Customer Reviews

Tonka: "Mighty Front Loader" - Steel 21" Construction Vehicle

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My parents bought this and the dump truck for my 3-year son. The wheel loader is a good dexterity builder because the controls require two hands to operate "properly". Of course, my son adores it even when used "improperly". (P.S. I know now the names of more different construction vehicles than I ever thought existed two years ago)

Of the (roughly) 6 million vehicles which now inhabit our house and yard this has been our son's hands down favorite since its arrival. It's incredibly durable- having withstood both the elements and our 2 year old's use & abuse for nearly a year. He's used it to move dirt, rocks, sand & water- it lives in his wading pool and has yet to rust. I wish other toys were as well made!

The Front Loader is a favorite in our household for over a year now when I bought this toy for my 2 year old son. It rules big time! It's being used to play with and also to ride on. Also his 4 year old sister (a hefty 53 pounds) enjoys riding The Front Loader. It's by far the strongest toy I've seen. It survives being thrown down a 6 foot slide on a regular basis. I think we will enjoy this one for many years.

After much research I'm back to the old steadfast Tonka for my 3 year old.

These are the best construction toys for kids. I gave it a 4 for the plastic parts. I still have my Tonka loader in perfect condition from 1970, it has a metal loader bucket and mechanism. Although you could argue that the plastic bucket might be more safe if it gets plowed into anything other than dirt or it won't get scraped up from digging and corrode if left out in the elements too often. I like all metal.

But these are still just great construction toys. The competitors use too much plastic in places where they'll actually break. They feel like they're going to fall apart unless sitting foreven on a shelf.

Kids will push anything to it's limit, at least smaller kids. So expect any flimsy plastic, realistic looking parts to get broken, unless it's building blocks or something like that.

There's a difference between hard plastic and softer plastic in terms of durability. Most of the competitor trucks feel like hard plastic. The harder plastic snaps frm fatigue. The bucket on the loader is a bit softer, it's more pliable so it shouldn't snap from moderate abuse

I'd also stay away from the Tonkas that look more realistic but are all plastic, a harder plastic, and battery operated. Although alittle more realistic looking, those aren't really made for digging or pushing or anything but pretending to dig on a carpet inside only. Perhaps for older kids who play more realistically than forcefully. I've seen some with all of their realistic brittle plastic loader parts just broked off where they attach from over use from preschoolers.

These look much more durable, and they are. My sons still look pretty darn good and they've seen much use.

Tonka was the best built toy made when I was a kid. Now they are nothing but a cheap plastic toy with thin metal attached for show. I made the mistake of getting a dumptruck and a front end loader made by Tonka for my 2 yo, 25 pound grandson. Within a few days they were all bent up and not even rolling around on the floor correctly. If a 25 pound kid can do this, it really tells how poorly they are made.

My 4 year old son has moved rocks, soil, other toys and anything else that will fit in the bed across the yars at least 10 times each. Now he has a front end loader, the weather has been inclimate for outdoors, but watch out in the house, its load a lot. Hours of fun.

For our son's second birthday my husband built him a gravel pit for the sole purpose of playing with TONKA TRUCKS!!!!Well to say that this toy is not tough would be an understatement.This front end loader has been buried,thrown,push down his slides,rained on and heavens knows'what else.These toys are great.Even though they are not all steel like they used to be,the quality is still far superior then any trucks we have seen.Jake has quite a few Tonka's and he is having a blast with them.Maybe the fact that there is some strong plastic parts helps him to lift/hold a little easier,not as heavy.He will get many years of fun out of this reasonably priced toy.How could you wrong? and the best part is that it is guaranteed for life.Now your talking!

We purchased this for our son, but it is a little big frustrating for him. It hinges in the center making it nearly impossible to push along, which is what he loves to do with trucks. I think the time will come though when he will use it in the dirt and manipulate it the way it is intended. Just be aware that if your little guy likes to push trucks, this one does not work like that. It takes a bit of coordination, but I am confident that this will be a hit in the future.

I PURCHASED THIS TOY FOR MY 2.5 YR OLD SON AND HE IS HAVING A BALL WITH IT!I THINK HE LIKES THIS TOY BECAUSE IT LOOKS JUST LIKE THE REAL ONES HE SEES ON THE ROAD.IT'S TOUGH BUT LIGHTWEIGHT AND EASY FOR LITTLE ONES TO PICK UP.IT ALSO HAS WORKING PARTS WHICH AIDS IN MANUAL DEXTERITY AND IMAGINATIVE PLAY.I APPRECIATE THAT THIS TOY HAS A LIFETIME WARRANTY AGAINST MANUFACTURAL DEFECTS SO I KNOW MY CHILD WILL HAVE THE BENEFIT OF THIS TOY FOR A LONG TIME TO COME!

My 3 yr old grand-daughter got this truck for Christmas. Within the first 2 weeks the plastic loader was always falling off due the childs tendency to pick up this heavy toy by grabbing the loader. She still plays with it minus the loader part. Unfortunatly they(TONKA) has a design problem to fix.