone someday, just run backhoe all the time!” (Cause that’s what he ran). Haven’t ran backhoe controls since I left that company and if I had to do it today it would be an awful mess lol

I remember the Deere Longreach video you did that had the backhoe pattern cleaning out that water channel. You were pretty rough in that. I been waiting for a video like this. Thanks Chris.

Backhoes I learned on were the same as yours but the Cat 311B Excavator I ran had the swing and bucket changed. Boom and Dipper were left and right respectively.

I grew up operating backhoe as a kid when my Dad had his company and I was taught on Deere. Now I'm older and love Cat controls, but I can still operate Deere controls, just not my preference. Something about using my left hand to Swing and my right hand to Boom up seems to make hogging dirt faster for me.

Should do another fun video like this. It’s funny watching skilled people struggle sometimes. I hate iso. I carried wobble stick controls with me to the excavators. Just feels more natural. But the struggle is real between the too.

Chris....what I'd like to see is a side by side of what the excavator is doing and how you manipulate the controls to get it to do it. Your ability on using the controls to get dirt moved is impressive. I've recently got a small "Orange" KX040 excavator and it drives me crazy trying to figure out how to bring the bucket back level using the dipper and boom controls.

I’m used to backhoe controls but i can run excavator controls once I warm up to it. If I’m on working on steep ground I prefer backhoe controls because it’s completely instinctive to me. That way if something wanky happens, I don’t have to think about it. I just naturally react.

I grew up on Backhoe pattern with JCB being on an X instead of +. I hadn't run any construction equipment for 17 years then a guy asked me to diagnose a Hitachi UH07 excavator. I fired it up ran it for 2 minutes then the backhoe pattern came into my head of 2 functions swapped and I was done. it completely threw me out of whack I never thought that would happen after all those years. My Latest JCB has a pattern box on it so it's converted from X to + like the Deere. I don't have a problem with that as the levers still do the same thing, and I like it better than the X I drove for years. On the construction forums you can tell the operators that have never driven JCB on X pattern, They say the blocks messed up they get 2 functions working together all the time when they pull the levers. That is what happens when they try driving the X pattern as the + they are used to. It's nice to know even a professional can get screwed up between the 2 patterns sometimes. Thanks for the video.

I did enjoy very much. Thank you for taking the time to make these videos.

Even with the unfamiliar pattern, you are 100 times better than me. I may have run diggers, but it was in the 70's and it had wires.

Thank you so much for talking about the way control patterns are set up. I will talk about the way the Factory set up my Dynahoe-190. The standard 4 control was basically set up like ( Case 580 series) except on Dynahoe the stabilizers control were in the middle instead of on Sides. The swing was so far Right controls. If my Dynahoe-190 came from the factory with what they called (Twin-A- Trol) basically two joy sticks. It was Factory (JD) my TWO Levers Dynahoe is set up with the ( CAT) control. Boom on the Right lever. A back story I got Laid off a job because I had already run (Case) control. I did a terrible job at Digging with Joy sticks being used to Case control. If you look back at the 1970s the (S.A.E. Standard J-983) the swing was on the left side and the Boom on the Right side. Looking back at the Hydraulic Excavator coming on the market for the time. The Swing was forward and back on the left Joy stick, the boom was on the Right joy stick. You look back a Koehring and BUCYRUS-ERIE even though they had Joy sticks they keep the swing forward and back on Left and boom on Right. Different manufacturing made Foot control for Dipper and Tool. That's what they called the (Bucket) Case & Drott were the only ones to make a true Joy stick. Whether you wanted boom or Dipper on Left or Right control. They also made 4 foot pedals for Dipper or bucket. You just need a Factor guy to "CHANGE" the pattern you wanted. Many early Hydraulic Excavators were set up basically like the cable machine, guess back then it was only for guys that could be a good operator with that pattern of control. Anyway Thank you so much for doing the demonstration. My personal beliefs are the way the boom is set up. Is it an excavator boom or backhoe type boom, the arch might be a "BIG" factor in how controls are set up.CATS first Excavator the (225) and the massive ( 245) had the Boom on Right control. Maybe that's where the term ( Cat or S.A.E.) started from. Those were the FIST excavator (CAT)brought to the market. Personally I have a lot of operators manuals from the 1970s and they show the control set ups from Factory. This is something that has always been very interesting to me on CONTROL set up be it a backhoe or excavator. Don't let me get started on (FORD & M.F.) or International for that matter. International had the Levers on each side of the seat. Two on each side.

