You need a JD 710d and up IF: You want to always sink up to the axles in any wet dirt, roll over on a fast swing because the outriggers are 18" too short, you want to NOT be able to see the hole you are digging because the boom is the size of a Ford pickup, you like to do wheelies on any slight uphill drive unless you fill the bucket full first, you want the same digging speed as a 310d but with a huge 6 cylinder engine and 2x the fuel use. It is not an excavator on wheels, it is a liability and a lead weight. I use a 655c Ford New Holland along side it and it’s like driving a motorcycle rather than a semi truck. And the Ford out works it in any fashion. Don't go over a 510 size in Deere, and the 580 Case is fine. Any back hoe over 16000# is going up against the rules of physics. Get a smaller track hoe with a blade if you are going to do a lot of trench work. Just my hard won opinion, results may vary.
Absolute L take. So wrong and exaggerative. I live on 10 acres in the desert and I have owned a 710G for 10 years now and have found it to be the most versatile machine imaginable. Absolutely not just for flat paved and does not get stuck in mud as easy as you described. Maybe a 2wd model but I would not know I have MFWD. It is an adjustment coming from a 310 size, and those are champions of being nimble and absolutely great for many jobs. But if you have open space and want to be limitless in ability, 710 all the way. I can LIFT full size 40’ HQ shipping containers and set into place. Not drag, LIFT. I can roll 15 ton boulders. Then I can go grade the roads and dig an irrigation trench. Incorrect statement that this digs as fast as a smaller machine. How is that possible when it has significantly more hoe weight capacity?? Let’s race digging out a 10 ton boulder from the ground
All the weight mentioned is a huge positive also when pushing with the front bucket, the machine commands the earth into submission. The weight is also very helpful for compaction. I’ve never tipped mine over but have come close. Definitely that is more of an issue with the larger machine , as is wheelies when you have a 3’ bucket on the back, but I find not being able to what I want with a lesser machine an issue too
My operator friends who have run this machine along with their smaller backhoes definitely understand their limitations and strengths and in the end all concur this is the one for larger areas of nimbleness / access is no issue. With that said I have gotten comfortable in Tight spaces and Have managed pretty well in tight spaces. But to be sure there have been times I just can’t fit.
Hope this helps for anyone considering. It really matters what you plan to do with the machine, and your amount of space that you will be working with.