I have drainage ditches around my property. On occasion I'd like to be able to dig them out. The largest one I'd deal with is about 5 ft. wide and 4 ft. deep. I can access that one from either side and the other ditches are much smaller. I would really like a mini-excavator but they are too pricey for the use I'd get from one. Other than the ditches I'd only did an occasional hole. Backhoes are the same, with the added annoyance of constantly turning the seat around. I'd do that a lot when cleaning the ditches since there would be a lot more repositioning than digging. Tractor mounted backhoe attachments have the same issue. I thought of renting a mini-excavator but since I have the skid steer I thought I'd consider that option. I have a 1999 Lx665. Our soil is free of rocks. I notice that there seem to be two types of backhoe attachments for skid steers. One is like the tractor type and has a seat attached to it. It also has stabilizer legs. The other type is a good bit less money. It does not have legs or a seat and it appears to me that you operate it from the skid steer seat. I'm not sure if it has it's own pump or just runs off the skid steer wet lines. I've never seen one up close. My question is, can anyone give me some input on the unit I said looks to be operated from the skid steer seat? I really like the idea of the quick mobility but do they last and are they able to do what I want? I understand the purpose of the stabilizing legs but I think this might work for what I need it for.