My collection of Tonka trucks

Here is a picture of my dump truck. According to 1970 Tonka Look Book it is a No. 1060 mini-Tonka DUMP. Click here to see that page of the 1970 Tonka Look Book. As you can see, in my youth I decorated it with stickers on the hood and the back of the truck. I need to use some Goo Gone to remove these stickers. It is amazing that the Tonka sticker is still on the door of the truck. I believe this truck was meant to look like a Willys Jeep.

Here is a picture of my "Green Machine" The 1970 Tonka Look Book indicates that this was called the No. 1089 mini-Tonka TRENCHER. Click here to see that page of the 1970 Tonka Look Book. The trencher was fun to play with in the sandbox. You could use the handle at the front to control the front bucket and lever in back to control the backhoe. This trencher also pivoted at the center.

Here is a picture of one of my favorite Tonka toys, the No. 1249 Mixer. The hand-crank moves the drum and the back of the truck pivots to pour your "imaginary" concrete. I used to play with this truck in my sandbox and pretend the wet sand was concrete and that I had to pour it at a job site. Click here to see page with this truck on the 1975 Tonka Look Book.

All of my Tonka trucks where manufactured in the USA. When is the last time you have seen this stamp on a toy?

The Tonka Wrecker was a neat toy. The hook at the back of the truck was designed to fit under the bumper of other Tonka trucks. With the lift of the lever in the truck bed you can pick up the front end of a Tonka truck that you are towing and away you go! I was not able to find this style of wrecker listed in any of the Tonka Look Books I can only speculate that it might have been offered in 1971.

Look at this neat car carrier my uncle gave me for Christmas 1973. I should ask my uncle if he remembers giving it to me. It is listed as the No. 1275 Mini Motor Mover in the Late Tonka 1973 Look Book. Click here to see the page of the Late Tonka 1973 Look Book. Look at the two stylish Corvettes that you get with the car carrier. When I was young I nicknamed them "Mustard" and "Ketchup" due to their color schemes.

Here is a picture of my John Deere tractor toy. I know, it is not made by Tonka but I think it deserves honorable mention because I enjoyed playing with it so much. The steering wheel actually controls the direction of the front wheel. As I remember you could get attachments that would be towed by the toy tractor.

So there is a walk down memory lane with my own private Tonka collection. I hope that when you were young Tonka trucks brought as much enjoyment to you as they did for me. I think that Tonka trucks will be enjoyed by many generations to come.