Talk me out of a JD 710

690elc said:

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 a excavator on wheels, it is a liability and a lead weight. I use a 655c Ford New Holland along side it and its 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.

Click to expand...

great points . Sold. Thanks. How about a 590sl? Any experience with those? Are they worth the difference from the 580?

Don't know the 590 and the 580 is just what I hear from others that love them. Some guys DO love the 710, but I see it as a pavement machine on flat land only. I love the 710d for only one reason: I bought one for $12,000 when the market crashed and sold it 10 years later with no repair work for $23,000. Better than any stock! But I found a guy that had a love for it, can't say why.

690elc said:

Don't know the 590 and the 580 is just what I hear from others that love them. Some guys DO love the 710, but I see it as a pavement machine on flat land only. I love the 710d for only one reason: I bought one for $12,000 when the market crashed and sold it 10 years later with no repair work for $23,000. Better than any stock! But I found a guy that had a love for it, can't say why.

Click to expand...

While I believe your evaluation of a 710 is spot on, I don't agree with the "any hoe over 16000# is going against the laws of physics" comment. My dad and I put almost 10,000 hours on a 780C. No MFWD, but we had 21L-24 rubber on it. That machine was more capable than most people want to believe, and it would dig right with a 160 hoe on 8' waterline trench. If you have a need for a backhoe with lead in it's pencil like a 710, a 780D with front wheel drive would run circles around a 580-590. Parts are an issue, but they are for an older 580-590 as well. We upgraded to a Cat 446B when the time came, but only because Case quit building the 780.

Dont know the 780c. Is that case? I think my 655C is @ 16,000 pounds, and the rear tires are 28". It's 2wd and I have never needed the other 2 wheels to turn. My point probably was that more HP and bigger tires and longer outriggers are good, but the weight does not necessarily help after a certain point - like it does in a excavator...

690elc said:

Dont know the 780c. Is that case? I think my 655C is @ 16,000 pounds, and the rear tires are 28". It's 2wd and I have never needed the other 2 wheels to turn. My point probably was that more HP and bigger tires and longer outriggers are good, but the weight does not necessarily help after a certain point - like it does in a excavator...

Click to expand...

780C is a Case. It weighs about 24k, and the stabilizer spread is 14'.

Well that sounds like a scary beast. Must be fairly old - never saw one.

690elc said:

Well that sounds like a scary beast. Must be fairly old - never saw one.

Click to expand...

Imagine a 580-590 on steroids. Obviously weight becomes an issue in soft ground, but awkward is the last word I'd use to describe one. The only advantage the 446B had over the 780C was front wheel assist, and a better grading loader bucket. The hoe would outdig the Cat all day long.

The 590 way ahead of the 580 in performance. It is heavier and wider (they do have a 589 Wide Track which mimics the stance of the 590). The extra weight makes it more effective pushing/dozing material. Lifts more at the hoe. I was never a big BH fan, but that 590SN changed that. Everyone that has run it, steps out impressed with it. I have never run a 710, but the 590 might be more liveable than 25K pound 710.

I would be curious how much difference there is over a d series 710 and a j or k series as far as weight and outrigger spread

I have ran a 710 j and I enough to know my 446b wont hold a candle to it I find that 710 to be a stable machine now I dont know if I would hang it on a hill side pushing the limit like I have my 310 sl hl but in those situations I need a 130 or 160 excavator to put dirt were I want anyway.

I would think comparing a 590 and 580 is like a 310 to a 410 the 410 has a little more weight and reach neither do much if anything for you if you are never up against digging past 12 foot deep or need more breakout force it's a difference but not life changing

690elc said:

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.

Click to expand...

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.

Yelling at 4 year old clouds isn’t cohesive.

Takes some googling to get here, give the man a cookie his blood sugar is down.