I have watched most of your videos and enjoy all of them. Thank you !! These take me back to a time when I started operating with a 580 Case with 3 sticks for boom and bucket, 2 sticks for stabilizers and swing peddles. First learning experience on a backhoe. Young people asking how to get into this line of work? This is how I did it. Working for small or large construction companies yielded many opportunities to learn a variety of equipment and truck operation. Talk with other operators you would be working with about techniques and show a desired interest to apply this new knowledge. I started on a paving roller and educated myself through this process to end up operating some very large equipment throughout the years. Be Safe and Always Be Aware of your surroundings. Interesting work and mostly fun times, I miss it.

Man you can really run that Excavator like a champ !!!

Just like anything in life, practice makes perfect or at least damn close to perfect. Thanks for the video.

But did you run over your camera case you left on the track Chris?

Hi Chris I am a long time follower of your posts. I worked the last ten years of operating machines on overseas containers at the CNR railway inland port. We at that time had at times 14 or so different machines and got less different ones as everything progressed. But I could operate everyone of them and it was important because when one would break down you had to get in a different machine and carry on. So I know what you are showing that some systems where and are better than others . Thanks for your video.

I was taught to think about hand placement. Pilot controls are always ISO to me, and wobble sticks are SAE.

Same as you .can’t get the whole boom crowd thing going with backhoe controls on our excavators but on our Deere 410g backhoe no problem with backhoe controls. From my experience is most plumbers,electricians and some concrete company operators use backhoe pattern. Site guys typically run excavator pattern. Nothing worse than someone using your machine and when you return the pattern is swapped.

Growing up my old man had 2 bit construction company. He would borrow or his brother would leave is Dyna Hoe 19 at our hobby farm which was the construction lot. I use to spend hours and days in the peat bog digging duck ponds. That old Dyna Hoe had 4 controls, one thing nice it would do 2 functions at one time, then he demoed a Case 480 I think it was the same as the old Dyna Hoe. I love the Dyna Hoe, I think it had a Detroit Diesel in it and the exhaust and sound where different and I loved them both. Then he found an old junk Massey Ferguson Back that he cobbled together, it had the 4 sticks but could not do 2 functions bring the stick in and bring the boom up or curl the bucket. Hated that thing.

I use to be same. Cat on excavator. Deere on wobble backhoe. But then bought two cat backhoes with joystick. On year were were building a 300 sight campground. On a hundred acres. And one my guys love john deere controls. So my 330 was deere. He left we never changed it. So i got pretty use to running both excavators in same day one cat one deere. But it was a brain storm. But got use to it. But i prefer cat style

Interesting, thank you👌

Good operators can run both on anything 😏 so I was told anyway. I still prefer cat though. I actually think most newer machines have a little valve you can turn to change between them depending on your preference.

Nice video, instructive. Someday get me to tell you about my brief and frustating work with a 1955, Gallian "Grade-O-Matic". Talk about trash, in a far away land.

Thanks, Chris....It's as clear as the mud at the bottom of the big pond you just finished with. Fortunately, whereas you are an artist with the machines. I would be the first patient at the Massachusetts Institute for the mechanically Inept/Stupid. Thank God I never had to earn a living working with machines. I can praise you and Timmy, and mean every word of it; and also enjoy watching your videos, which I most certainly do, every day. Thank you.

I've operated excavators that much that I can see theres such wonderfully smooth hydraulics on that Yanmar💪💪

It is an amazing thing to me how the brain can be programmed to do things. My first exposure to this phenomenon was when I learned touch typing. The more i practiced the better i got. Eventually the brain to body function becomes automatic. What does become difficult is reprogramming. I started out operating SAE control pattern and did that for many years. Then was assigned to operate machines with ISO patterns that could not be changed. I decided to reprogram myself to all ISO. It was very difficult but I am glad I did it. I changed all of my personal machines to ISO and use that pattern exclusively. Now SAE is foreign to me. I have found that most of the machines that are on jobsites today are using the ISO pattern so I am glad I switched.

Wow essential Craftsman preview video wow!!!!! Pretty cool

Very informative

Its the same with me, I can run a backhoe with backhoe controls and an excavator with ISO controls, but can't do excavator with backhoe controls lol. I think it has something to do with the shape of the boom. Excavator booms are more curved than a backhoe and that makes it behave differently.

