It's a bit different to run a scandinavian articulated backhoe since they are all bidirectional. I've run a Hydrema (
www.hydrema.com) for a few hundred hours. When facing the backhoe you steer the machine with a thumb roller on the left joystick (right on newer models) while forward and reverse buttons are on the right(left on the new). There is an extra set of pedals for throttle and brake.
When not in gear the thumb rollers control the rototilt. An extra button switches the right roller over to the sideshift or dipper angling, depending on what machine it is.
Will it tip when you hold a fully loaded bucket out to the right with the sidshift all the way to the right? With the stabilizers down and the pendulum joint locked, no. The rototilt ads both leverage and weight and the large grading/backfilling bucket that I used a lot is not what the machine was designed for but it stays put. The stabilizers do fold out like on an american backhoe however, the straight up and down is more of a continental european thing.
It doesn't have a pendulum front axle but rather the articulation point does that job too. Like on an ADT but with a different design. However you can lock it hydraulicly wich makes a huge difference on the stability.
These machines are more of a hydraulic tool carrier then a backhoe. I spent a lot of time driving in the backhoe direction with a pallet fork on the rototilt which is a lot of fun. You can spin the forks 360 degrees and tilt it in any direction, which means you can get pallets in awkward positions. Will it tip with stabilizers up and the pendulum unlocked. Yes, especially when you turn at the same time.
Ofcourse it's main use is still earthmoving and with a bucket that rotates and tilts in any direction there is less need for manual labour. And no, you can't make the rototilt turn by outside force, it's driven by a wormgear.
The Hydrema I operated is the lightest in the class however. The Volvo 6300 on the last pic in the series above is a bit more stable. I was on one site together with a Volvo 6300 and he didn't put down his stabilizers when digging...
I could have gotten away with that with a full front bucket but hardly otherwise. The Volvo was discontinued in -95, the market was too small and it's missed by many. The Huddig 1160 (
www.huddig.se) and the Lännen 860 (
www.lannentractors.fi)has taken over where the Volvo left. The Hydrema is not as big or technically advanced but it attracts a bigger crowd in more countries. It's also the only one with a powered sideshift, it shifts easily even with a full load but the design takes up a lot of space and gets in the way in tougher terrain.
I believe the reason for this high utilization of electrohydraulics is the different way the market works. The operator stays with his backhoe no matter what, you can't rent one without an operator. While the backhoes use excavator style controls there is no standard for controlling the rototilt or the driving in the backhoe direction which makes transitions between different machines a bit painful.
It's also very common (at least in Sweden) that there is an owner/operator behind the controls.
Sorry for boring you all with such a long thread, hope you didn't fall asleep. :sleeping