The History of Stomper Toy Trucks 1980-2002

[@firefly128]

I was 2 in 1982 and I never had any after that, but the smell of the Stomper tires I will never forget. Nostalgia.

[@rhettgenung1223]

Your 80s rambling stories resonate with many of us. The mellow yellow glass bottles with Styrofoam rings were the best. Keep these stories coming !

[@donseagrave]

one of the reasons i love this channel is because i forget about some of the cool toys i had as a kid then blam you showcase the very toy i had...bravo. stompers for life.

[@user-ZfarmpondPatrolZ]

Ran 'em thru mud puddles in 1983 .. had to dry them out with hair dryer to continue.. mine was the brown Toyota pickup!

[@joebauers3746]

These were the coolest in the early to mid 80's, and they are going for decent prices now on Ebay.

[@johnmiller7682]

I had so many Stompers. I think I had 6, as well as the a Semi, and a big tow truck. I had the off road kits, like Wild Canyon. I forget the other one. Add that to the fact that me and my friends had places in our backyards where we could dig real trails. One of the best toys ever made!

[@tomcruisenukedmyaccount5388]

The origin of Junkman. I remember that smell of small electric engines. I used to sniff everything, including grass and dandelions. Now my nose wouldn't save my life. We had a couple Stompers, but I can't remember which ones. I remember blue, but a search didn't turn up any which are very familiar. I remember hard and soft wheels though. I didn't know they released some years later.

[@georgiahex7387]

Had them as a kid. I am 56. My friends and I run them now and then. I have a collection of them and a couple of sets. Cogars, cold drink and stomper s. Still a blast

[@willpelton1619]

I'm 56 also. We all took them to school, 7th and 8th grade. We would have competitions every day. The jerks that ran the school banned them under threat of confiscation. That began my career as a smuggler 😮

[@rickwj324]

I had 4 stompers and that off-road playset. They were awesome!!

[@GartheKnightReturns]

I loved the Stompers I had. Those foam wheels were chewy too. 😂 I went through the batteries with them.

[@AndrewHCann]

Excellent video :) I grew up 1976 to 1997 play with Tonka , Micronta, Dinky Cars , wood toys besides Cub Cars in boy scouts and plus Radio Control too ! Even put together models too glue plus paint up too and did Stompers too ! Like Stompers was so many vechiles types also for 2 also 4 wheels on switch to and one AA Battery plus changed tires too on rubber types to sponge, soft , hard ones too and lots fun to and like lights one too! Even Etrl toys in farm tractors and machinery too in small to medium sizes! Stompers had in A Team , Knight Rider , Army , Construction ones and many others!

[@Sammy_Boy_Smith]

Good times! ... Wish I could go back for a few months.

[@AndrewHCann]

@@Sammy_Boy_Smith agree 100 %

[@benrositas8068]

I had a Stomper, but I don't remember much about them aside from the time at one my cousin's birthday parties... He had a another cousin from the other side of his family, and when she screamed, everyone looked over and saw a Stomper crawling through her hair, making that mini electric motor noise and just spinning away, getting more and more tangled up in her hair! Turns out, my cousin got upset with her for something and decided to put the Stomper in her hair. Funniest damn thing I saw all year! Would've made for a funny, true-to-life commercial too, if you ask me (but no one ever did).

[@tomcruisenukedmyaccount5388]

This is awesome.

[@098hrc]

🤣still have Stomper Bully orange that I got from father uncle from Kansas. And it still goes. Greets from Croatia.

[@beach7694]

My little brother got the Stomper action track system for Christmas in 1984. It was a cool little playset.

[@deweyoxburger295]

We built a snow oval track about 10’x4’ and wherever the trucks ran off the track we just patched it until they stayed completely on and went all the way around the track. We altered tires for more traction and disconnected headlights for more ‘power.’

[@tommywallbanger]

Hey I appreciated your rambling about your childhood. I was born in 1973 and I can appreciate your childhood. I remember going to the bowling alley to play video games and when I came home my mom wanted to know if I was smoking or why I smelled like smoke. I would just say I went to the bowling alley to play video games. I had either a Stomper or Rough Rider. I only ever had 1. I never had a lot of toys but still had some cool stuff. I was like 8 or 9 so like 1981 or 1982. I had a Green Toyota pickup truck. It took AA batteries, 1 I think and had 2 sets of tires, slicks and paddle tires. I've never seen your videos but found this via a Google search. I remember TV commercials and jingles. Do you remember ACM cars? ACM stood for Air Controlled machine. The song went "ACM, air controlled machine...the car you control with air." And there were a similar line called "Air Jammer Road Rammers." It seemed like whenever a toy company had a good toy there was always another company making something real similar. Like Go Bots and Transformers. I know Go Bots came out first but Transformers were so much better. OK one last thing. You might remember this. My cousin had a 3 or 4 foot long grey air craft carrier toy and it used to launch planes. Remember that? Man Oh man do I have a place in my heart for the 80's.

