The Tonka Toys Story

The history of Tonka toys, from their post-war beginnings in Minnesota, to their success, to bankruptcy, and onwards, all while making indestructible trucks.

Sources:

Link to my other channel - Big Car:

#littlecar

[vevfd]

Tonkas were tough as nails! I got the Mighty Dump Truck, Road Grader, Front End Loader and Fire Ladder Truck in 1971 and my cousins and I heavily used them in the sand at my families beach vacation house for decades, and my nephews are still playing with them today. No cheap stuff or planned obsolescence there!

[Nimmo]

I had a Mighty Dump when I was a kid, and I've been searching for that kind of satisfaction again ever since.

[bubot]

All our Tonka toys are still alive, including the mighty dump and the crane, great toys

[sparky]

That fire truck was the holy grail for a kid in those days.

[prestonheard]

im in the tonka baby..come show me love!

[jwhy]

They had real tough toys for real tough boys.
Tonka.

[Oliverdobbins]

Anyone remember the commercial where they ran two dump trucks off a cliff? Amid dramatic shots of a real dump truck being shoved over a cliff alongside its Tonka equivalent, the voiceover intoned “We took two of the worlds toughest trucks...” CRASHING TWISTED METAL AND COLOSSAL DEVASTATING DAMAGE vs bounce, thump and a couple of scratches

“...and this was the one made by Tonka”.

[Ricketik]

A teacher at my high school in the late seventies and eighties had a reputation for being indestructible (he never missed a single class in the years we were there) and since his last name was Tonkens, his nickname soon became Tonka.

[MaxellAdGuy]

I toured the original Tonka factory with my 4th grade class in 1979. They had a giant playroom with all of their toys. After eating our lunch in the playroom, they gave everyone a mini yellow dump truck to take home! ....The building is still there today in Mound, Minnesota. It was later occupied for awhile by the TORO COMPANY. They used this location to warranty and service their cordless lawn trimmers and leaf blowers.

[rickintexas]

These videos always bring a smile to my face. I was born in 1963 and remember these toys fondly.

[jetsons]

I proudly keep all my old Tonka Toys on in a lawyers bookshelf in the living room for all to see. Thanks for a great

[simonhodgetts]

One of my favourite childhood toys was a Tonka car transporter - the cab was based on the dumper truck in the thumbnail, and it was robust enough to sit on and ride. Also had a Jeep Waggoneer (a green one - I loved that one!), a couple of VW Beetles and another couple of jeeps and beach buggies. My grandparents had a huge garden, so it was ideal for outdoor play with my Tonkas! Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

[eltonronjovi]

If you ask any guy what the absolute best toy they had as a child, you'll hear a lot of different things. Then ask about the yellow Tonka dump truck. Every single one tosses their first answer and agrees emphatically the yellow Tonka dump truck was by far, number 1.
When you see a older, grown man smiling at just the mention of his childhood Tonka toys, you gotta figure they were great toys.

[paulrobinson]

Awesome - we had several Tonkas in the 1970s - fire truck, dump truck, bulldozer, front end loader are the ones I remember the most. Used to ride the dump truck down our hill and take them to our nearby beach at the ocean. Thanks for the walk down memory lane.

[markhenryabello]

I clicked this to learn about Tonka and ended up being a toy nostalgia trip. I think all of us has had all of the brands mentioned. Good job!

[harrybriscoe]

Born in 1959. We had a mix of Tonka, Buddy L, Structo and some off brands Defiantly they were summer outdoor toys. We used to make roads in the sand by 1st sifting gravel for a road bed and then paving with mud

[danpreston]

This channel needs a video on Wiking cars. I used to spend my summers in Germany as a kid and one of the great joys was going to Kurz toy shop to buy a Wiking model car. Very small, plastic and extraordinarily detailed.

[hctertsjn]

tonka skrt in dis dirt no mozzy #twizzyrich

[capetown]

I had a mighty dump truck in the early 70's my dad brought me back from Canada.This toy lasted very well and i took it to South Africa as a child i loved that toy so much, thanks for the nice memories.

[brucecaldwell]

Thank you for this. Tonka, Matchbox & Corgi were a BIG part of my childhood in the early 60's. All I have now is a Tonka cement mixer minus the plastic mixer.