our place is pretty flat so ground clearance is not an issue but we do have some boggy spots, we have several massive cypress trees along the driveway along with natives and they drop some big branches which serve to keep us warm during winter.
like you i have a buggered back but can now lift 300kg with the flick of a wrist, manouvre it, locate it and drop it.
the controls are very intuitive and took me about 30 minutes to master, my only grizzle is putting the 180kg counterweight back on after removing the grader or post hole digger, i intend overcoming this by building a dolly to position it accurately as reversing into it is an excercise in frustration, i can never line it up accurately and it's too heavy to push into position.
as for size compared to the ride on mower, yes, ours is a bit bigger but look at the size of the running gear, it is rock solid and heavy and unlikely to break and weighs a bit more, about 875kg without the loader and counterweight coupled to the well established 3 cylinder diesel that starts first time every time and heaps of hydraulics that don't leak as well as a cat 1 linkage and 540rpm pto.
the consideration for us was tyres and we opted for industrial, not as agressive as agricultural but still a lot of grip in the soft stuff and doesn't tear up the arenas like the ags, lawn tyres were not an option.
the exhaust out the front is good as i have spent many hours on tractors with upright exhausts banging away not far from your head and blowing fumes in your face, great recipe for a nasty headache.
while it won't lift a round bale of hay i can certainly roll it around the paddocks and place it were i want with the bucket.
good luck with your quest and it appears your needs are completely different from mine, just rembered, two wheelie bins fit in the bucket to take down to the road on rubbish days
maybe we need a tractor forum
