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The 10 Best Toy Tow Trucks – 2022 Reviews

Children love to play with tow trucks toys because it gives them a feeling of being industrious. But, as an adult, it may be hard to identify the best toy tow trucks because they may appear to be very much the same from afar.

Don’t worry — we’ve got your back when it comes to toy selection.

In this article, we’ll discuss the top 10 best trucks that your loved one is sure to enjoy. By the time you’re done reading, you’ll know which features to look for in a toy truck and have a few good ideas about which trucks might be right for your family.

Toy Tow Truck Reviews 2022

Have a tow truck lover in your life? Check out our top picks for toy tow trucks.

1. Tonka Mighty Motorized Tow Truck Toy Vehicle

With this truck, your child will enjoy a motor-driven and stick-controlled towing winch, which is great for attaching to other toys to provide a semi-realistic tow.

Likewise, this Tonka truck’s light and sound entendre makes for an exciting experience which young boys are sure to love.

You’ll need to provide batteries to get the most out of this truck’s feature set, however. Luckily, you won’t need to replace the batteries very often.

2. Gizmovine Heavy Duty Wrecker Tow Truck

Oops! Looks like this toy is sold out.

With this truck, you’ll get a pair of tow cables which can be winched using the built-in cranks. This means that your child can tow two separate vehicles or one very large vehicle. With the help of the well-constructed wheels, any obstructions on the road will be cleared rapidly.

The marketing materials on this wrecker are a bit overstated, however. Playing with the toy probably doesn’t improve hand-eye coordination or sensory perceptions. But, it might still be a highly enjoyable toy, nonetheless.

3. Wader Basics Tow Truck

As the winner of the Spiel Gut award in the EU, this tow truck excels at being child-friendly and having high build quality. Your little truck driver will appreciate the garish colors on the truck — and they’ll relish hitching the oversized hook to their loads.

The cheerful coloration of the truck may turn off older children who are interested in more realistic trucks, however. You may find that they’re still willing to play with it on the beach, however.

4. Paw Patrol Chase’s Tow Truck Figure & Vehicle

Chase, the friendly police dog of Paw Patrol, has a wonderful truck which your home’s Paw Patrol fan will love.

This set includes a figurine of Chase himself in addition to his venerable front-towing tow truck. The size of the figures in the set is relatively small, however. This means that if your child has the ambitions of towing a larger vehicle, they may find Chase’s rig to be less than what they need.

5. LEGO DUPLO My First Tow Truck

LEGO’s DUPLO brand is a great choice for young children who want to put a little bit of effort into their construction projects. This tow truck set is no exception, and it will allow your child to assemble a functioning small-scale towing rig from a mere 11 pieces of LEGO blocks.

The aesthetic of this truck is only appropriate for the youngest of children, however. Older tow truck drivers will be turned off by the petite form factor of the truck, its simple construction, and its bright coloration.

6. Dickie Toys Light and Sound Tow Truck

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The six-wheeled tow truck has three different rows of flashing lights which the driver can use to signal that they are on their way to an accident site. The bright blues will clear the path along the highway without any difficulty, so long as you have provided a few batteries.

Adults in the household will find this toy to be annoying, however. The lights and sounds on the truck tend to be shrill and attention-grabbing. Likewise, adults may find that the road closures enforced by the young tow truck driver are inconvenient.

7. Tonka Steel Tow Truck

Made of steel and sturdy plastic, this Tonka Toy Tow Truck will withstand anything your child can throw at it and then some.

The four-position lift is solid and can lift and tow just about any toy vehicle that has a lip the hook can grab onto. This includes toy vehicles the size of the truck as well as those that are smaller.

It comes with a lifetime guarantee and is the ideal toy for any child that loves big, powerful work vehicles designed to haul, build and tow. The truck makes a perfect addition to a fleet of work vehicles or as a standalone tow truck.

The Tonka Toy Tow Truck is appropriate for all children ages 3 and up.

8. 5 Inch 1955 Chevy Stepside Pick-Up Tow Truck (Police) 1:32 Scale by Kinsmart

This vehicle is built to a high standard with die-cast metal, much like the best cars of old. In other words, your child could hand this vehicle down to their children when the right time rolls around because of how durable it is.

