Makita XUC01X1 36V (18V X2) LXT® Brushless Power-Assisted Wheelbarrow, Tool Only

Edit:[4 stars because nothing’s perfect and because there no comparable product. AFAIK this is the only single front wheel electric wheelbarrow available now.]5 Stars because now that there's is something to compare this barrows weaknesses, described below, is still better than a competitor’s strengths. Shop them for yourself.If you read nothing else. READ the next 3 paragraphs.Be aware of your sellers return policies. For heavyweight items the return shipping cost may exceed fixing it yourself.My unit came in a box that appeared to have been previously opened. A bit bumped up but not usually a cause for concern. I accepted it as undamaged.However, the hardware bag was torn open and several pieces were nowhere to be found. Hardware is standard metric, but 2 handle screws have a special shoulder and not easily replaced. Thankfully both of those were still in the box.1 caster wheel was damaged or defective on manufacture. The rear caster wheels pivot on bearings on a 1+” steel shaft. The bearings are held between thick stamped steel race/washers.Unfortunately, the design forms the cup for the bearing races open upward, which will trap dirt etc causing failure. This is partially compensated for by a grease fitting and ring gasket. The grease fitting is not connected such that adding grease helps force dirt and water out of the cup. Bump the wheel hard, very hard or mis-form the bearing washers during manufacture and the ring seal is pinched out of the gap leaving the bearing exposed. Hopefully and with a little work with a 20T press + adding a modified automotive lip seal as a flashing will be the fix and make the needed improvement.My criteria in choosing:1. I chose it because its Makita, single front wheel and electrically assisted.2. I wanted the off-road, on-trail maneuverability that the single front wheel allows.3. I own many other Makita tools, their quality is usually above average. And having multiple battery systems is also undesirable.4. MY physical rating of heavy duty is fading with time, so the search was on for a tool to fill the gap.5. I don’t often need the extra duty (or maintenance) of gasoline power or heavier load capacity that other categories of barrows provide.A bit of background:I own three wheelbarrows.First is a 1 wheel contractor grade. Simple, heavily used, now over 20 years old and still useable as new with only mimimal care and maintenance. It is “heavy duty”.My second is the 2 wheel, orange/silver model, multi-tool-hand truck, rock lifter, water carrier, 4 tire wagon convertible (with accessory). The brand you all know by the description.Much smaller in capacity than the contractor barrow, but more easily manuvered for smaller jobs. Its multi-use design and size makes it light duty in comparison to the full size contractor barrow.And now this Makita.It fits somewhere in-between the two so by my ranking it’s medium duty. Not because it couldn’t be tougher, bigger, better? More because it shouldn’t. You don’t need a bulldozer to do the work of a bobcat. And while a bobcat could sometimes substitute for a bulldozer the added time on task plus wear and tear on the cat would make such a poor choice.Operational notes:Makita is known for quality. As a medium duty wheelbarrow its well designed. At its upper limits of advertised load, 275lbs, and using the optionally provided skids instead of wheels limitations appear.Compared to my contractor wheelbarrow the bucket is thinner and will dent more easily (medium duty). More importantly the handle to front wheel axle length is 6” shorter. This loss of leverage coupled with the battery / controller box position makes the lift and balance while moving more difficult than the contractor barrow. With 275lb on board the frame thru the handles also flexed to the point that the carrier frame lock (the dump feature) released on a bump in the trail and the load was lost (the handles flexed further causing the release).At full weight with the rear skids installed (instead of wheels) and on irregular terrain both me and my Makita are at our limits. With a max load even with handle and load balance adjustments such that most of the load is on the front wheel the irregular tug of the motor on rough terrain makes the overall effort greater than that of pushing and balancing the contractor barrow on most slopes. Legs do little while upper body ability is exceeded. Frequent use under these conditions will have wear and tear issues for us both.When desired you can readily push and over-run the electric assist, but a slight resistance is felt. Its slightly harder to push against the free wheeling motor than a plain wheel on an axle. Downhill this is not a factor and having a handbrake is nice compared to holding back or dragging the skids.The rear skids are J shaped tubes inserted into the drop tube frame that also holds the rear wheels when installed. Unlike the contractor barrow, with skids formed by rolled edge strap steel forming a triangular leg, these tubes stick straight down from a single point of connection. Too much load, slope or a snag and something will give. And the skids have no shoes. For occasional pushing the limits use adding skid plate shoes and angle bracing for the skids and handles sooner rather than later will be better than oops, too late.Using the rear caster wheels is what makes this barrow’s ease of operation shine. The handle flex problem is mostly gone since the load is now riding on the rear wheels. On smooth, firm, limited slope surfaces its simply walk and steer. Take it on-trail and more weight is at the handles during those times when trimming the balance (lifting the load by the handles) is required. Too rough and the skids with a lighter load is preferable. Also when backing, as the rear wheel casters swivel, wheel base distance shortens about 2” narrowing the center of gravity. What was steady on three wheels before may come out of balance just due to backing.Load and slope:Makita’s specs for these conditions are vague. A “12deg slope at 2.5 mph.“ With what load? Its not stated.With what duty cycle? Complex question. It depends.Battery condition and temperature. Motor temperature. And the slip / friction of the surface your traversing are all factors. The owners manual warns of exceeding these limits and the rapid motor shutdown that follows. Be prepared for loosing the load, a motor / battery cool down time and a re-assessment of how to reduce the load factors to continue the task. I’ve greatly exceeded the 12deg slope to 30+deg with a full load of 275lbs for distances of 30 feet without consequence. Even steeper for brief distances. I’m convinced that longer and steeper slopes are possible. Its just how heavy, hot and far is the shutdown limit? With that said YMWV (your mileage WILL vary).In summary:I wrote this primarily to help fill in the unknowns of the load and slope abilities of this unique machine. IMO a 12deg slope is so far below real world usage for a wheelbarrow that if true, this item should be re-categorized as a warehouse assist buggy. I also discovered a couple of other problems along the way.If your needs follow my criteria look no farther. You won’t be disappointed!

