What kind of machine do I need?

[terryknight]

no worries guys saw the same thing you saw and filled it up after that. it was also the end of the day.

 

[zmoz]

Here are some examples of what I have been looking at:
Ford 555B Backhoe $13,500
Ford 555C Back-hoe $16,000

Seems like the Ford 555 keeps coming up in my price range. Will that do what I want? How many hours is too many?

I know that you are just doing preliminary research now, but I think that you really need to increase you equipment budget by 2-3 times just to get started.

$45,000 for a basic used earth mover? I think you're a bit overly optimistic. I could buy a brand new machine for less than that...I'm not looking for the biggest excavator they make.