My first tractor was a B7100 with FEL, and I bought a Woods 650 TPH hoe with the tractor, all new equipment. While I was waiting for my hoe to arrive the dealer lent me a Woods 750 TPH hoe. On the B7100 the 750 was clearly too heavy to haul around. The 7100 could carry it, but the front end was very light (wheelies and such). The hoe worked fine however. When my 650 arrived it was a little better in terms of weight, but still quite heavy. Now this was all before the subframe craze so this attachment was truely a TPH mounted item. Over the first few months I had to replace the tractor toplink bracket twice. The dealer modified the toplink by welding "ears" on the ROPS that allowed the pin on the tractor end of the toplink to pass through the toplink bracket and throught the ears. This effectivly made the ROPS part of the toplink system. Thats when we found out that Kubota made a "Heavy duty" toplink bracket for the 7100. We installed one and I never had another problem. The hoe worked well. I dug a 900 foot ditch for a neighbor up the center of his gravel driveway (18" deep, 8" wide). This was in packed gravel with 5" stone sub-layer, on packed clay. NO PROBLEM! I used the 7100 to clear 1/2 acre of mature forest many of the trees were over 12" in diameter at breast hight. I started out cutting the trees first and using the hoe to remove the stumps. I soon realized that this was a lot of extra work and began digging the tress up and carefully pushing them over with the hoe. On the average tree (12-15") it took about 20 min. of putering around before I could shove them over. (This is very dangerous so if you try it practice on small stuff first, keep looking up for falling branches)Because of the weight of the hoe I was usually able to carry 75-100 foot pine trees (about 14" diameter) with the FEL. Now I do not deny that all of this was WAY beyond what any of this equipment is designed to do. Still, the combo worked for me. You have to be very carefull how you approach the work, and because everything is small it does take longer to get the job done. But for me operating the tractor is fun so I don't mind. I have also dig a number of large holes up to 5' deep. I used the hoe to install a propane tank which required a hole 5 feet deep, 4 feet wide, and 11 feet long, and a ditch 24" deep 50 feet long. No problem! it took about 45 min.This year I upgraded my tractor. I traded the B7100 for a B2410. I kept the hoe and the dealer added a sub-frame. MAN WHAT A DIFFERANCE!! The hoe now feels like it is part of the tractor instead of hung on the rear. All of the sway is gone and as a result the machine works better. Now would a bigger hoe work better? Sure it would for some jobs. But you have to balance the cost of your equipment and the size of the job. If you have a project that will justify the purchase of the equipment initally, by all means get the biggest and best you can. But if after the original job, all of your work will be small projects, I would go for the 650 or 750 in a heartbeat and rent someone for the ocasional job that is too big.At this point in my life I would sell my car before I would be without a tractor again. I feel the same way about the Hoe. When my wife comes home with a rose bush or new yard plant, I don't go to the garage for a shovel, I reach for the tractor key. Overkill? Sure, but I'm done in 10 min. and no muscle aches the next day.One last thought. Most hoes come with a 16" bucket. Consider getting an 8" heavy duty as well. If you are laying a 1/2" wire you do not need a 16"ditch. Also the 8" bucket is better for digging stumps (applies more force to break roots). Use the 16" when you really need to move the dirt.
