Dale was inspired to build a replica of a favorite childhood toy while at work one day. “I saw a full-size off-road truck in a gravel pit, and a couple of guys thought it would be cool if I built a full-size toy Tonka truck, just like the once we used to push around as kids.”
Dale says he got a toy Tonka truck to start with so he could figure out how to duplicate it. He decided to use a chassis from a 1992 Jeep Cherokee. “It was cheep, skinny, long, and most importantly, four-wheel drive.”
Next, he had to find the right size-tires, and decided to go with 39.5 15 x 15 tires. Then he tore the body off, mocked up the frame of the cab, and then started on the dump box. Dale says he used 16-gauge sheet metal and 1 x 1 square tubing to build the top rails and folded 16-gauge sheet metal to build channels for the sides. Then he started more mock up of the cab based on the size of the dump box.
“The whole time I was building this truck I was constantly tying to plan a head for the next steep or two.”
Dale put a 4″ lift kit on it so the tires would clear and steer. It has the stock motor, transmission, differentials, and he left all the drive line stock so he could reach his seven-month goal.
For copyright purposes, Dale had to the name on the truck to “Tonku.”
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We’re planning on beginning to manufacture these trucks for you by Spring of 2012. On the manufactured versions, the bed will have full tilting capabilities and the truck will be built on a custom chassis. If you’d like to pre-order or reserve one for yourself, click the button below:
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