I guess retaining walls may not be that unusual but not a primary use for a TLB. In my case a segmented wall, and a few other projects, added up to a scut bought with zero interest financing. Like some folks I'd rather do it myself and use the labor savings to by what I need to do the job as long as I feel comfortable with the task at hand.
Anyway, pics are of a 90 foot wall on the property line. It replaced an existing, old-school, mortared, cinder block wall that did not have a crushed stone base or drainage, and was in bad shape when we purchased our 120+ year old home.
Bought a 1025R TLB, mechanical thumb for the backhoe, pallet forks, tamper (cheap chinese), laser level for grading and excavation, etc. Tore down an old shed and used the plywood floor and joists to build a gravel bin for crushed stone near the wall location. The excavation for the bin, done on sloped ground, will be enlarged for a new shed at a later date. Part of the floor from the old shed was used to build a ramp over the wall from my property into the neighbor's yard. They were nice enough to allow me access because the landscaping prevented access to constructing the wall and I helped them out with a little grading they needed.
The wall had to be stepped up along its length because it runs up a slope, so renting a tamper would have been very expensive. You can't really step up until you get there with the first course, unless you are confident that excavating all at once will be without mistakes. And the tamper I bought will be used again for the new shed and a parking pad using pavers. It was the cheapest one with a frame and eye so the loader and a chain took care of in and out of the trench.
Once I had the first courses in, it was son, son-in-law and grandson for stack-n-pack time.
Here are some picks, including the old wall (about 6,000 lbs weighed at the landfill), the bin and ramp to wheel barrel for working alone at an easy pace, and to save loader trips out to the street to get on the other side of the wall. Used the backhoe to scoop the stone to the ramp, raked into a wheelbarrow and shuttled the stone. Once it was time for stack and pack with my helpers, it was loader out the back yard, side street, front street and into the neighbor's yard. Front yard, to street, to front yard was not safe due to a very steep hill up to my driveway.



