Driving a backhoe

I just read an excellent article on driving a backhoe, you can see it here. http://www.ehow.com/how_4826925_drive-a-backhoe.html

One particular instruction jumps out at me. No. 4 Locate the shorter control sticks that raise and lower the stabilizers. Make sure the stabilizers are all the way up before you drive the backhoe.

If you want to get the most out of your rubber shoes, you must raise the stabilizers off the ground so that the stabilizer pads are not receiving unnecessary wear. Time and time again we have seen backhoe operators putting extensive stress on the stabilizer pads when operating in this way. So remember to lift up the stabilizer arm before moving the backhoe, let's get the most out of our Laminated Rubbers.

Here we see a father and son team traversing their backhoe with the stabilizer arms in the up position. Perfectly executed.