I've never used an excavator or a backhoe, but the backhoe controls seem to make more sense.

You are an honest man Chris, you are noticeably a bit off on the second part!!!

I only have like an hour of practice on both and whenever I switched from an excavator to a backhoe I was always confused why something didn’t feel right. It makes sense now

Still wasn't bad, better than an amateur. With just a little practice you'd as smooth as iso. I have learned a lot just your videos.

I've trained myself to run both. Here in the north it seems everyone runs either. Instead of digging for valves or crying for the lines to be switched I just dealt with it. After growing up running a gradall with 4 straight sticks foot swing with no brake and a screaming detroit sitting on a wooden crate.. I'm just happy to have arm rest controls.. like the videos big guy.

Ha ha! Chris on mini in backhoe pattern looks like me on my trackhoe (ISO) after running John Deere controls on my mini. John Deere( backhoe) controls just feel/fit better for me.

Except for the small places an excavator can go, the backhoe seems superior.

It’s actually a really simple fix. Switch the hoses at the spool block assembly. My Case Backhoe is the same as an excavator.

Hi Chris, its all to do with muscle memory that's all. On the backhoe your arms are in front of you while in the excavator they are beside you simple really. Love you videos, find them to be relaxing for me. Kindest Regards from DJ. Tarneit Australia

I'm new to all this, but at my job, it seems that most of the excavators can switch between Cat and Deere controls, but the backhoes are stuck to Deere only, so if you had to learn one, Deere is probably better.... Of course, I now have just enough hours on Cat for Deere controls to give me a stroke....

I'm the same way. For me, the difference is the position of my wrists. Backhoe pattern, my wrists are turned as the back of my hands face the ceiling. Excavator pattern, my wrists are twisted 90⁰ so the back of hands are facing outward. This is just how my brain differentiates between the two. Weird right.

I drive an -18 Doosan Dx235 lcr-5 and tracking forward with the pedals on that one is with the drive motors in the back and idlers in front of you haha.

Nice to see the difference Chris.....

@letsdig18 I know a few men like yourself they run backhoe as a backhoe and excavator as excavator. However when they purchase a new backhoe with excavator style joystick (mounted to the seat) they then run the backhoe as an excavator

You should try the old Case 4 stick TLB, Thats what I learned on Then moved on to a Cat 235 excavator and I thought I was in heaven. That was back in the 70`s. I`m retired now but you bring back a lot of memories Thanks. I worked mostly on sewers and water mains building subdivisions in Ontario Canada. Again thanks for the memories.

You are not the only one. I get all messed up, hurts to just watch.

I operate everything the same way. Back in the day there was no switching so I run the backhoe like the backhoe and an excavator in excavator pattern. If the backhoe has excavator style controls I run it in excavator mode. Some old excavator s have backhoe controllers in excavator mode those are tricky.

Both patterns seem logical.

I can use either or without even thinking about it. I learned on a 710K backhoe

I all so liked the one where you show you friend the one that can grad with land survey systems

16 years and I hate changing patterns 😁. Excavator or ISO pattern I can get things done in less than half the time using the backhoe pattern. I would rather run joystick than a wobble stick any day. Wobble stick I have to think about every move and the joystick is just an extension of my hands with out even thinking about it. Digging up high pressure gas lines is better done with the equipment you are more comfortable operating.

I learned on the three stick and pedals for swing.

I gotta switch everything to ISO, it's just what I learned on and what muscle memory is tunned to. I get shit about it at work because all our equip. is Cat but not enough for them to watch me try to learn Cat controls. If I move or load a machine in Cat I always warn people to stay clear because crazy will commence for a couple minutes!

We have a JD 35D mini excavator with excavator and backhoe controls. Half of us run excavator and the other half runs backhoe. Always having to switch back and forth.

We had a career day for school once. We took a bus to an airport where hey had a whole bunch of machines set up. I did great with the excavator but felt like I was fumbling with the controls on the backhoe. Never thought about why until now.... the control pattern was different. The fun part was I had never operated an excavator before, I knew how to operate that excavator because of video games 🤣. I had this app on my phone you could mess around with a bunch of different equipment. But being on my phone, my thumbs did all the movement so my arms had no muscle memory for the movements at all, but once I sat in that excavator it felt natural to me and I actually had to be told to stop digging cause I was going to deep😂

Ive never operated either machine but from seeing this the backhoe looks easier to me. Like the big moves are on the same lever less confusing to me.