How the hell do you argue against a vintage, all-steel Tonka toy? It’s impossible. I still have my all-steel Mighty Dump Truck I’ve had since…hell, since Regan was president, probably…and I also own my younger brother’s tracked Tonka earth mover. There was no way I was going to find another dually toy truck that would match up, so I’ll let Lohnes have this win. The only way I was going to compete with that classic ramp truck that Brian found was to either go bigger, or go cheaper. And luck would have it, I’ve gone and done both. Take a look at the pictures, and be sure to check out the link to the eBay ad…at $40, this might be right up someone’s alley…y’know…someone with kids and a big white wrecker in the front yard…
Take everything good about the Tonka dump trucks, and turn the truck itself into a twin-boom wrecker, complete with hand-crank winches and hooks. The perfect vehicle for saving your sister’s Barbie Ferrari from the side of the living-room couch, this big metal beast could easily hook up and carry most anything in the toy box with ease. And since it’s got the same metal/plastic ratio as Lohnes’ ramp truck, you can rest assured that this puppy will take just as much of a beating as it can give out. And yes, I can attest to that last statement first-hand.
See what I mean? Swinging booms with working winches…that kind of stuff you don’t see today, and if you do it’s battery-powered and plastic.
eBay Link: Tonka Mighty Wrecker
I had one of those! Only the colors were reversed…I think mine was Orange with white booms. Tonkas were awesome toys…all kinds of sharp edges on those things…I can remember running around pushing one of those…theu don’t make them like that anymore!
Ramp truck may be rarer. Twin boom wrecker has more play value. McTaggart wins this round.
Those are all over eBay.
The body shop wrecker looked awful like the old Tonka wrecker that I had when I was a kid. It looked exactly like those years of Ford from 1953-56. I loved that toy and Tonka was a big part of my life. They don’t make toys like that anymore that lasts the ends of time.
My 7 yr old still plays with our Orange/white wrecker which has the larger off road style tyres.
I still have the Yellow crane truck
That thing is AWESOME, and you definitely have this round won!