My daughter got her first taste of a Power Wheels and she's hooked. I can't blame her they do look really fun . The problem is that we do not have any paved areas that i feel safe letting her ride on but we do have an acre of lawn space. Which models have you found to work well "off-road" (on grass)?

I gave up.  When they are off camber one wheel motor/gear doesn't have the strength to power it. 

To make it work I would have needed some articulation on the rear and less plastic gearing.

What models did you try out?

It was a raptor.  I was all excited at first, but when I have it more traction it didn't have the power.  when I gave it more power it stripped the wheel motor gears.

I have up early and moved on to gas power for my kids.

Twenty years ago my daughter had a Power Wheels Barbie Jeep.  Two forward speeds, one reverse.  Played with it exclusively in our backyard . . . grass surface with a subtle grade on parts.  Never had any difficulty with traction or being able to drive it around on the grass until, of course, the battery needed to be recharged.  I have no experience with later models.

They make different sized ones. The bigger ones should be good for most small kids.  

There are forums and sites dedicated to upgrading. You can add a second batter for extra power or extended run times. 

When my kid was younger he loved that the traction sucked. He could drift that thing around turns!  

For added traction you can add a big rubber band around the tire. Exercise type ones  

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I have 2 young sons and have had 8 electric vehicles for them.

First off nothing 6v is worth a damn.

I think the most capable 12v power wheel is the Peg Pergo Deere tractor. It is lighter then the cars and trucks but still packs the same power. It is very capable off road kid wise once you wrap the rear tires with gaffers tape or similar.

A close second is the Artic Cat ATV but it is much heavier and susceptible to overheating if climbing hills. You can help this issue by adding computer cooling fans near the motors but I have yet to do it.

Once she gets more comfortable you can start her on the 24v razor dirt quads. they do 10mph and will go anywhere but are much harder to ride as they have no automatic braking and will roll easier than powerwheels.

Plus they can haul 220lbs around if you want them to.

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Op,

My kids have owned 5 of them and I live on acreage.  So no concrete other than my driveway, gravel drive, lots of grass and at times mud.  Here's my results

1. Buy her a 12volt Fisher Price brand Powerwheels - non Fisher Price variants are not as good quality and do not last in conditions like you've mentioned
2. Get a 2nd battery from Amazon for $50 as when one dies, you slap in another one and charge the other one so she can keep playing.  Plus when it dies out in the back, you take a battery down and get her going vs having to push it all the way back to the house (gets old fast)
3. Get a 12v FisherPrice quick charger from Amazon - charges the battery 80% faster and sorta acts like a battery tender - a must have

here's my thoughts on the vehicles we've owned
1. 6 volt NASCAR - slow and would not work on anything but concrete and low cut dry grass on flat land

2. 12 volt Jeep Wrangler, fast but will NOT make it on gravel or wet grass

3. 12 volt Mustang, unless you're on the concrete you aren't going anywhere

4. 12 volt Ford F-150, fast would slip a little on gravel but would make it and could handle wet grass and grass that was due to be mowed and was taller and could do hills. The F-150 has monster traction so it has better axles and stronger gears and motor.  But it is $400+ new

5. The best one if you don't live in a neighborhood in performance and price is the Dune Racer.  You can get them for about $250 shipped off amazon and they also have monster traction.  The Dune Racer is basically the old Jeep Hurricane (was the best off roader) only without a car body which means its lighter.  In my opinion the Dune Racer is the best off roader as it has the tires off the ATVs meaning skinnier and knobbier tires.  This makes a HUGE DIFFERENCE when not on concrete as they dig and get your kid out of gravel, tall grass, mud, holes, etc. Watch out though as there's a new Dune Racer variant out there that has the flat style car tires, YOU DO NOT WANT THAT ONE.  Get the Dune Racer with tires like I've pictured below.  
It comes in pink, green, orange, and an amazon exclusive chrome / blue.



