Customer Rating: 
Summary: Good Solid Boy Toy
Comment: We got this for my 3 1/2 year old son who is in the 100% for height, weight and age. He loves this toy a lot! Santa Claus brought it just in time to scoop and move the snow in our driveway and help Dad clear the driveway. We also got the trailer which dumps 3 ways and he loves to take it off and put it on the hitch. It give him plenty to do and use his imagination. It's plenty sturdy, but had a lot more plastic than I imagined for the price. However, the tires have a nice rubbery inset for good gripping, and to be honest, the plastic is probably safer injury and cut wise. Overall, it seemed to be a great choice for the money and he'll play with this all year.
Customer Rating: Summary: A little heavy for the little ones...
Comment: We bought this loader/backhoe for our four year old at Christmas. After reading the other reviews, I was a little skeptical about the assembly process. If you have put together a Peg Perego or Power Wheel project, the assembly of this is simple. The toy is a monster in size and weight. We found it a little hard for him to pedal it on anything but concrete, so we took the backhoe part off and now he has no trouble pedaling at all. Once he travels to his "work sight", we simply reattach the backhoe in order that he may complete his "assignment". Overall, a great toy that our son would probably eat and sleep on if we allowed him to.
Customer Rating: Summary: Great toy but instructions are difficult
Comment: I got this for my 3.5 year old son for Christmas. Great toy, durable and worth the money.
The instructions are all in German so you have to use the illustrated pictures. I actually found this site http://www.kettlerusa.com/813001.html which is a little animated toy that you click on and it shows you how to operate and how to assemble. I had to refer to it to figure out how the backhoe works.
All in all, a wonderful toy!!!
Customer Rating: Summary: Excellent outdoor fun!
Comment: My son has hours of fun with this construction vehicle. The release and lock button for the backhoe is a bit tricky. Other than that he seems to enjoy every second when he plays with it. Durable. I would rate it a medium on putting it together. Great toy!
Customer Rating: Summary: Good size for a 3+ year old.
Comment: When I first opened the package and saw all the pieces and poor instructions (pictures only type instructions), I was a little discouraged. But once I got strated, the assembly was actually really easy. I was able to put it together by myself in about an hour. The hardest part of assembly for me was the sticker placement. For the most part you only got one shot. If I tried to reposition them, they would tear. Even though it's mostly plastic, it seems to be pretty sturdy. It has enough to keep a little ones interest for a good while. And the option to buy extra accessories is nice. The only things I wish it had were a working horn, a gas cap/hole, a fake key of some sort and maybe a spot for a drink holder, as these type of extras seem to please most little ones. I would recommend this product to a friend as long as the price was not over $275.