I went with the Makita for two main reasons, hand brake and Makita batteries as a plus looked well built. Additionally, the head lights are handy. I looked at the two-wheel powered models which probably would work well but lacked some of the other things I'd wanted. Paid more for this than would have paid for others but have not been disappointed either with the Makita. Have both cart and wheelbarrow...use the cart more. I have been happy with its performance as other 5-star reviews, I live on a hill and performs well up and down hill and throughout backyard hills and slops, not used in an industrial setting. This machine was one of the easiest assemblies I can remember putting together, less than an hour taking my time.

I bought the cart version to haul firewood from the wood pile, up the hill to the house, and get through the front door. It does that very well. I did have to eliminate the tabs that restricts the rear wheels from moving further inward. I just bend them and slid the wheel stands closer together. It still has plenty of stability and fits through a 33 inch door easily. I use it to haul heavy bags of supplies around the property and it works well for that. The battery life, power and speed are very good. Very easy to handle. Very solidly built. Good quality.

Note that it has both power-assist and disk brakes! Both are important (and the leading competitor product does not come with brakes). I bought it to move heavy loads between my house and my storage shed, which is down a 17-20 degree slope from the house. It works great! Going downhill, the brakes help to control speed. Going uphill, the power-assist makes it possible to move heavy loads. The dolly is essentially self-propelled on flat surfaces and on small inclines (under 10 degrees). It does require a moderate pushing to get up a 17 degree incline with a 100 lb load, but it least it makes the task possible (and really “no sweat”) where without the power-assist I wasn’t able to do it at all. I do wish it had a bit more power to work better on inclines, though it may be not so much a lack of power but rather a lack of traction for its one wheel to grab on grass lawn on an incline. Still, the dolly is very good in its current form, easy one-man assembly and easy to operate. I would buy it again without reservations.

If you have an indoor concrete floor for light retail or a very light greenhouse application then this fragile homeowner device might be useful. I bought it for helping with firewood and it's too light-duty for that. It wouldn't take very much to improve this device but makita is disinterested in doing so. They advertise it as a robust outdoor unit. Zero quality assurance. Zero testing. This a nicely painted prototype with at least a dozen design flaws.

Assembly was straightforward. Moved a lot of dirt. Batterylife seems better than expected. Worked for about 3 hours (not continuous use) and first battery was only half discharged. Goes up and down hills relatively easy. The best feature is the brake which helps going downhill without using the motor. SO much better than a manual wheelbarrow unless only light owrk is anticipated.I have 4 acres with ponds and a creek and gardens. May not be necessary for small yard, but this could work well for moving any relatively heavy objects or materials.