See the difference with these tires


here's our old fleet

My grandson has a John Deere tractor from Wallyworld.  Not cheap but the thing will go almost anywhere and is fast!!  2 speeds.  Really long run time on a single charge.  https://www.walmart.com/ip/Peg-Perego-John-Deere-Ground-Force-12-volt-Tractor-Ride-On/13398158

The one I had when I was kid would drive on wet grass and up trees.

Got my kids a two seater Ford truck for Christmas.  Kids love it.  I bought a spare battery just because charging time is like 12 hours.  

Funny side note.  It has a radio and for some reason they always put it on Hannity or Michael Savage type radio shows!

Peg perego 12 or 24 volt is what you seek. They are a little more expensive new, but Parts are a lot easier to get when it brakes, and they will brake especially if u ever upgrade battery's for more power!

http://www.modifiedpowerwheels.com

if you get a 12v version, get another 6v battery and run it in series.  It bumps it to 18v.  My son has the Kawasaki ATV.  It has no problem through grass.

Skip the kid stuff, get them started early for their college years

https://www.cruzincooler.com/

( couple of college girls in bikinis were cruising around on these things at the college block parties this spring and getting as much attention for their rides as their choice of apparel. I'd never heard of the company so I looked it up)

My son has these two.  Both work great and are pretty fast in 2nd gear.  He's on grass 99% of the time. All the power wheels brand ones seem pretty weak/slow.  

There is a guy near where I used to work who owns an AC shop. He does a side business in repairing them. He said 90% of what he fixes are broken drive wheels.

Awesome posts. Thank you all. Right now I'm leaning towards the Deere XUV 12v. I found it for $329 shipped.

I have an idiot question. Do you need the special chargers or can you use a battery charger or a battery tender (I have both) designed for a car battery?

I always wanted one as a kid, but never got one


Woe is me

Jake drove the crap out of his gator. He outgrew it about the time the battery was shot. Motors (2) and drive train were still fine. Dump bed was fun cause he could help dad with yardwork.

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Get the Brute Force 4-Wheeler model and put some Herculiner on the tires and you should be gtg.    It's even big enough for my wife to ride it. 

Power wheels suck. Anything Peg Prego FTW

That's a really good idea to add traction.

It works great except for hills with wet grass.  Also, the 4-wheeler models are good because there is lots of leg room and even bigger kids can fit on them. 

My son has the "Lightning McQueen" Powerwheels with an updgraded 12v 7amp battery and it rips

In before the video of the young blonde kid powersliding her power wheels sideways into the street

I Fent.

I've got the John Deere XUV (IGOD0063) on it's way.

For anyone interested Rural King has it for $329 shipped. Amazon Prime was $407.

Thanks again for the advise!

+1 for the dune racer. I have 2 hilly acres, no concrete. My daughter drives it all over the yard without a problem.

My son has the corvette, Yamaha, and the Jon deer, and the dodge, they all work on dry grass but in wet grass the Corvette has tracking problems.  The Dodge Ram broke after a month or two (insert joke here).

This!

Caleb has a Ferrari F1 that I do not recommend for grass.

OP, I have the ford f150 12volt edition for my kids.  It does well off road and on pavement.  I take it our to our family farm and my boys will drive it through 12" tall grass, gravel roads, and down a very rough path to the river in the timber.  No modifications, and the battery will last about 2 hours, which on the 5 mph gear is 10 miles of driving

Here is a pic of it in action with my son and niece.

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ETA: Yes, they are lugging my ammo into the woods.

Those can be deadly in Rabbit Mode, as this Mustang illustrates 

My daughter has this some one in Black - I bought it for $20 completely worn out.

It came with 2 x 12volt batteries. I removed the pigtails from those and just cram the leads into the terminals of a dewalt 20v battery - it hauls ass compared to the 12v battery.

The 12v battery wouldn't move 2 kids (roughly 60#) the 20v has no issues and didn't burn up the motor.

I also put friction tape around the back tires to aid with traction.

