The Ed puts his real-life wheel loader skills to work and sees if a radio-controlled toy machine will meet his expectations
I remember mentioning a while back that on a regular basis we would review some of the cool ‘toys’ out there, so thought it was about time we should order in something else to try out.
Opting to relive my glory days of operating a wheel loader, I put an order in for a Yigong radio-controlled toy from one of the many online sellers – total price, just over $100, which included free shipping.
Prices for this stuff varies, so shop around. I’ve seen some sellers trying to hock the same toys off for much more, and even one well-known brand trying to get 400 bucks for what looked to be the same thing – their brand transfers seeming to be the only difference.
Time to unbox
Duly arriving in a relatively short time similar to the Yigong radio-controlled excavator we reviewed last year (DOW368). The package wasn’t bubble-wrapped to protect it on the trip from China and the cardboard box was slightly crushed at one end, although the contents inside were damage free, being mostly well protected by a plastic liner.
With the unboxing done, the new owner is greeted with the radio control unit, a plastic bag containing the rechargeable battery and a small screwdriver, along with the wheel loader itself.
Similar to the previously mentioned toy excavator because it’s made by the same company, the loader is constructed primarily of plastic, with the bucket and engine cover being made of metal. Both of those components, along with the battery, add to the weight of the toy, which seems to be about the same as a standard block of butter.
Size-wise, the packaging it came in is similar in dimensions to a shoe box – so it kind of gives an idea of what we’re dealing with, as in reality the online pictures often disappoint when the order arrives. Yes, I could have thrown it on some scales and put a tape measure over it, but most of you wouldn’t have taken that in.
Looks cool
Aesthetically, the unit looks quite cool and has vague style references to a Volvo, which also applies to the colour scheme. The operator inside the cab looks like he’s just left primary school, which is probably the demographic that will mostly be using the toy anyway.
There is some good detailing on the machine, although the plastic handrails and mirrors may not survive too many rollovers or pet attacks.
The miniature LED headlights are a nice touch, and they can be turned on and off remotely, along with the machine sounds, which have a frequency and pitch that will drive most people nuts after a while.
One thing that is noticeable immediately to anyone with knowledge of the life-size versions, is that the toy has no articulation point or steering linkages, so already I’m wary of how it will perform in motion.
Prior to use, the rechargeable battery needs to be topped up, although for the impatient types, there’s enough juice in it for a short run. The only things that need to be provided by the new owner are two AA batteries for the radio control unit.
The manufacturers say the toy is suitable for ages upwards of six years old, though they neglect to say that keen eyesight and nimble fingers are required to remove and replace the tiny screws that secure the battery covers for both the remote control and wheel loader. My prediction is that it won’t take long for both screws to be lost and adhesive tape used as an alternative – although on the plus side, they do provide the small screwdriver.
In action
As mentioned earlier, the toy machine does not have any articulation points. One of the controls on the remote is a little steering wheel, but this only gives the user a false hope that it actually steers like a real wheel loader. A closer inspection shows it is just a switch that locks up the wheels on either the right or left side of the machine, allowing it to turn. Great if you wanted to play with a skid steer, but not so good if a wheel loader is your thing.
That disappointment aside, we then move onto the bucket itself. Now, this should meet expectations as we’re only talking about an up/down movement, along with a backwards curl and forward tip motion. How hard can it be? Well, truth be told, extremely hard as it turns out.
Similar to the excavator we tried out before, I suspect the exact same architecture is concealed beneath. Why I say this is, like the toy excavator, it has the same lift, curl and tip movement. That is, the bucket lifts, curls up slightly (but not quite enough) to hold all the load, then dumps it out – all in one motion. The user can lift their finger off the remote control’s button, but when pressed again, the bucket will continue through until it completes the cycle. So, this means that the user cannot drop the bucket down of their own free will.
Also, of concern to anyone who is familiar with wheel loaders, is that it is very difficult to completely fill the bucket on the toy, as it will not continue to power the wheels while the bucket is lifting. The user has to drive the machine into the stockpile, stop the forward movement, then lift the bucket. This, along with the very small amount of backward curl the bucket has, rarely sees a full amount of product being picked up.
If all that sounds slightly confusing, then let’s just say that it doesn’t operate like the real thing.
Having said all that, I am looking at it from a real operator’s perspective. For anyone who has never driven one, will be none the wiser by how it operates and most probably will enjoy it immensely – which I guess is why it has been designed the way it is.
However, for anyone thinking they can use the toy wheel loader to get some cheap training in so their spotty teenage nephew or niece can take over loader duties in the yard over summer, they better come up with another plan.
Images by Editor