The Mystery Of The Lost Two-In-One Machine

The vast majority of construction equipment is generally widely used, clear and utilitarian in its purpose and largely universal in its design, albeit with some particular features unique to certain brands and manufacturers.

However, there are certain pieces of equipment that are meant to do everything needed for a small construction job in one unit, such as the exceptionally versatile backhoe, which combines an excavator and a tractor loader into a single unit.

A very similar yet more elusive and mysterious machine is the dumphoe, a two-in-one machine, designed to be a dumper truck, a mini-excavator and even a tiny loader all in one single package.

The concept, designed by cobbling together various CAT machines into a vehicle with a 92 horsepower engine, was designed to be the ultimate in versatile earthmoving machinery, with a total load rating of 6,000kg, a top speed of 20 miles per hour and featuring load-sensing hydraulic systems.

A very small amount is known about the machine; whilst its construction date is unclear, it was made as early as 2010, due to a video montage of its capabilities being produced and uploaded to YouTube.

It is unclear who put it together, why it was made and if it was ever even sold, either as a one-off special for a particular customer or as a concept product that never quite made it to full production.

Its manufacturer has a reputation for experimentation, so the most common theory for its unusual design and modern elusiveness is that it was an initial idea to make something in the same spirit as the backhoe that could become an all-in-one solution for small earthmoving projects.

This is not an entirely new concept to the industry, as the original cherry picker was literally used for that purpose, as the first Bobcat machine was designed to be used on a turkey farm.

Unfortunately, little else is known about the dumphoe aside from the fact it was unsuccessful.