New Case, Cat and John Deere Backhoe Offerings

[Deere John]

Has anyone had a chance to use one of the newest Case M's, Cat D's or John Deere G series machines? I looked at the JD the other day. Boy, my C series is starting to look pretty old in comparison.

[cat320]

was looking to see some at the mascon show boston but was canceled due to snow storm.

[yorkpaddy]

do people still use backhoes as much, i would think a bobcat and mini excavator would be just as good for 75% of the work, especially with the offset digging of the mini-x.
tell me what you think, where you would use one as opposed to the other.

[Deere John]

I prefer a backhoe over the other two. I rent the other two when needed, and I find I get 85-90 percent of my work done with the B/H. Mini-ex's are great in the right spot, and can save you having to move alot of extra material with the 360 swing and side-shift ability, but at the same time, I can put the 30" bucket on the B/H and bail like nobody's business. I can also put the 12" bucket on, and do utility work. Frost ripper for winter - not possible on a mini without the expense of a breaker.

Besides, I use the machine for snow work, and it performs well at that sport in my application. We could go on here all day, but I prefer to own my B/H and rent the small equiment when the job dictates. Others would do the opposite.