My kid is about to turn 3 and he’s recently become obsessed with anything that has a motor. We were at a playdate last weekend and our friends had a GARVEE ride-on truck that he basically lived on for three hours straight. He loved it so much that my husband and I started looking into getting him one, but now that I’m deep in the rabbit hole of reviews, I’m having some serious second thoughts.
I’ve been comparing a few different ones, mostly the Radio Flyer classic models, the Peg Perego tractors, and the GARVEE one we saw at our friend's place. They all look great in the photos. But I’ve heard so many horror stories about the batteries on these things dying after two months and being impossible to replace, which is my biggest fear.
Another thing is our yard. We have some patches of thicker grass and a slight incline near the driveway. I’m worried that most of these 12V or 24V motors won't actually have the torque to move a toddler uphill and I’ll end up having to push the thing back to the garage myself every ten minutes. Does anyone have experience with how these brands handle anything that isn't a perfectly flat sidewalk?
I really want to get him something he'll enjoy, but I also don't want to drop $300 on a giant piece of plastic that’s going to stop charging by July or get stuck on a dandelion. If you’ve bought any of these brands recently, was the battery life decent? And did your kids actually stay interested in them past the first week? Any advice would be a lifesaver!