Let's R-R-Roll!
Written: Nov 09 '02 (Updated Jun 05 '04)
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Pros: Cool dump truck! Rolls on its own, speaks, has sound-effects.
Cons: Doesn't roll well on carpet
The Bottom Line: Great dump truck toy. Very cute. Rolls forward on its own. Includes sound effects and phrases.
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| mizgnomer's Full Review: Little People RumblIn' GrumblIn' Dump Truck 77815 |
My little boy received the Little People: Rumblin' Grumblin' Dump Truck for his first birthday. I think every little boy needs a dump-truck toy! My son has spent endless hours filling up the truck and dumping it all out again. But before I go into our experiences with this toy, let me tell you more about it.
Product Description:
The Little People: Rumblin' Grumblin' Dump Truck is a Fisher-Price-ized, cutesy version of a dump truck. The truck can roll forward on its own, and can say a variety of phrases and various dump-truck sounds. It measures approximately 11 inches tall by 9 inches long (large by Little People vehicle standards). It is mostly a hard, yellow plastic with black plastic wheels. The truck has cute blue eyes where the headlights would be, and has a mouth where the front-license plate would be. A "Little People" person dressed in construction-worker garb is also included.
A lever located at the top of the truck controls whether the truck must be kid-powered or whether it moves on its own. With the lever "up" the truck will roll forward while it says one of a variety of phrases and/or makes dump-truck sounds. On a hard-surface it will travel approximately 10 feet, on our carpet it only travels maybe 3 feet. With the lever "down" it does not roll but still says phrases -- usually little conversations between the driver and the truck itself. The rolling/phrases are triggered whenever the driver's seat is pressed, or whenever the lever's position is changed. Whenever the truck is rolling/speaking, the driver's seat bounces up and down, the headlights/eyes move up and down, and the truck's mouth moves up and down. On on/off switch, located on the truck's underside, turns off the sounds and motion (making this a good candidate toy for travel).
In the stationary mode the phrases are:
* (Honk Honk) Let's r-r-roll! Vroom Vroom!
* (Honk Honk) Let's rum-rum-rumble! Vroom!
* (Driver) Ready to load up? (Truck) R-R-Ready to rum-rum-rumble! Vroom!
* (Driver) Let's load up. (Truck) R-R-Right. I'm r-r-ready to go! Vroom!
* (Driver) Let's get to work. (Truck) R-R-Right. Let's go! Vroom Vroom!
* (Driver) Let's drive! (Truck) I'm ready to r-r-roll! Vroom Vroom!
In the rolling mode the phrases are:
* (Honk Honk) I'm coming through! Vroom, Vroom! (Honk Honk)
* (Honk Honk) I'm ready. Let's rumble! Vroom, Vroom! (Honk Honk)
* (Honk Honk) Let's roll! Vroom, Vroom (Honk Honk)
A Little People-person can sit in the driver's seat or ride an elevator (complete with raising/lowering sounds) to the top of the truck. The Little People character that comes with the truck wears an orange hard-hat, a t-shirt, jeans, and suspenders. He has black hair and a dark complexion (perhaps he's well-tanned from working out in the sun on the construction site all day). I'm no Little People expert, but I don't believe he is one of the "named" characters.
The Rumblin' Grumblin' Dump Truck requires 3 "C" batteries (included).
The manufacturer recommends this toy for children ages 1 to 5 years.
Our Experiences:
My boy actually received 2 dump trucks for his first birthday, the Rumblin' Grumblin' Dump Truck and the Mega Bloks Lil' Dump Truck. I guess since he received them on the same day he thinks that they go together -- he usually plays with both dump trucks at the same time. I think he actually prefers the Mega Bloks truck for filling and dumping -- the dumping-bucket on the Mega Bloks truck is much larger so his aim doesn't have to be quite as precise. However he prefers the Rumblin' Grumblin' Dump Truck when he wants something that will roll on its own or make noises.
My biggest complaint about the Rumblin' Grumblin' Dump Truck is that it doesn't go well on our carpet. Our carpet is rather plush, and the truck really bogs down in it. It still rolls, but doesn't cover even half the distance it usually makes on our hard floors. My boy still has fun though -- when he first got the toy he would toddle along behind it giving it little helpful pushes.
Another relatively minor complaint is that my son has a hard time activating the truck from the driver's seat. Our dump truck usually doesn't have a driver (at 15 months old my boy is still a bit too young to role play, and prefers his Little People riding in the truck's bed). There is a little nub in the seat -- the nub that the Little People-person fits over to hold him securely in place. Well, my boy (the button-fanatic) thinks that little nub is a cool-looking button, and always presses it. The problem is, the little nub is actually a separate piece than the seat, and it is the only part of the seat that does not activate the sounds/motion. This frustrates my boy to no end, and my husband and I are always stuck trying to get my boy to ignore that nub. We stick the driver in the seat (because it activates just fine when you press down on a character in the seat), but my son just pulls him back out again and goes for the "button". Possibly this is only a problem for my family, with my button-addict son.
Even with minor flaws, my son gets a lot of enjoyment out of the Rumblin' Grumblin' Dump Truck. He tends to activate it by moving the lever, which is at a perfect height for him to walk along and raise/lower. There is also a large blue handle on top that my boy has used to carry the truck or push along as he walks beside it. I like the fact that you can turn the sounds/motion off too, since my boy recently started providing his own "engine" noises for his vehicles, and it is great that he can do that for this truck too.
Quickie Summary:
Pros:
+) Really cute!
+) Rolls on its own
+) Sounds include spoken phrases and dump-truck sound effects
+) Can switch between self-rolling and non-self-rolling modes
+) Has on/off switch
+) A Little People character is included
Cons:
-) Doesn't go well on carpet
-) Small dump-truck bed
-) My boy has trouble activating the truck from the driver's seat
Final Thoughts:
I'm really glad we have the Rumblin' Grumblin' Dump Truck. It was my boy's first self-propelled vehicle, and an excellent way to encourage his vehicle-play. I'm sure he won't be out-growing this toy any time soon.
My other Little People reviews:
Little People Ramps Around Garage
Little People Lil' Kingdom Castle
Little People Fun Park
Little People Christmas on Main Street
Little People Fun Sounds Playground
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 19.99
Type of Toy: Car, Truck or Raceway
Age Range of Child: 12 to 36 Months
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Epinions.com ID:
mizgnomer
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Location: Tennessee
Reviews written: 306
Trusted by: 202 members
About Me:
Don't meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you're crunchy and taste good with ketchup
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