Well, the grade is pretty steep. (at least initally, hopefully ill be making it a bit more bareable) My scat track did okay on it, but had my bucket down hill at all times, really didnt want to get sideways on it. This 753 looks like it has been taken care of, unlike so many i see. I also found someone with a 773, but he wants 9000, and it has more hours, and its 4 hours away as opposed to 1 hour away for the 753. So you really dont like the 753 on the steaper grades huh? Once i am done with the drive, i would like to keep it for snow removal, and trail upkeep. (plus i got a little pitbike track id like to keep up on .)
Don't take me wrong here, The 753 is a very sturdy and capable machine I just found it to be a little less stable than the longer wheel based version.(I was also just learning when I ran the 753 and must admit there wasn't much I liked about the whole skidsteer concept at the time.
) Given that it will potentialy be spending the rest of it's life on steep grades I'd prefer the longer wheel base, but the 753 should do the job just fine, just use a little extra care in the steeper areas especially the short choppy pitches. The other thing is if you plow much snow a cab goes a long ways towards making the task a little more bearable, not to mention the first hornets nest you dig up more than pays for the cab in my opinion. Adding a cab later seems to be a common goal of many owners, but finding something suitable seems to be the hard part. I held out, and waited until I found one with cab and heat, you pay a little more up front, but comfort is important too, plus you should get that back should you decide to sell it again later.
The 773 is also a longer wheel based machine but visibility is somewhat sacrificed with the vertical lift arm configuration and have heard they aren't quite as good for grading as the radial lift machines, but have no first hand experience with them to say how they compare.
If you go with the 753 (or any other for that matter) it might be an idea to rent a set of tracks for it over a weekend while you punch out the steeper sections and if you're really feeling adventurous rent a tilt-tach too and it'll make a huge difference if your putting in a switchback or two.
If you haven't noticed, I sure do like spending other peoples money, even more than my own and my wife says I'm pretty good at finding a new home for ours.
Good luck and let us know how you make out.
Don