So I was at a garage sale, picked up a baggie of Gameboy games for $4 (A Link to the Past! Woo!) and got back in the car. I was riding around with my mom and she was poking around the sale still, taking forever so I got back out.

I picked up 2 metal Tonka trucks, fairly rusty. They were $5 each, but looked somewhat old. I have a friend who does commission sales at a flea market, so I figured wtf. I KNOW I can get my $10 back 100%, but I'm wondering if theres a large market for these things?

Ones the classic dump truck, the other is a rando piece of farm equipment I can't identify. I trust my friend to give me a reasonable amount for them, but I don't see her until tomorrow and I'm wondering what I should expect. I'm not looking to make a stack here, I'd be happy to supply her with something for her table and make my $5 back.

Edit: If pics help immensely, or someone knows what to look for I can do both things. They're in the back of the car still haha.

Holy crap! If those are not worth money, they are at least worth sentimental value (which, actually, then translates to money). I loved these as a kid, and I wish I had one! My grandma had a bunch of the farm equipment stuff.

Yeah! I remember when I was younger some dude came and tried to buy a few of mine at a sale, we turned him down because I assumed they were worth a bit.

I've never been much into cars or anything like that, but I'm sure I played with them a lot. I don't mind flipping these for some Nintendo games. Nostalgia / Nestalgia, ya know?

The dump trucks seem to go for 35 to 40 bucks on ebay.

Even somewhat rusty and at a flea market, I wouldn't go below 15 each. They are around 35 at the antique stores where I've seen them. I still have mine from when I was little

Yeah they certainly have value.I had like 10 of them when I was a child(I was born in '84)there was a dump truck,grater,back hoe,excavator,etc.My mom still has pictures of me stuffing my kitten into the driver seat of the dump truck thru the tiny whole in the top lol.It's too bad I didn't get to hold on to them.I don't know when but I know they started making them almost all plastic later on and that is one of the biggest reasons they are collectable.

Grater! That's the other thing! Thanks

We used to sit on the back of the Tonka dump trucks and ride down the hill in the backyard. The goal was to get the farthest without falling over. Those suckers were durable. Damn now I have to keep an eye out for a few of them

I pick these up everytime I see them at garage sales. I have all my dad's original Tonka and Buddy L trucks from when he was a kid, all mine from when I was a kid, and have just been adding to the pile when I find them for good deals.

trick in value is, the older, the better, and condition is a big factor.. These bigger all metal ones are the more valuable of the Tonka trucks. The more movable/ workable things one has, generally the more sought after it is. There are a few newer ones and smaller more simple ones in this first pic

Neat! Mines unfortunately considerably more rusty than those

Now that is more badass than a pic of SE in the wild! I remember ALL of those as a kid! That bucket scoop was my fav!

There is a market for the old Tonka Trucks that's for sure. Loved the dump truck as a kid, though they were heavy and surely hurt if one ran into you.

And not a SINGLE one of those has a JP decal on it, lol

Five years ago, my daughter got a sandbox. I wanted a nice truck for her to use in the sand, so I went to Toys R Us. It is embarrassing how shitty these sort of toys are now. The "Tonka" trucks were literally just flimsy plastic. They wouldn't last more than a month, and even the largest one was so small. The companies producing this garbage should be ashamed. When I say "garbage", I mean it. It seems like the toys are just made to be cheap and disposable. I cann't believe that kids are forced to play with such junk. I refuse to buy any of it.

No joke.. it's crazy how quality has decreased in such items.. It's depressing buying toys at stores today and when you look at them and realize next year, it will be in the dump. Thats why I pick these old guys up every time I see them. I have a couple boxes of the smaller Tonka trucks as well..

I was reading this thread when you first posted, then today I went to my parents garage sale and there was an older Tonka dump truck little rusty faded with yellowed windows. So I grabbed it and threw it in the trunk of the car.

It's not in terrible shape, but I was wondering if it would be better to leave it, restore it, or custom paint it?

I wouldnt mess with it.

I've got my old ones somewhere

I've also Kept all my old MTron and BlackTron Second Generation Lego sets as Have you seen the junk that passes itself off as lego these days?

Someday when I have money, before I have children I will invest in some of the more expensive Futron and Unitron stuff and FINALLY get me a Mega Core Magnetizer damn it.

haha there are soo many Lego knock offs now. I have 3 of the big Christmas bins full of Legos, probably 150 to 200 pounds. When I get more, I go through it, pick out all the mega blok, duplo, and other 3rd party crap and just throw it away or donate it. It's ridiculous how much of that crap I find.

So I did a little reading and found that the Tonka dump truck I grabbed is from 1992, the first year they had the larger deep dish wheels and lower profile tires.

http://www.mightytonka.com/mighty...

Some information here for anyone else wondering about their Tonka trucks.