That's the problem, the ease of removing the backhoe to mount the brush hog. The 60 inch brush hog is not an easy removal and reinstall single-handed especially as one gets into the 60s!
At 71, I am very thankful for still being able to swap implements, including one of those big backhoes, but your point about seniors doing this stuff is so true. Candidly, I can't bring a lot of brute strength to these chores any more, and working smarter has to make up for it. For example, setting things up so my equipment is parked on concrete, out of the weather made a big difference for me. Among other things, my implements can be parked on dollies so even an old fa#t like me can move and install them easily.
As for the TLB vs. adding a backhoe to a tractor, I was earlier trying to say that it is possible to get some serious digging done with a somewhat more modest setup than the commercial TLB. Just to illustrate, using the "Build my Kubota" pages on the Kubota website, you can configure an
L4701 + loader + 9 ft. backhoe that has a sticker price of $41,040. That compares with the
L47 TLB that stickers at $51,470. No question the
L47 is a lot more machine, but the other one will dig pretty darn well too!
I can only suggest you personally look over the new equipment you might consider, make a plan for how you would actually be using it, and think about ways to streamline some of the grunt work associated with using equipment like this.
