Forget the toy, now I want the real one!
Written: Mar 25 '03
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Pros: So much fun for the kids and a big help for the parents!
Cons: NO SEAT BELTS!!
The Bottom Line: Worth buying if you have a place for your child to drive it around. It's fun for the kids and can help with small jobs around the yard too!
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| tgooch's Full Review: Peg Perego John Deere Gator Ride-On |
John Deere Gator – for ages 3-7, 130 lb weight limit
Specs:
L= 52.5” H= 29” W=35.5” Weighs – 70lbs.
Green and Yellow 4x2, double seater (seat is adjustable)
17” x26” x6” dumping bed with opening tailgate
14” hard plastic wheels
12 Volt rechargeable battery (comes with charger)
Working gear shifter - 2 speeds (2 ½ mph and 5 mph) and reverse (2 ½ mph)
See through windshield (plastic)
One foot pedal – used as on/off -brakes when released
Working horn – takes one 9volt battery
Warranty – 12 months for vehicle and 6 months for battery and charger
Details:
The Gator maneuver’s wonderfully, it’s amazing how well my three year old can handle this toy. She zig zags around us and anything else put in her way. Our yard is pretty rough terrain and she has no problems zooming all over it. It really does “run like a deer”!
There is a lock for the gear shifter that will prevent your child from putting the Gator into high speed – this is wonderful for when they are just learning how to drive the vehicle. In order to go in reverse, you need to keep the gear shifter pulled up, then release when you are ready to go forward again.
The horn is a bit difficult for my three year old to work – it just takes a lot of pressure.
There is only one foot pedal, you push to go and let up to stop. It is supposed to stop “gradually”, but I feel it’s a bit abrupt – especially for passengers that may not be prepared to stop – we’ve had a couple heads hit the windshield (thank goodness it’s plastic and flexible).
The dumping bed is wonderful. I had my daughter help me fill a couple of holes in our driveway with stone. I shoveled what I needed into the back of the bed, she drove it over to the hole, backed it up and dumped the stone into the hole – very easy. To release the tailgate, there are levers on either side of the gate, you have to pull them in and the tailgate swings down. Then simply lift up on the bed (up near the seats) to dump.
The tires are hard plastic which makes it difficult to maneuver and handle on wet grass, but it really does very well on cement, dry yards and stone driveways. She has driven it in the snow successfully too, but only when the ground underneath is hard and there is not a lot of snow.
I really am happy with this product, so is my daughter. She cuts her corners pretty sharp and has clipped the dump bed on more than a few occasions, this has caused the mechanism that lifts and lowers the bed to bend and it’s now difficult to put the bed flat down again. I don’t view this as a product default, but the driver (takes after mom:), just a warning to be careful with the dump bed.
This product is partially assembled when you get it – it’s not difficult or too time consuming to put together. My decals were missing so I had to call customer support, they sent decals instantly.
Problems:
The biggest negative to this wonderful toy is that it does not come with seat belts. If it did we could have avoided a few heads into the windshields and a couple of riders falling out. Granted, the riders that fell out were 2yo and this toy really is for a 3-7 – please follow these guidelines (especially when going in high speed), younger kids just can’t brace themselves for sharp turns and abrupt stops.
After we had the product for almost a year, the gear shifter stopped working correctly, it would not go in reverse or in high speed. A call into customer support and a week later we had a new gear shift box, my husband replaced it and we haven’t had problems since.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 399
Type of Toy: Car, Truck or Raceway
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years
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Epinions.com ID:
tgooch
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Reviews written: 11
Trusted by: 0 members
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