Helena writes:
Little Tikes Handle Haulers Pop Haulers Dump Truck
The Little Tikes Handle Haulers Pop Haulers Dump Truck is a moveable truck with eight plastic rocks in a sealed container. As a little
one holds the handle and pushes the truck around, the rocks “pop”, i.e. jump and rattle around the container at the back of the truck. It is called a “Dump Truck” but nothing is actually dumped, the plastic rocks are sealed safely inside the toy and nothing comes out.
The truck has a friendly face at the front and is brightly coloured in yellow, red and blue. The handle is small enough for little hands to be able to use. I wondered whether my baby boy would be able to push the truck around on his own, but in fact it does not require a lot of strength and he manages fine. The handle is comfortable to grip and easy to keep hold of, which helps a lot. I was a little uncertain when I opened the box, as I did not know if he would find a lot of play value in the truck, and I am not sure how much shelf-impact this product would have in a toy store. There are no buttons to press or lights on the truck, and the sound effects come from the rattle of the rocks as they pop. However, my little boy loves it, and seems to prefer it to his other truck that lights up and plays nursery rhymes. All of our other vehicles have buttons to push to make the sound effects, and this truck makes sounds when it is moved around. This is actually more interactive in a way, and makes a nice change, which may be the reason why my son likes it so much. The toy does not need batteries, making it a good gift. The chunky plastic truck feels quite robust, with dimensions of 25cm x 20cm x 14cm. I would recommend this for any little boy who loves his cars.
Jenny writes:
Little Tikes Handle Haulers Anchor and Speedy
Little Tikes is a brand name that for me symbolises ‘lots of plastic, jolly toys and built to last’. This toy is no exception to my expectations and will clearly last for many, many years!
‘Anchor and Speedy’ are a little ferry boat which has a flip down front which can be used as a scoop in sand and also as the entrance onto the ferry (Anchor) for ‘Speedy’ the little car. It has a chunky, soft grip handle to allow the child to push the ferry along and it has a wobble action. It is a very safe toy and although it is recommended for children aged 1 and over, I feel that a younger child would be able to play with it without the parent needing to worry.
It makes a nice change to get a toy that does not need batteries to work.
This toy is packaged well, both my boys ‘ooohed’ at the toy whilst still in the box and both tried to hold the handle and move it and play with it immediately. The bright colours clearly appealed to them. Luckily the toy was very easy to get out of the box with no screws or awkward fittings and the box and packaging is all fully recyclable.
After giving this toy to my children, it was played with continually until I made them both go to bed and is the first toy that they both go for since. My older son (William) pushed the toy round and round then room and my younger son (James) squealed with laughter and tried to crawl after him. Then they swapped and James pushed it along as he crawled. The chunky handle allowed James to easily grab and hold the toy and manoeuvre it around the floor with ease despite the chuckling. James has so far not been interested in opening and closing the door to get the little car out, although I am sure this will happen in time. William, however, loves this feature. Earlier this year, we went on holiday on a car ferry and William loves playing with the toy car and loading it onto the ferry so that the car can go on it’s holidays thus encouraging my son to participate in imaginative play. The toy is nice and light and because of this James is often seen happily holding the ferry as he toddles around the house.
We have not used this toy in the sand due to it being Winter. However, it is hard to see if the scoop would stay down to actually scoop up any sand or if the force would make it flip up? Also there is a join on the inside and I would be concerned that once used in sand, the toy could never be used indoors again as it would have sand stuck inside it? A bit like the water that gets stuck inside bath ducks!
This is one of those toys where I am proved wrong! I would never have chosen it off the shelf as it doesn’t really do much, it is quite chunky for a toy and therefore takes up space at home and just doesn’t look that fun to me. However – my children liked it from the very first moment, they love pushing it along and feeling it wobble and William loves playing ‘ferries’ with it and the little car and opening and closing the flip down front. The toy is sturdy and survives James dropping it, even down the stairs. It has created hours of fun for my boys. The only criticism that my older son has is that ‘it only has one car to go inside and that two would be nice’.
Joanne writes:
We have the Little Tikes Train Handle Hauler known as Rustee. It is red, yellow and blue and as with all Little Tikes toys is made of
plastic. The handle has rubber nodules along it so the child playing with it can grip hold of the handle and push it along. The rear wheels have rubber on them too.
There is a little cupboard in the back of the train and the door comes right off… somewhere to put little things in. Both my sons like playing with the door!
On pushing the train forward it wobbles which my 1 year old finds funny and it pushes easily. It has a happy smiley face on its front and is nice and bright but I have to say although a hit with my boys, especially the youngest it disappointed me a little as I thought it would do more!
I think it will last and withstand being bashed about with use and it’s a good size. This toy does not require any batteries.
Louise writes:
Little Tikes Handle Haulers Pop Haulers Garbage Truck
Little Tikes is one of those brands that you know is going to be pretty good, so even though my two are a little older that the target age range (12 months up) I thought it would be worth a look. Felix is four but loves cars, and Iris is two, so not too much older, and when we first received it they were both thrilled – it’s so bright and fun looking, as well as surprisingly big and they were incredibly eager to have me open it and get their hands on it.
The truck is easy to push along and pops as it does. I’m generally not a fan of plastic toys and tend to opt for wooden ones where possible, but this feels really sturdy and like it will last. It has a handle on the top for easy carrying, which I imagine is really appealing for younger toddlers who are starting to walk and going through the phase of picking things up and giving them to people!
I do think my kids were a little too old for it as they lost interest fairly quickly – it’s a little too big to go fast, which is what Felix is into, and I think Iris just doesn’t have as much of an interest in cars as he does. They both enjoy playing with it now and then, and I certainly don’t think it reflects badly on the toy at all that they’re not overly interested in it, just that it’s a bit old for them. I may pass it on to a younger child and see what they think as I really do think this could be popular with the just toddling crowd!
Please see the Little Tikes website for more information and to find retailers
