Ditch Witch SK500

[Arenite_Boulders]

Hello. I'm hoping that this is at least a tolerably appropriate post for this board. I have some fairly steep, wooded land in the Blue Ridge that I want to begin improving. I have in mind more "tweaking" than major tree and rock removal and earthmoving. There is a Ditch Witch SK500 stand-on mini track loader near me with moderately low hours (~650) that is offered for an apparently reasonable price of $6,700. I've seen quite a number of testimonials about using this machine in steep, wooded areas from contractors constructing mountain bike trails. While that is not one of the tasks I have in mind, I do need to build some foot trails and do similar work. Unit for sale comes with only a trencher, which is far down my list of wanted attachments. I'd like to have the narrow 6-way blade and a backhoe attachment, and possibly an auger. While I can find the blade and auger attachments fairly easily, I'm having some difficulty identifying a compatible (back)hoe. To the best of my knowledge this is one of the "universal attachment" class machines. However, Googling for SK500 and backhoe attachments came up empty. Ditch Witch's own site has the SK500 on its legacy (no longer sold) pages, and this model is ominously omitted from the list of SK-models compatible with their mini-skid backhoe on those pages. This seems odd, since the machine is larger and more powerful than the Toro Dingo TX420, which it resembles, and that machine has a backhoe available. If the SK500 on sale cannot power a hoe (or I cannot find a compatible example), I am probably not interested in it. Anyone here had experience with a backhoe on this model, or other knowledge in that regard? Many thanks in advance.

-Roland

[beenthere]

Tread lightly as you move forward on the purchase, is what comes to mind when reading your post.

Seems loaded with danger signals, and I'd suggest having the hoe in hand before buying the machine for it.

Or have you already made that decision?

[Holmes]

Welcome to the FF Arenite. Now that you have established what you would like to do and the amount of money you might spend you could start looking at other options that will work for you for the long haul.   It is better to buy once smart than to buy twice to fix the first mistake.  Steep areas may require a wide stance 4 wheel drive or tracked piece of equipment. It can be a lot of fun looking and researching for the correct piece of equipment.  Of the equipment I have the handiest is the small excavator.  Stable, will climb hills ,360* rotating, stump and tree removal ,rock re-locator,trail maker, did i mention it spins 360degrees... ;D   Good luck and have fun