Can you fix it? YES – We can!
Real diggers – just like Bob the Builder’s
Backhoe ride on Toys.
When our son and his family were in New Zealand recently, they lived in an apartment overlooking a huge construction site. Our grandson spent hours and hours on the balcony just watching the construction vehicles at work – completely fascinated. I have to confess that they absorbed me too.
Loads of fun!
Backhoe ride on toys will completely engage your kids .
Backhoe ride on toys are designed for active play. Riding their backhoe – pushing or pedalling it along – is a wonderful form of exercise for your toddler and helps develop those “big” muscles.
These toys have levers and knobs, which are used to operate the backhoe. Learning to use these to scoop, load and unload will help develop your child’s manipulative skills and help build dexterity.
Navigating the ride on and working the backhoe really improve their hand-eye coordination. You’ll be surprised how quickly they learn to play with these toys.
A brightly colored backhoe ride on toy really sparks a toddler’s imagination and promotes “make believe” play. The machines and the work they can do are intriguing. They encourage all sorts of “task driven” play and games. We CAN fix it!
These toys really do work. They scoop, load and unload. The backhoe ride on toys we have reviewed include “push alongs” and pedal driven toys.
Some of them even have caterpillar tracks – a unique feature of this type of toy. All these features add to the attraction of these toys.
Construction work requires teamwork. Your toddlers’ construction gang will want to work together to get the job done. This means sharing the backhoe ride on toy and rotating tasks.
What makes a great backhoe ride on toy?
- Safety, of course, comes first . This toys need to be well balanced so your child does not tip over . There should be no sharp edges. These are small machines and we check to see that they can be operated safely.
Safety Warning
As with all ride on toys adult supervision is
required when your child plays with these toys.
- Watch what your toddler is digging into with their backhoe ride on toys . Beware particularly of glass and old nails.
- Swinging excavator arms can pose a threat, especially to younger siblings – who maybe more concerned with “that worm” …than with what’s coming towards their head.
- Just like real backhoes, these toys are called upon to do hard work in difficult environments – sandboxes, patches of dirt and even snow! . They need to be well made from tough materials if they are to prove dependable and durable.
- Backhoe ride on toys for toddlers need to be of the appropriate height for your child and if possible this should be adjustable as they grow.
- The operating controls should not be too complex for a child of this age. If pedal driven, the child needs to be able to reach the pedals.
- The backhoe should have a realistic look to it and allow the child to do the real work contained in their imaginative play.
- The look and colors of the toy should be attractive and inviting. Real backhoes are brightly colored and look tough.
The Porsche of Backhoes?
KETTLER toys.
KETTLER® have been producing top quality ride on toys for over 40 years. Their toys are manufactured in Germany to the very high European quality and safety standards. Their US headquarters are in Virginia.
KETTLER® ride on toys have been described as the Porsches of the toy world! No doubt referring to their innovative design and the high quality of their materials and manufacturing – which match those, we associate with the prestigious German motor vehicles.
At first glance, the Company’s stated mission seems more modest. They are dedicated to bringing the best in products and service to their customers and by doing this “to put a smile on every child’s face”.
I once owned a Porsche and I know that they really are a fun grown up “toy”. It took me some years to learn that, although it’s great to drive a Porsche, it’s more important …to have a great smile.
You will see a number of Kettler’s excellent toys among those we have reviewed.
Here are the Backhoe Ride On toys we have reviewed…
Junior Excavator Ride-on – by Friendly Toys
This bright red and yellow plastic excavator is designed for toddlers aged 18 months and up and weighing no more than 50 pounds. It is very sturdy and durable. The excavator can be used both indoors and outdoors.
This backhoe ride on toy is a push-along “foot to floor” toy. It has black rubber caterpillar tracks – not wheels.
The backhoe is operated by hand controls allowing your little worker to scoop and load. Our test driver – who is two and a half years old – had no difficulty operating these.
A toy construction worker’s yellow “hard hat” is included with this toy so your youngster can really look the part . This backhoe makes an excavator noise – batteries required.
There is a safety lock in the excavator arm, which automatically relocks the arm in the up position. Some parents have found that this made the toy difficult for their child to operate and have disabled it by unscrewing the arm and removing the lock.
The rotation of the excavator is deliberately restricted by a protrusion underneath the unit. Cutting or planing can remove it. We are always apprehensive if toys require modification.
Assembling this backhoe ride on toy was simple.
Play Idea
How to “move” an empty hole in the
ground.
As a college student I took a vacation job on a construction site. On our first day my friend and I reported to the foreman, Mick, a huge Irishman.
“Could yee bright lads work equipment?” Mick asked. “Of course” we replied, with dreams of a summer spent riding around the site, improving our tans.