[@jeremycrow6157]

So glad you did love these

[@BrowncoatNerd]

My brother and I had several of the play sets! Stompers were so GD cool! Thanks for bringing back the memories!

[@daresay8892]

Elementary school recess! Kid had a shoe box full!!! Had stomper bumper cars in the gravel. Tip over, they were eliminated. It was thrilling!! Thanks for the cobweb cleaning J.M.

[@NintendoSuperstar93]

I might’ve had a few as a kid when I was about 3 or 4, they were pretty fun.

[@FloridaKeysPirate]

Man , besides Star Wars , Stompers were probably my favorite toy line back then. I had a track of some sort , a semi with trailer , the tractor tow sled , and a carry case full of different trucks. Good stuff. I need to find a toy guide that shows them all in it.

[@Midwestpinstriper]

** Core memory unlocked ** my brother and I had a bunch of these and some of the tracks/play sets too. Such a great toy!

[@chromeninja6811]

I had them as a kid. me and my friends used to bring them to school we'd take the chalk from the chalkboard and paint the tires with it and then run them on our desks to make tire tracks , drove our teacher CRAZY. Great times!

[@sithcritic8906]

Junkman, you’re hitting the sweet spot with this video.

[@captlazer5509]

Peachtree Playthings used the old tooling with paying the inventor and only re-did the packaging. They still sold!

[@ericpark2911]

I had a jeep wagoneer and a blue tractor trailer truck. It had a mail in offer for a free flatbed trailer. I was so excited when it came in the mail. I'd check the mailbox every day, like Ralphie in Christmas story. My brother had some stompers too. We had races in the hallway. Slowest race ever but we had so much fun

[@RevengeCreatureDelux]

Yo Junkman! My car crazy friends in 6th rigged up that "square battery" aka 9V to their Stompers and they tore ass across the floor!! I had the military ones and one of the trucks. I never rigged up a crack battery to any tho! 😂😂😂 My favorite set I got for Christmas it was a bridge with a tank and some gray and green army men to portray US and German troops! I still have it and the box! Keep up the great work!

[@garzilla7123]

I loved them had some Stompers and Rough Riders both. And I had the 4x4 Water Demon. That was cool in the pool and on land. Great Memories. 👍👍👍😎

[@davereece7602]

OMG... Stomper 4x4's were all the rage when I was in 7th grade back in '82.

[@christopher_3662]

My friend and I constructed tracks in our school sandbox. Man, those were really cool times.

[@ncjeephead4328]

Had these for sure! Best for me was the Subaru Brat. Got the wild mountain set for Christmas one year. It was styrofoam and I remember playing with it with my friends for several years, especially when one of us got a new Stomper or Rough Rider. In fact we nicknamed our buddy Doug “rough rider” because he always snuck one into school! Next to Star Wars, these were my fav toys.

[@jdsrcs8061]

Woohhhooo!!! Stompers rule!! Yep i had a few of them. My dad built me some tracks out of scrap wood in the backyard... So much fun!!!👍👍👍

[@robinredick8952]

It's never too late! I'm ready for your stomper tug-o-war video!

[@ThatJunkman]

Good idea. Sadly they are about 80-100 for a working one now :(

[@markcoledrumteacher]

I had a bunch of them as well as a couple rough riders. The year they came out, my cousins and I received that first placyset that you showed. That was a fun christmas. I still have the tractor-pull set that you didn't show in the box. Stompers rule!

[@redplague76]

I had a few. The corvette, possibly some others. Also a Rough Riders A-Team truck with a bunch of guns on it . One of the tracks too. I liked the fact that some of them you could uncouple the motor and just roll them around like hot wheels because I was always running the batteries down.

[@MC_ToyDawg]

A couple years ago I purchased one for 2 bucks.LJN Knight Rider with the shifter on the top. The shifter is broken and missing. I cleaned the motor, brushes and battery terminals and got it back working. Still on the hunt for the shifter donor. That burning smell was from the brushes.

[@alexianemp]

I had at least one Stomper truck that I remember. It had two sets of tires. I don't remember what the different sets were for. I also had a styrofoam mountain for it to climb. There was a spiral path up the outside and a tunnel to get back down. I had, and may still have one of those aquatic ones. It just had small soft paddles on the wheels, so it was super slow in water.

[@stoneylonesome5826]

I remember having three of them, a red Chevy Luv, a purple Jeep pickup, and a blue Bronco.

