Gadgets Review Guide is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This post contains affiliate links
TOP 7 Ride On Excavators For Kids
Something parents and guardians are aware of is the importance of toys.
Toys are an excellent way to help bring your child joy along with possibly being a great entry point in helping them grow.
Because toys are a great way for your kids to ease into their older years, it’s always a good idea to consider what toys they might be interested in getting.
Today you might be curious as to what toy would be a good choice for your child.
What are they interested in? Do they prefer a toy they’re able to interact with or something they can put together?
For the kids interested in hands-on toys, something your child may end up appreciating would be a toy excavator.
While that may come across as a bit intimidating in the name, ride-on excavators are fun, interactive toys kids of all ages can enjoy.
Essentially toy tractors, they’re able to give your kid the taste of outdoor equipment along with developing their essential skills such as coordination and dexterity.
If you’re digging for that one perfect toy to get your child out and about, this list of the top 7 ride-on excavators has been put together for your convenience…
You will also like:
➡️ Best 2 Seater Ride-on Cars With Parental Remote Control
➡️ Top 7 Battery Operated Ride On Cars For Kids
➡️ Top 7 Ride On Toy Horse With Wheels
1. CAT Construction’s Ride-On: Metal 360-Degree Excavator Digger
Overview
An excavator toy with a focus on imitating larger diggers, this toy can rotate 360 degrees in a surrounding area to scoop and shovel the area around it.
This toy excavator is recommended for your kids if they’re between about 3 to 6-years-old.
User Experiences
Within the reviews, user jakartah notes how the toy is nice and made to be high quality.
Unfortunately, they note, the toy has some problems in its movement.
“The rollers do not move as easily as I would like, making it difficult to scoot around on and mostly has to be carried from place to place.”
Pros & Cons
Pros
- ✅ High quality
- ✅ Works well as an excavator
- ✅ Easy to assemble
Cons
- ❌ The wheel rollers do not move very easily
- ❌ Price is costly for low budget buyers
Alternative(s)
Whether it’s for another brand or because you’re looking for a lower price, there’s usually something to fit closer to what you may be after!
John Deere’s Ride-On 360-Degree Excavator Shovel/Digger
This excavator is a cheaper option compared to the CAT Construction’s Ride-On: Metal 360-Degree Excavator Digger with very similar capabilities.
If a 360-degree excavator is your child’s dream toy, this may fit your budget better than the CAT Construction-branded toy.
2. deAO’s Ride-On Excavator Digger 2-in-1 for Toddlers
Overview
As listed in the name, this toy excavator is perfect for the younger children in your life.
For children between 9 to 36-months-old in age, this toy is designed to benefit your child’s physical and mental development.
User Experiences
For this product, the reviews for deAO’s excavator are more than positive. User Minny notes how the toy is a great purchase…
“Super cute and our kids love it. We got it for our two-year-old, but our almost 5 years old loves to ride it as well.
They also enjoy how it can be switched from a digger to a crane. We’ve had it for a few months and it’s holding up great so far.”
Pros & Cons
Pros
- ✅ High quality
- ✅ Works well in coordination development for very young children
Cons
- ❌ A bit pricey for a small toy a young child can outgrow quickly
Alternative(s)
For deAO’s Ride-On Excavator Digger, finding alternatives isn’t as simple as other excavator toys due to the age market the toy is intended for.
There are also alternative toy choices on this list. These toys are as follows:
- POCO DIVO’s Digger Scooter, Ride-On Excavator
- Fisher-Price’s Big Action Dig n’ Ride
Other popular post:
➡️Best 7 Toy Rocket Ships for Kids
3. CAT’s Mega Bloks Ride-On Caterpillar with Excavator
Overview
CAT’s Mega Bloks Ride-On Caterpillar is a toy excavator intended for children ages 1 to 3.
Included is a shovel capable of pivoting 360 degrees and a small storage area under its seat.
User Experiences
Rachel M. notes buying the toy excavator for her 2-year-old son.
While describing it as a toy that’s nice in design, she comments on how she doesn’t believe its description properly matches the ages it’s intended for. In her words…
“it is definitely not suitable for children up to 36 months, as indicated in the description.”
