Have you seen the new bobcat excavator? Almost 16k lbs and 74 horse. I rented a Bobcat 40 h.p. and it was great digging and sooo comfortable to use. I imagine the 74 horse excavator costs about the same as a backhoe but for pure digging, it looks very versatile and it takes attachments.
I like skidsteers but it would be nice to use something that isn't so rough on the body. Get good with a skid steer, though, and you can make a good living. There are a lot of guys that can operate anything but making a piece of machinery an extension of you, as the previous post pointed out, is the name of the game and that level of skill will a) reduce wear and tear on the machine because you aren't gritting your teeth and working it, b) make you look valuable at evaluation time, c) make you all the more efficient. As a side note, I watch a lot of fellas rent machines (mostly bobcat's and backhoes) and then I watch them ram trees, rocks, piles of brush or whatever. This mentality only leads to equipment repairs, sore kidneys, and doesn't get much accomplished. I think training is so very important. For example, any of us can drive a car, however, how many of can drive like a cop in a pursuit or a race car driver? It takes skills but it also takes knowledge. That's my $.02