[@WTFoolproof]

they got popular for one year. lots of fun in the sandbox if the soil could be packed down into hills and tunnels. Dads were playing(betting) with them at a local bar doing truck pulls on little wooden ramps with the box, rails, and pulley. A lock nut with washers (for weight) was stuck up through the bed so all wheels would stay on the ground. good times.

[@martinbaker1609]

I remember using a couple of alligator clips so I could hook up a 9-volt battery in my Stomper semi. I put the battery in the trailer and ran the wires through the fifth wheel. That truck was fast. I still have it to this day.

[@Cwo30]

I loved Stompers: the Toyota SR5, Datsun Lil Hustler, Chevy Van (Orange) , and the Baja Bug were my favorites. I sure wish I knew how to solder back then because the wires always broke off the motor.

[@adamn.4615]

I loved Stompers as a kid. I’m pretty sure I had a few mainline ones, and I do remember having a few Stompers from the Happy Meal!

[@FreemanSC]

Hell yeah. This is one of those I totally forgot I had those moments.

[@jesseperry9602]

I had a blue truck with wooden side rails on the truckbed. Several others, that was the first and the one i remember best. But the most vivid thing is the smell of the engine, you are so right! Im sure that stuff was toxic AF...but it did smell good.

[@pinballshawn]

Hey, I had one of those! I forgot all about them. I liked the headlights for some reason.

[@jm76vd]

I same Stompers. My friend had some the play sets..They were pretty cool

[@edwinsullivan922]

I had several of these, They were so much fun.

[@jeffreycoogan09]

@That Junkman Those square Batteries you were referring to are "9 Volt Batteries" BTW. I had "Stompers" when I was a kid. Stomper 4x4s were awesome! As I recall...They were a lot bigger then both the standard sized (Hot Wheels and Matchbox Cars).

[@martyb5636]

I had one of the play sets and I also had the pull sled which was pretty cool. I remember having a carrying case also to put them in. Sadly my basement flooded one time and ruined my Stomper collection.

[@bradbrown8759]

I got several stompers. A chrome VW limited edition. Nomad.. And two bull dosers. But the tracks broke on one. Loved the lights to. Had a 4 car build or set from K bee. They had foam knobbys, rubber knobbys. And the wide rubber treaded tires. You could mix and match. Tractors could pull the wheeled ones. Schaaper is from my Minneapolis St Paol. Minnesota. Toys R us had the last I seen of them.

[@keithpayne701]

3rd or 4th grade, they were my favorite toy to play with especially at recess with all my friends.

[@DelightfulDirtBike-fd9xo]

Had most of the ones from the 80s,even had a transitional pulling sled. We had all kinds of pulling....

[@Mike-l2m]

Meand my brother Hooked bigger batteries to them and pulled wheel weights we were the lords of all creation great video man😊

[@wallythornton8439]

I have a stomper track in my mums loft still.and am from the England.great video mate.

[@danielshayder8875]

With all the retro toys being made how is it no one isn’t making these.

[@Straight0uttaCrofton]

i had some of these including a jeep, a pickup truck, and a MACK-type truck also had the Wild Mountain playset, which was 90% styrofoam

[@StevenLeeMiller]

Dude, cool video! Relatively recently I picked up a stomper on ebay that is very nostalgic to me. I had it as a teenybopper and found an unboxed version and picked up some extra parts as well. I'll send you a picture or three. I also saw that they made a few Trans Ams and I'm a fan of those cars so I might pick some of those up. I saw one go up over $200 and wasn't interested in that price!

[@AJDRAGON01]

Actually you could put the square 9v batteries in them and they ran like a speed demon, the motors didn't last very long but it fun watching them zoom around. I had a lot of Stompers and Rough Riders, and the last Stomper I got was the giant water demon.

[@mrkrinkle72]

I had like 20 of these bad boys! My fave was the 57 Chevy Nomad.

[@backroom12]

Love stompers and rough riders . Stompers also made 18 wheelers . They were actually a pretty nice size ! Maybe a foot long with the trailer

[@_The_Worst_]

These look heIIa rad...🤘🏼💯✔️

[@TheAtariCreep]

I had SO many of these and loved each and every one of them. Had the bully, oh man I forgot about that thing. And yes, I remember the smell.

[@brianlocke2657]

Had them as a kid we play with them at recess. I use to grab beetles and put them in the back and ride them around.

[@Drew_73]

Thanks JM, forgot about the styrofoam wrapper on the bottle. I remember popping those! Used to bring them to school and race them up that metal slide.

[@Ecto_Eric]

I loved those Stompers thanks 🙏 for the memories Junkman

[@scottbeegle9291]

I don't remember which Stomper truck I had, but I do remember having the Devil Mountain playset. I still have one of the ones in the Happy Meal. I had the Ranger from the Happy Meal. I still have that one.

