We all have to grow up sometime, but every once in awhile, our childhood toys follow us into adulthood.
One such knickknack is the Tonka dump truck, a favorite of sandboxes and playgrounds everywhere. Ford has brought a version of the iconic yellow workhorse to the 2015 NTEA Work Truck show, but it’s no toy.
At nearly ten feet tall, the brand’s F-750 Tonka is a life-size version of the longtime best seller, one that features a working dump body from Truck Tech Engineers.
Built to showcase capabilities of the new F-650/F-750 work trucks, the vehicle equips a custom blackout nostril grill and all the appropriate decals to illicit all sorts of youthful nostalgia.
Under the hood sits a 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel V8 with three levels of output: 270 horsepower and 675 pound-feet of torque, 300 hp and 700 lb-ft, and 330 hp with a whopping 725 lb-ft.
Ford also offers a 6.8-liter gas V10 engine, the only automaker to do so on a medium-duty truck, and it makes 320 hp and 460 lb-ft. All powertrains include the manufacturer’s six-speed ‘TorqShift HD’ automatic.
The bulky utilitarian will need every bit of that power to transport its cargo, whether it be rocks, dirt, or perhaps another small truck. The 33,000-pound F-750 can haul a massive 17,000 lbs in its dump bed.
“From Generation Z to the Greatest Generation, Ford and TONKA continue to set the standards for tough trucks,” said John Ruppert, GM of Ford Commercial Vehicle Sales and Marketing. “People of all ages have been counting on Ford F-Series and TONKA trucks to get the job done – from construction site to sandbox – for more than 60 years.”