If you aren’t careful with this vehicle, however, you may find that the lights on the top are easy to snap off. The winches where the tow cable attaches are also vulnerable, which is dangerous because snapping it renders the tow hooks unusable.

9. Melissa & Doug Magnetic Car Loader Wooden Toy Set

Melissa and Doug’s reputation for producing heirloom-quality products is reinforced with this wooden truck, which is beautiful as well as functional. Your child will love to pick up racecars and place them onto the flatbed truck using the magnetic crane functionality.

The wheels on this set are its main weakness. While the wheels are high quality, they are not intended for moving at speed, such as when a toddler might run with their toy along the ground. So long as children keep this truck at low speeds, it will serve them well.

10. Set of 4 Trucks: 5″ 1953 Chevy 3100 Wrecker

In the set, you’ll get four trucks which are colored red, black, blue, and navy. This means that the variety is a major appeal of the set.

These high-quality tow trucks aren’t intended for younger children, however. Many of the pieces on the exterior can be chewed off and potentially choked on if a young child gets a hand of them. Otherwise, the trucks have limitless towing potential.

Frequently Asked Questions

What features should I look for when I’m shopping for a toy tow truck?

When you’re trying to find the right toy tow truck for your child, you should keep your eyes out for the following attributes:

• Aesthetics
• Build quality
• Appropriate sizing
• Age appropriateness

Aesthetics are the largest single concern for toy tow trucks because your child will only enjoy the vehicle if it looks like something worth playing with.

In other words, you should keep your child’s tastes in mind when you are picking a tow truck. The age appropriateness of the tow truck is also a major feature because it interfaces with the aesthetics of the truck.

Toy trucks intended for younger children have a more childish aesthetic, whereas tow trucks intended for older children tend to have a more realistic or high-tech aesthetic. So, you can use these features as guidelines for which you should be purchasing for your child.

Build quality is a concern for most products, and toy trucks are no exception. Wooden and die-cast metal toy tow trucks are more durable and higher quality than those which are made predominantly of plastic.

So, if you want a rule of thumb for which toy tow trucks will be high quality and which will fall apart after a few play sessions, use the materials as a guide. But, you should also be aware that toy tow trucks constructed of plastics may have a few advantages.

Plastics tend to be more resilient against sand, salt, moisture, and sunlight. This means that they are preferable for tow trucks which are intended for use while playing on the beach. You may want to purchase one tow truck for use in the home and another for outdoor play.

Appropriate sizing is also a concern because your child will most likely want to use their toy tow truck to tow their other vehicle toys. If their truck is too small or too large, they won’t be able to make the tow — or if they do, it won’t look graceful.

Are there any brands of toy tow trucks that are better or worse than others?

Yes, certain brands of toy tow trucks are preferable because of their high build quality. In particular, toy trucks produced by real-life vehicle manufacturers will often last longer because of their use of superior materials.

The Melissa and Doug brand is also a reliable and high-quality selection for these toys.

There aren’t any particular brands of toy tow trucks to avoid, however. Most of the toy trucks on the market meet minimum standards of quality and safety, so you don’t need to worry about getting a toy that is dangerous or extremely fragile.

What ages should children be playing with toy tow trucks?

Most children will enjoy playing with their toy tow trucks from the ages of 5 to 9. Some children may prefer to play with their trucks when they are older, but for most children toy cars become collectibles rather than toys for active play as they age.

What type of play are toy tow trucks the best for?

Tow trucks are the best for light roleplaying or semi-imaginative play. Children may envision themselves as the tow truck drivers during play, which helps them to develop their abilities to sympathize with others as well as their understanding of how things can go wrong.

Toy tow trucks aren’t fantastic at any specific type of play, however. As toy cars with a specific niche — towing — trucks aren’t very versatile as a toy.

The opportunities for imaginative play are limited, as are the opportunities for roleplaying. Instead, look to toy tow trucks as a supplement to other styles of play like active play or creative play.

Encouraging your child to combine their toy tow truck play with other infrastructure or construction-themed play will help them to get the most growth out of their toy — but remember that trucks aren’t designed for helping your child to grow, they’re designed to keep them busy and entertained.

Driving Away

Now that you’ve seen our rundown of the top ten best toy tow trucks, you’re ready to set your child up with the truck that will make their dreams come true. Remember to help your child find a few other toys, and foster their inherent industriousness.