Bobcat's Backhoe Attachment vs. the B760: When to Add an Attachment and When to Buy a Dedicated Loader

Oct 5

7 min read

If you already run a Bobcat skid steer or compact track loader, adding backhoe capability doesn't automatically mean buying a backhoe loader. Bobcat sells a full line of backhoe attachments, M06, 7BH, 8811, and 9BH, that bolt onto a loader you already own through the Bob-Tach mounting system and turn it into a digging machine for the afternoon. Bobcat also sells the B760, its first-ever purpose-built backhoe loader, a dedicated machine with nothing in common with your skid steer fleet except the badge on the hood. Contractors weighing backhoe capability for the first time tend to assume these are two ways of solving the same problem. They're not, and the gap between them is exactly what decides which one actually fits your jobsite.

What the Backhoe Attachment Lineup Actually Covers

Bobcat's current backhoe attachment line runs four sizes, M06, 7BH, 8811, and 9BH, scaled to match everything from mini track loaders up through full-size compact track loaders and skid-steer loaders like the T770 and S770. Across that range, digging depth runs from 6 to 11 feet depending on which size you pair with which carrier, enough for most residential and light-commercial trenching but a different working envelope than a dedicated backhoe loader covers. The attachment mounts through the same Bob-Tach system you already use to swap buckets, forks, and other attachments, and it accepts the same X-Change bucket mounting as Bobcat's excavator buckets, so you're not buying a separate bucket inventory just to dig with it.

The real selling point isn't dig depth, it's what the attachment doesn't require. You don't buy a second machine, insure a second machine, or train a crew on a second machine's controls. You unlock the latch-arms, hook up auxiliary hydraulics, and the loader you already run every day for grading, material handling, and site cleanup becomes a digging machine for however long the job needs it, then goes back to loader duty the same afternoon. Bobcat's own materials describe the lineup as built for excavation at landscaping and nursery sites, sewage and septic system work, and water and power line maintenance, exactly the occasional-digging jobs where owning a second dedicated machine would sit idle more than it worked.

What the B760 Actually Is, and Why It's a Different Class of Machine

The B760 isn't a bigger attachment, it's an entirely different category of equipment. It runs a 96-horsepower turbocharged Bobcat engine with no DPF and no regeneration downtime to manage, paired with a powershift transmission offering four forward and two reverse gears and selectable 2WD or 4WD. Operating weight comes in at 19,274 lb, built on a dedicated wheeled chassis with a 136-inch height to the loader bucket hinge pin and a wheelbase of 87.4 inches, nothing about this machine shares a parts bin or a control layout with a skid steer.

The number that actually separates the B760 from the attachment lineup is dig depth. Its standard extendable backhoe arm reaches 15.4 feet retracted and extends to a class-leading 18.4 feet, which Bobcat describes as 6 to 8 inches deeper than other machines in its size class. That's roughly 7 feet beyond what the largest 8811 attachment reaches on a skid steer. The loader end carries its own separate capability: 7,985 lb of lift capacity at an 11.3-foot lift height, with loader bucket and arm breakout forces north of 14,000 lbf. On the road, the B760 travels up to 22.6 mph on its own wheels between sites, something no attachment-equipped skid steer does. It starts at roughly $114,115 MSRP and was named to Construction Equipment's Top 100 New Products list in 2024, recognition built on genuine engineering, the class-leading dig depth specifically, not just a new badge on a familiar chassis.

The Real Trade-off: Utilization vs. Dedicated Capability

This is where the decision actually gets made, and it has almost nothing to do with which machine is "better." An attachment only costs you money when it's bolted onto equipment that's already on your balance sheet, doing double duty between its usual loader work and occasional digging. A dedicated B760 costs money whether it's digging or parked, which only pencils out when it's digging often enough to justify owning a machine built for nothing else. The attachment's 6-to-11-foot depth range covers a real majority of residential and light utility trenching; the B760's extra 7 feet of reach only matters on the jobs that actually need it, deeper utility mains, septic systems requiring more cover, foundation work below typical frost-depth trenching.

There's also a practical fleet-math question most contractors don't think through until they've already bought the wrong tool. Every hour a skid steer spends wearing a backhoe attachment is an hour it's not grading, loading, or clearing material, on a one-machine operation, that trade-off is invisible until two jobs need the loader on the same day. A dedicated B760 never competes with your loader fleet for time, because it isn't part of it.

