2010 DS4510HS -- should I buy a backhoe or trade in or rent?

[Doofy]

Yesterday, I stopped in at the dealer -- he had ordered a 12" backhoe bucket. We talked about it -- and I decided to buy it from him and keep my 18" bucket. I swapped it out today and headed for the woods. It seems to be be a little bit stronger in breaking up roots -- but that's a little hard to say -- I tackled an older stump and the roots might have been softer (Poplar) and decayed. In about an hour, I had a stump out of the ground (shown) and headed to the burn pile. Cycle times were a little quicker, as I'm not lifting nearly as much heavy clay out of the ground with each dip (and the bucket weighs less). View attachment 554848

Heavy clay is the exact reason I've been looking at Bro-Tec Ripper with a Trencher attachment. Very strong and very reasonably priced. I have a 16" bucket and didn't want or think I needed otherwise. The Ripper is reputed to be **** on roots and stumps. You are also not making such a mess.