We have this truck. My 2 1/2 yr old loves it. I had no clue it was so high in retail though...it seems about right at this price...but I'd never expect to pay more. It is bright & it's rather loud actually. It does get played with daily though even 8 months after Christmas....so that is not something I can say about most of the Christmas haul. ;) Seriously though - if it was bought at retail I really should have sent a thank you note on that one. :P

Seriously? The one review on Amazon was only posted there to complain about how this is not really a "fire engine" but is a "ladder truck."

That matters on a Tonka truck for toddlers that can't read yet? Enough to knock off 2 stars from something that the guy probably hasn't purchased?

Wow.

Naming faux pas aside, I'm seriously considering this for my 4 y.o. son. I remember really liking my Tonka truck way back when, and he really likes fire (excuse me: ladder) trucks.

With the way that ladder and handle are positioned I can't help but imagine this is really a catapult.

Brb trying to find a video to disprove my suspicion.

-sigh- it's not a catapult.


Shoots sparks and revs up the engine though.

Edit: double-sigh, woot already had a video demo. Mine's more quiet though, easier on the ears this late at night.

CowboyDann wrote:-sigh- it's not a catapult.


Shoots sparks and revs up the engine though.

Edit: double-sigh, woot already had a video demo. Mine's more quiet though, easier on the ears this late at night.

I will say the revving is louder in person, but NOT annoying. The sirens ARE annoying. My kids have LOTS of annoying toys though & this would only get a 6 out of 10 on the annoyance scale. I also think it appears larger in person. Then again I have a toddler that carries it around (not pushing it sometimes) and it is 3/4 of his body size. We take it outdoors a lot to play with it while the weather is still nice. It is definitely not a toy to leave outdoors, but outside it isn't noisy.

Woot!'s like this, for me, only mean one thing - and a wonderful thing it is - payback!

This is a perfect gift for the little one's my relatives and friends now have of their own, and they will be given only to pay them back for their buying my child loud toys just like this, when he was a wee little tyke.

I'm in for three. I'll even pop for the batteries.

Priceless.

Woot!, I kindly thank you.

I've seen these plastic-fantastic Tonka branded toys in the store, and they are fun with the sounds and such. But they are _nothing_ like the pressed steel Tonka trucks of my childhood.

NewMaster wrote:I've seen these plastic-fantastic Tonka branded toys in the store, and they are fun with the sounds and such. But they are _nothing_ like the pressed steel Tonka trucks of my childhood.

agreed! they dont hold up as well to the downhill races *you know, the ones when you ride it down the long hill into traffic at the bottom* and you cant drag them along the pavement to create a nice sharp edge. But I'd still buy a metal one if they made them for my little guy, just doesnt feel right with the plastic..... will have to sleep on this one and see if its still avail when I wake up and if I dare subject myself voluntarily to it...... or I could take the easy route and post it to grandmas' wall..... I think yes

jtweetyone wrote:agreed! they dont hold up as well to the downhill races *you know, the ones when you ride it down the long hill into traffic at the bottom* and you cant drag them along the pavement to create a nice sharp edge. But I'd still buy a metal one if they made them for my little guy, just doesnt feel right with the plastic..... will have to sleep on this one and see if its still avail when I wake up and if I dare subject myself voluntarily to it...... or I could take the easy route and post it to grandmas' wall..... I think yes

My three year old has an old metal one, and a Tonka similar to this. The metal one gets more play, and I imagine it's because it feels much more real. He still does love this one though... He pretty much loves all things firefighter related. I was given the metal one, but they can be found at vintage stores and on eBay.

Not a great deal same price at Toys R Us
Hmmmmm

bi11fish wrote:Not a great deal same price at Toys R Us
Hmmmmm

Sorry - you are incorrect. The one at Toys R Us at this price is smaller and doesn't use batteries. It's a different product. Toys R Us doesn't appear to have this one at all. You can compare the two at Amazon to see the differences, though, and this appears to be a pretty amazing deal.

Here's the one you can also get at Toys R Us at this price.

And here's the one being Wooted today.

They don't even look very similar. I can't imagine what possessed Tonka to give them such similar names. This one has many features the other lacks. (Like extending stabilizers, etc.)

In for two.

Mr. Grogg

My 2 1/2 year old is currently playing with my old Tonka trucks from the late 60's/early 70's. I fully expect his kids to play with them when the time comes. I doubt this fire truck will last that long. That being said I'm probably going to buy one because my wife's parents are both firefighters, and he's totally into anything firefighting related.

It's a truck, not an engine. If you get it for your kid, make sure you tell them :-)

I bought the Tonka Rescue Truck on a Woot Off a while back and it was a piece of junk. Flimsy plastic, poor construction. Grandson played with it for about 10 minutes and went back to his Cat truck.
I yearn for the days of my son's Tonkas that were made of metal.

This is COOL, but when I was a kid, this thing was all metal, and hooked up to the hose, so it could really squirt.. They just dont make them like they used to.. :-) Still.. Next time I'm 3 years old, I'm getting one of these!!

If this thing were still made of metal, it would cost $120.

wonko80 wrote:If this thing were still made of metal, it would cost $120.

but, you know, it would be made with chinese "metal" which is more of a metal-plastic hybrid than the metal that would be used if the toy was made in USA.....forty years ago.

wonko80 wrote:If this thing were still made of metal, it would cost $120.

I'd rather spend $120 on one made the OLD way in the USA. Please Tonka bring that back.

More was spent on the packaging than on this truck from Vietnam. What a big disapointment. Tonka, you should be ashamed for putting your name on this piece of junk. Big waste of my money for sure.