[@jerryziegner]

If I recall. I had one that had tires made of roam. I always wanted a Knight Rider KITT but never got one.

[@sonicimperium]

Still have mine - a blue pickup with roll bar! 👍🏻

[@mikemonk4375]

These were sick. We mess around with them in the baseball Diamond at recess. And the knockoff one’s too. Remember them?

[@tperson8347]

I've always liked these, but never had any. I like the light weight feel to 'em. I played with one at my aunt's house, but it didn't have batteries. I love the smell of electricity. I still have the old Cooties. Hahah! :) "Watch out, Jimmy .. " :) Awsome. Thanks for the video

[@TheMaskedheel]

My brother put his rough rider truck in my dad’s hair and it got stuck in his hair and he had to cut it out. Rough Riders had a sweet Smokey and the Bandit set up if memory recalls. I had Stomper.

[@applehead6179]

This was like watching an episode of The wounder years.

[@rewardaudacity1998]

yes i loved the stomper smell

[@udovelvet]

This was a toy I got but didnt ask for. I wish I would love all my gifts like this one

[@stalters]

I played with Hot Wheels, MatchBox, and Stompers!!! They just ran through batteries so quickly...

[@jeremycrow6157]

I drove one in my grandmas hair she was so mad

[@michaelkibble740]

We had stomper races at school and I had the yellow one.

[@kjpphotography4764]

I had a light blue 4X4 truck, and Loved that thing. It stopped working when I ran it through a puddle. 😑 Oh yeah, I should add that you could go from foam tires to rubber ones.

[@danielbowden6330]

Had one that was a race car and had the canyon set. I remember the car stomper got caught on the rug and I thought it was off. Nope. It kept running and the battery ended up melting through the bottom.

[@darylarmentrout252]

I tore up all my trucks but somehow still have most of the Devil's Mountain set in the original box

[@exc911ence_channel]

I still have a blue Stompers Jeep Cherokee from the 80's.

[@willpelton1619]

I pleaded with my electrician's mate father to find me a higher that 1.5v AA battery 😅 Dad didn't understand the intense competition at school between stomper guys 😂

[@danielherrin]

I got one tangled up in a girls hair in second grade.

[@wolfjarlgrbane5771]

Bronco, and military jeep. I had a monster truck Big Foot tried changing gear box oil that was gummed up and took it appart as soon as I asked for gun oil he freaked out and told me to leave it and then he chucked it.

[@AnakinStarkiller1974]

Dude I never realize how many different ones they made 😮

[@vicrules6666]

I still have pieces from the devils trail set.

[@Daehawk]

I had Stompers. Had the playset too..some kinda track with plastic logs and stuff. I dont remember the dragsters. But by 84 I was 15 and had grew out of stuff like Stompers. Was more into boobs and girls. I would have loved the tractor trailer. I only recall having a stomper bronco.

[@spankynater4242]

Man, boobs were great. I still haven't outgrown them.

[@spankynater4242]

If that's the one I'm thinking about, if you put the battery in backwards, the truck would go backwards.

[@hediho-ry6rs]

That smell was o-zone from the brushes in the motor

[@brianrvd]

I had the white semi with blue stripes.

[@3Storms]

I remember those. They were pretty cool until the battery died. I also remember the reissues, and remember keep telling myself I'll get one next time only for the next time to never come. At that point I was spending way too much on vintage GI Joe and Transformers.

[@marioaranda4596]

ey bro cool video, im from Mexico City i have one blue brat subaru made here in Mexico by Plastimarx, i wonder if you know something about this production, i cant find much information about it

[@alexnejako777]

they were awesome

[@realgtasacramentodashcam7292]

Stompers were awesome.

[@AyAyRonGascon]

Ok I have that yellow dodge ramwagon sealed! Was doing research on them and saw this video!

[@sammyboswelldirtybrc7580]

Loved them had plenty of them ant seen one in a long time

[@mattroslund5312]

Wally Walrus from Woody Woodpecker 🤣😂🤣😂🤣

[@scottgurdinak9362]

Great topic.

[@MakeworkProductions]

Forget about Mello Yello in the glass bottle with styrofoam wrapper, do you remember 7 Up Gold?

[@ThatJunkman]

Nope

[@TreborPaulson]

We would have duels, nose to nose and see who pushed the other back. It was fairly even until someone figured out he could put a 5v battery on one. It beat everyone

[@kylehawes4287]

I had semi in kindergarten I brought it to school on favorite toy day some other kid ruined it by pushing it some kid never afford one but it still haunts me at 45 years old lol