CAT Steel Dump Truck Review

If you are old enough, you will remember steel dump trucks and how durable these things were. It is also likely that your old steel dump truck, if it is still around, is full of rust holes.

The new version of the steel dump truck is likely to be a better fit for families today, and while there was some initial disappointment from myself that the entire product wasn’t steel, I’m pretty happy with it a few weeks later.

Here is a bit about the toy,

“Designed for the most demanding of jobs, the Cat Steel Dump Truck is ready for action! Built with sturdy steel construction and large wheels this 16” vehicle is just like the real thing. You’re in control of the action, fill the rugged dump bed, drive it to its destination, and use the real working dump bed to unload it! Real Cat machines are known for their high quality, these toys are no different, Cat steel toys feature a lifetime guarantee so you can be comfortable knowing this product is built to last.”

The first thing we need to discuss is that this entire dump truck is not made of steel. In fact, the only steel element in the dump truck is the bucket itself. I would have preferred a few other steel options throughout, but as it stands, the bulk of the vehicle is made of durable plastic, and the bucket made of steel.

As I noted above, I was initially disappointed that this dump truck wasn’t all steel. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that an all-steel truck probably wasn’t going to last long-term. See, kids today – and let’s face it, kids from yesteryear as well – don’t really take care of their belongings, and it’s likely this will get left outside during all kinds of weather. If the entire truck was made of steel, there would be more opportunities for rust to build up. Since most of the truck is made of durable plastic, it will hold up well over time.

We have exclusively used our truck indoors. March in Ontario isn’t really a great time for playing in the sand box! Still, we’ve had a great time mixing this dump truck in with our other CAT toys, and have been having a blast. We have been moving Kinetic Sand across the basement floor from A to B to build sand castles, bridges, and more. The truck is VERY durable, and holds a TON of sand. We have used many other smaller dump trucks, but nothing compares to this.

From our time with the toy, we would highly recommend picking this up. It’s a great truck, very well built, and will provides hours upon hours of entertainment.