With the more critical parts of her review, she also talks about how she finds the design to be nice and the storage space to be a good addition as well.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- ✅ High quality
- ✅ Extra storage under the seat
Cons
- ❌ Size may not be accurate to the description
Alternative(s)
If you’re after another possible choice for your child’s excavation needs, here are some other options for toys.
Best Choice Excavator Ride-On Truck
Built for children between 18-months-old to 6-years-old, this toy comes with pre-programmed music and functional parts as an excavator toy for kids.
There are also alternative toy choices on this list. These toys are as follows:
- POCO DIVO’s Digger Scooter, Ride-On Excavator
- deAO’s Ride-On Excavator Digger 2-in-1 for Toddlers
4. CAT Construction’s Pedal Tractor: Backhoe Loader
Overview
A functional backhoe digger, the CAT Construction Backhoe Pedal Tractor: Backhoe Loader is a toy compatible for children between the ages of 3 to 6-years-old.
With the capabilities of lifting dirt, sand, or snow, this toy works much like a miniature tractor.
User Experiences
User Stu J states how the gift is worth the purchase and explains how well it works.
“Works well on our sidewalks and driveway but doesn’t get much traction in the grass.”
Pros & Cons
Pros
- ✅ High quality for active playing
- ✅ The tractor moves with pedals (so no money needs to be spent on batteries!)
Cons
- ❌ Difficult to put together
- ❌ Price is very high for low budgets
Alternative(s)
Are you looking in the market for other tractors for the younger members of your family?
Sometimes other options are worth checking out so here’s a small list of other ridable excavators for children.
CAT Construction’s Pedal Tractor: Front LoaderTractor with Detachable Trailer
Though much more pricey and for younger kids (2.5 – 5-year-olds), this tractor works well enough as a choice.
Under the same brand as the CAT Construction’s Pedal Tractor: Backhoe Loader, this is another four-wheeled pedal tractor choice for the younger kids in your life.
Costzon’s Battery-Powered Ride-On Excavator, Front Loader Digger
An alternative to the CAT Construction’s Pedal Tractor: Backhoe Loader, this tractor’s differences lie in the fact that it’s a front-loading tractor and it runs on battery power.
Still, this tractor may be the toy tractor of your child’s dreams (and it comes in blue, green, or yellow for colors)!
5. POCO DIVO’s Digger Scooter, Ride-On Excavator
Overview
The POCO DIVO excavator functions as a digger, scooter, and pulling cart.
Along with this, this toy excavator comes with a music steering wheel, lights flashing with the music, and a multitude of other capabilities.
This excavator is intended for children between 3 to 5-years-old.
User Experiences
User Lindsay Lauder purchased the POCO DIVO excavator for her 3-year-old son. She mentions giving it to him as a Christmas gift and how much he loved getting the toy…
“It took me a good hour to get him off it to open any of his other gifts.”
For the features of the excavator, she mentions how it’s the different aspects of the excavator as nice but the quality doesn’t seem to be the best…
“It doesn’t seem too sturdy so I don’t know how well it will work in the sand or dirt in the summer but fluffy snowbanks are perfect.”
Pros & Cons
Pros
- ✅ Full of nice add-ons for a toy excavator
- ✅ Great for young children
Cons
- ❌ The quality isn’t as good as other excavators
Alternative(s)
For this excavator, alternative options aren’t as frequent or similar outside of toys within this top 7 list. There is, however, a blue version of the POCO DIVO excavator available alongside the default yellow color…
There are also alternative toy choices on this list. These toys are as follows:
- Fisher-Price’s Big Action Dig n’ Ride
- deAO’s Ride-On Excavator Digger 2-in-1 for Toddlers
6. Play22’s Ride-On Excavator
Overview
A more straightforward excavator, this ridable digger toy comes with construction sound effects, stickers, a construction safety helmet, and two rocks.
The recommended age for the toy is 18-months-old and older.
