[amigauser]

Originally Posted by kthompson

If you will be doing every now and then work would suggest the BH on tractor due to cost of separate machine and travel speed on job site. Excavator is about walking speed best case.

As to brands and models of excavator, I would want to do that the same way a tractor. Find out what dealerships are there. Begin with them. Hoses have been my need the vast majority of the time. If you buy an excavator do get manuals.

I agree. A mini excavator is much better tool than a similar sized backhoe for digging and will do it much faster/easier. The trade off is $$ vs. an add on backhoe for your tractor. There are quite a few mini-ex's for sale due to the bad economy but they still are much more expensive than an add on tractor backhoe. If you are making a business out of this, I would get the mini Ex, but for limited home use the backhoe makes more sense.