“OK” said Mick “Dare are your picks and dare are your shovels. Dig me a trench, four feet deep, from dare to dare.”(In Dublin Irish “There” is pronounced, “Dare”)
Digging a trench in the heavy, rock-filled, clay took days of unbelievably hard work. Every night our hands were blistered, our backs were stiff and our shoulders ached. That job gave me a lifelong respect for construction workers.
Finally, Mick came to inspect the finished project and declared it a “Fine trench”. Then with a roguish grin, he said “But we’ll need to move it.”
Our jaws had just returned from our boots when around the corner came one of the construction gang on a loader/backhoe. In just hours he had dug a new trench …and filled ours in at the same time. We had painfully learnt how to move an empty hole in the ground !
Your toddler may have fun working through our lesson using their ride on backhoe toy:
- First dig a hole. Leave the earth at one side.
- Dig another hole, some distance away.
- Move the earth from the second hole and fill the first one with it.
- The first hole has now “moved”………and can continue to be “ moved”.
This is quite an unusual looking toy and resembles a seat on wheels with a backhoe attached to the front of it. Kids have great fun playing with this digger.
The Digger is brightly colored – blue, yellow and red. It has a weight capacity of 75 pounds and is suitable for a child of three years and up.
This toy meets the stringent European (EN71) quality and safety standards.
It is a very well designed toy. We particular liked the safety features including the plastic disks placed on the joints of the excavator arm. These avoid the risk of children’s fingers being pinched as the arm operates.
As would be expected from Kettler, it’s very well constructed and the frame is made from high tensile steel. It is certainly a very durable toy and will stand up to working in sand, earth and rain.
This is another “push along” backhoe ride on toy. Three large, black resin wheels allow it to travel on all sorts of surfaces. The design provides a very stable and well-balanced ride.
The Digger has a large, fully functional, digging shovel which is easy to control using the dual action levers.
There is a yellow seat, which is adjustable to the height of your child. The seat and backhoe arm can rotate a full 360 degrees allowing versatile scooping and loading.
This toy requires assembly, which is straightforward.
A three-year-old little girl we know, who owns one of these diggers, calls this toy her “ Woebot”. I think it’s because the caterpillar tracks remind her of a robot she has seen in Star Wars.
The digger has an elegant but sturdy design. The frame is made from high quality plastic.
It is manufactured to the same high quality and safety standards as the Sand Digger above. This digger is built to last.
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This toy rides on rubber caterpillar tracks and the young driver can propel and steer the digger by pushing along on the ground with their feet. These tracks allow it to be an “all terrain” vehicle.
There is a very large wide seat, which is adjustable as you youngster grows. The seat and excavator arm rotate a full 360 degrees around the base. So kids can dig, lift, move and dump anywhere with this backhoe ride on toy.
The excavator arm and controls are of a similar ingenious design as the Sand Digger
This backhoe ride on toy is in the Caterpillar yellow livery and has the “Cat” logo on the seat and arm.
Rolly Toys CAT Front Loader and Backhoe
Front loader backhoes are the “workhorses’ of every construction gang. They are tractors with a backhoe for digging and a front loader for lifting and carrying. You will see one on every construction site.
This wonderful Rolly toy is very realistic and has everything! The sturdy yellow tractor has both a front loader and backhoe.
The ride on is made of high impact polyethylene resin and steel. It has met the European quality and safety standard. This is a strong durable toy.
The tractor is chain/pedal driven (like a bicycle). The pedalling mechanism is fully enclosed for safety and can be adjusted externally.
The large cleated wheels are made from resilient back resin and have a long-lasting tread strip. They give good traction on all surfaces. This toy has real steering.
There is good access for a child to climb onto the tractor. The seat is wide and can be adjusted as your youngster grows.
This toy is packed with features that are sure to stimulate you child’s imagination and inspire lots of play ideas.
This backhoe ride on toy comes in a realistic Caterpillar yellow and black livery and is detailed with the “CAT” logo.
The loader can be operated from the driving seat and is fully functional. The backhoe has a separate seat and a stabilizer foot which folds away. There is a simulated roll bar and the front hood opens and lifts up.
There is a hook on the back of the tractor for pulling a trailer. This is sold separately.
An alternative to Backhoe Ride On toys?
You’ll find some interesting alternatives to Backhoe Ride On toys in our review of Toy John Deere tractors or you may select another toy category from the sidebar.
Or for something completely different ..
This blue racing car is a great pedal car. It’s not a backhoe or even a Porsche…. it might be a Ferrari.
At nearly three feet long this is a big pedal car. This is a strong durable toy that really looks the part.
It comes in blue with red wheels and has attractive chrome trim. The large wheels have solid rubber tires.