User Experiences
An anonymous Amazon reviewer leaves a positive message about the excavator…
“I was pleasantly surprised when the toy arrived. We actually got 2 of them and they were both in brand new condition and easy to put together.”
With their review, they mentioned how the product didn’t entirely match the description in its capabilities…
“The only thing that was not like the description is that it says the arm rotates around but it doesn’t.”
Pros & Cons
Pros
- ✅ Cute toy for even young children
- ✅ Works well in helping to develop both mental and physical aspects of children
Cons
- ❌ Not as sturdy as other excavators
Alternative(s)
Unfortunately, the alternative products to the Play22 excavator aren’t too similar to it.
However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any alternative toys at all!
There are also alternative toy choices on this list. These toys are as follows:
- POCO DIVO’s Digger Scooter, Ride-On Excavator
- deAO’s Ride-On Excavator Digger 2-in-1 for Toddlers
7. Fisher-Price’s Big Action Dig n’ Ride
Overview
Another ridable excavator, this Fisher-Price excavator with more straightforward features to aid in the process of improving your child’s hand/eye coordination and dexterity.
This excavator is also able to create electronic construction sound effects.
The toy is intended for children between 18-months-old to 4-years-old.
User Experiences
Amazon user The Chad bought the excavator for their 2-year-od nephew.
In a tone of amusement, their review positively mentioned the toy and how their nephew loved the toy…
“It took less than 3 minutes to assemble with no tools and he was on his way to scratching up walls and annoying every guest at the house.”
Pros & Cons
Pros
- ✅ Has a compartment for storage under the seat
- ✅ Great for teaching children about coordination and dexterity
Cons
- ❌ Not the most sturdy toy available
Alternative(s)
Once you’ve looked into the Fisher-Price excavator, it might not be everything you’re child ever wanted.
What other choices could you go with?
Here are some alternative toys for you to consider.
Fisher-Price’s Big Action Load ‘n Go
A toy vehicle meant to pair up with Fisher-Price’s Big Action Dig n’ Ride, this is a very similar construction tractor.
If you want something extra to go with your other Fisher-Price toy, this could be a considerable choice.
There are also alternative toy choices on this list. These toys are as follows:
- POCO DIVO’s Digger Scooter, Ride-On Excavator
- deAO’s Ride-On Excavator Digger 2-in-1 for Toddlers
- Play22’s Ride-On Excavator
Conclusion
Though it may seem a bit daunting or scary at first, toy excavators are a great choice for building up your child’s hand/eye coordination and other developmental skills.
If you can find that perfect toy for your child they can enjoy and learn from, you’ll go miles above in helping them grow.
Other Popular Review:
➡️ 7 Best 4 Lane Slot Car Race Track Sets
Thank you so much for putting together this great overview with excavators! I had no idea there were so many different choices and there are plenty of lower budget options as well.
Did you ever come across toy excavators build with a different material than plastic?
I would consider buying one for one of my cousins in the future but their household prefers none plastic toys.
Hi there, Jude.
The CAT Construction’s Ride-On excavator is actually made with metal so it will be perfect for your cousin.
I am glad that you liked the overview and thank you for your comment.
Jason
Interesting review about toys for youngsters into construction sites. These toys can be seen as a clever way to engage physical development with play as you’ve kindly pointed out they help with gross motor skills.
If I was to buy one via Amazon, would it come already assembled or at least partly assembled or is this something I’d have to do myself?
Some of these excavators does come assembled already.
However, some also come partly assembled but are not that difficult to put together.
These are very cool! My son has one that is similar to the fisher price big action dig and ride and he still plays with it to this day! It’s been about two years, and even as rich as he is, it’s still as sturdy as the day we got it. Just a little more faded 😁 I wish he was little still is like to get some of these other ones, but he’s almost 7 and starting too get a little too big for them. Thank you for sharing though, it was nice to go down memory lane!
Awesome toys. and great that you are reviewing these.
It is also great that they are available on Amazon, which makes them available to places where they would be hard to buy.
They are great for developing kids’ co-ordination. The prices I think are reasonable as these things generally last.
They are also safe and kids can play with these for hours without direct parental supervision.
Thank you for these reviews.