We have had more than our fair share of rainy days here in Massachusetts over the past few weeks. Our children had waited quite some time to take their new CAT Job Sites Machine Motorized Wheel Loader outside to test out on "real" terrain. When the day finally came that it was sunny out and we were not running from one activity to another, our 5 year old son (who was the one who chose which CAT truck we should test out) threw a kink in our plans. After we explained to him that, once we took this truck outdoors to play with in the dirt, it was going to be an outdoor-only toy from that moment on, he suddenly decided that he did not want to take it outside. Personally, I think it was a smart decision. This way he can play with this truck all year round, rain or shine.
This Wheel Loader is just one of many CAT toy trucks offered by Toy State. I had my eye on the Excavator, but our son thought this one looked the coolest and it turned out that he made a great choice.
(Click any photo to enlarge)
This truck (batteries included) is recommended for ages 3+ and is extremely user-friendly. There are only four buttons on the roof and one lever on the side as far as controls go . . . much easier to operate than a remote controlled vehicle. The forward and back buttons each trigger a driving motion accompanied by the realistic sounds of a construction truck, including beeping while it backs up. The square button triggers different sound effects, such as the phrase "Let's build something!" The round button causes music to play and the headlights to flash. The lever on the side of the truck can be pushed forward or backwards to make the front-mounted bucket go up and down.
Please take a minute to see this CAT Wheel Loader in action . . .
One thing we learned is that the truck's forward and back motions are timed rather than stopping after it has traveled a certain distance. If the truck gets stuck driving over a pile of bricks, it will still stop after about 4 seconds even if it has only moved a few inches.
I would say our son's favorite thing about this truck, aside from the sound effects, is that it can drive over "rough terrain" when the bucket is raised up off the ground. Our daughter enjoyed playing with this toy, as well, but she was more deliberate when using it and planned out the truck's placement and angle. Our son had a more "let's just start it and see what happens" approach.
To learn more about these CAT toy construction trucks, visit ToyState.com.
Thank you to ToyState for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon.