Get a Yamaha YZF50. Those Power Wheels things are junk. You can put a throttle stop adjuster on it so the kid doesn't go too fast at first.

Since my thread was bumped I'll post an update.

FUCK RURAL KING.

I ordered the Gator 10 days ago and have been waiting for the thing to ship (thank God she doesn't know it's coming). Yesterday I decide to call and see what the deal is...the guy on the phone tells me that the item wasn't supposed to qualify for free shipping and that if I wanted it I'd have to pay another $150.

I have no issue with a company canceling an order due to a website glitch/misprint but don't keep your customer hanging for 10 fucking days (probably longer since I decided to call them) with no communication that the order was flagged after you've charged their card. FUCK RURAL KING.

Luckily I found a local place selling it for $325 and I'm picking it up after work.

That blows - either way I highly recommend putting a 20v battery in it in place of the 12v.

I'd rather spend $20 for something my kid will grow out of in a year or two than $2000

Does the battery fit in the stock location? I read these units use a basic (and cheap )12v 12ah scooter battery which was another reason I chose it.

My son (4) has a PEG Perago red RZR at home and a John Deere Gator at his grandparents house. They're basically the same but with different bodies. They both go great in the grass unless it's wet then the traction goes away a little.

Easily.

My 1.5 amp hour batteries last about 30 minutes - my dewalt kit came with 3 of them so it's pretty easy to keep ahead of the usage.


I brought a couple 5ah batteries home from work for my son's bday party and the kids drove it non stop for hours.

It doesn't have to be dewalt batteries either, any thing will work that you can jam the connectors into.

That's when you get to keep and ride it I have a street legal CRF50 that I didn't outgrow

I suppose it would be different if I lived out of town - but not much fun to be had on our .25 acre lot

Get the power wheel's Wild Thing.

It is different from the traditional steering wheel and four wheels unit.

First these things can handle smaller kids as well as older kids. A friend who has a 14 year old daughter was still able to sit in it and drive it.

The drive controls are like that of a skid loader. Two forward/backwards joysticks, one on each side.

Kids can and will cut circles in these things for days on end. So far we have used them on carpet, grass, gavel, dirt and even running over a flower bed. Nothing stops these things.

Find a used 50cc quad.

No a cheap Chinese one.

Look for polaris or yamaha.

Not sure if mentioned yet.

But check out http://www.modifiedpowerwheels.com

But, I'd still suggest a 50cc quad.

I had good luck with the Peg Perego Polaris RZR from Walmart.  Daughter wore out a set of tires before she got too big for it.  Not bad for the price.  When through the grass and moderate hills no problem.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Peg-Perego-Polaris-Ranger-RZR-900-12-Volt-Battery-Powered-Ride-On-Red/21012099

My nephew has a little john deere gator. They took bicycle tires and wrapped it around the plastic wheels and it hooks up well.

They work better with 2 electric RC motors and 1 (12volt) and 1 (6 volt battery) in a series makes 18volt. 24volt gets too hot so stick with 18v

We have a Motion Trendz Raptor like the one posted above. It is run on about 5 acres. The way I have it currently set up has proven to be most reliable. I've completely rewired the whole thing using quality 8 gauge wire. The motors have been replaced and with aftermarket pieces and I'm using 12v 12ah batteries with maxi fuses.

I had it at 18v for a while but my kids run it wide open across long distances and kept burning out motors. The current combo is durable and needs little outside of battery changes. I have four or 5 batteries for it.

My older son outgrew it and now drives one of these. His brother was very happy to inherit the Raptor.

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I guess I'd say there is a time for electric, and a time to upgrade to gas powered.

I know in the 90's you could daisy chain 4 battery's together in the one that looked like a Honda Odessy from the 80's and it would run almost 30mph!



Motor would get smoking hot !!

Dune Racer is what you seek.

Got one for my daughter.  Off road is np.  Turning radius lacks.  Will need to look at improving that later on.