The Operator Details That Separate These Two Paths Day to Day

Beyond the headline dig-depth and horsepower numbers, the day-to-day operating experience differs just as much. On the attachment side, Bobcat's own materials point to down-hole visibility as a real selling point, from the seat of a skid steer or CTL you get a clear sight line into the trench, which matters when you're digging accurately next to a utility line or a foundation wall you can't afford to clip. The attachment is also genuinely easy to move, it comes off the loader and loads onto a trailer in minutes, so a crew running several small jobs in a week isn't stuck hauling a dedicated machine to every site, even the ones that only need twenty minutes of digging.

The B760 answers with a cab built for someone who's going to spend entire days running it rather than switching between loader and digging duty. A 5-inch color display keeps machine diagnostics in front of the operator, password-protected keyless start cuts down on unauthorized use on a jobsite with multiple pieces of equipment, and a selectable ISO or SAE control pattern matters more than it sounds like on a rental fleet or a crew with multiple operators who learned on different brands. The mechanical suspension seat physically rotates between loader-facing and backhoe-facing positions, and eight total work lights, four front and four rear, keep both ends of the machine lit for early or late-day digging. Standard stabilizers with rubber pads reduce wear on finished surfaces during backhoe work, a small detail that matters on residential and commercial sites where the client notices scuffed concrete.

Who Should Add the Attachment Instead of Buying a Second Machine

The attachment route makes the most sense for:

Landscaping and hardscape contractors who already run a CTL or skid steer daily and only need trenching capability for drainage lines, irrigation sleeves, or planting-bed prep a few times a month
Irrigation and sprinkler subcontractors doing shallow lateral-line work well within the 6-to-11-foot range the attachment lineup covers
Fencing contractors who already own a skid steer for post-hole and material handling and need occasional backhoe reach for footing work, without adding a second machine category to a small fleet
General contractors and remodelers who want backhoe capability available on demand without dedicating capital to a second standalone machine

For every one of these, the attachment turns idle loader capacity into dig capacity. The math only works, though, if the loader you're mounting it on isn't already fully booked doing its primary job.

Who Needs the Dedicated B760 Instead

The dedicated loader route makes more sense for:

Utility, sewer, and septic contractors digging daily at depths beyond what an 8811 attachment reaches, where the B760's 18.4-foot extended depth is the actual job requirement, not a nice-to-have
Operations with high daily excavation utilization, where tying up a skid steer or CTL with an attachment would pull it off loader duty often enough to hurt overall fleet productivity
Contractors who need to move the machine under its own power between nearby sites at 22.6 mph rather than trailering an attachment-equipped loader every time
Crews that want one operator seat handling both loading and digging without swapping attachments mid-shift

If you're weighing the B760 against other dedicated backhoe loaders rather than against your own attachment options, our look at where CAT's entry-level 416 sits relative to Bobcat's first backhoe loader and our head-to-head on the B760 against New Holland's B110D both cover that specific comparison in depth.

The Rent-vs-Own Math on Either Path

An attachment is the cheaper on-ramp into backhoe capability almost every time, since you're financing an implement rather than a second complete machine, and the rent-vs-own case for it is straightforward: if you're renting a backhoe attachment or a rental-yard mini excavator more than a handful of times a year for work your own loader could handle, owning the attachment outright usually costs less within a year or two. The B760 is a bigger commitment, but the same logic applies in reverse, once your excavation workload is steady enough to justify a dedicated machine, continuing to rent one, or continuing to pull a loader off other work to wear an attachment, starts costing you more than ownership would. Bobcat equipment financing through BFC covers both paths, attachments and implements alongside full machines, nationwide in all 50 states, for startups and established businesses, with good credit or credit that's taken a hit. Deposit requirements scale with your credit profile rather than sitting at one fixed number, so whichever path fits your actual workload, financing doesn't force you into a one-size structure to get there.

Most contractors don't need to choose between these two paths once and live with it forever. A growing landscaping or utility operation often starts with the attachment on a loader it already owns, then graduates to a dedicated B760 once digging work is steady enough to justify a machine built for nothing else. Knowing which stage you're actually in, not which machine looks more capable on paper, is what makes this decision easy instead of expensive.

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