"We're going to lift up the YMCA truck," said Kevin Whittle, driver for Big Wheel, as he showed me around his 85-ton rotating wrecker.

The slightly-smaller 50-ton Big Wheel truck hoisting up the six-thousand pound F250 flatbed (the YMCA's farm truck) was one of 30 vehicles displayed at the YMCA's fifth annual Touch-a-Truck event on Saturday.

"There's lot of fun stuff for the kids. They get to climb and explore," said Dartmouth YMCA executive director Mike Mahoney.

The hundreds of attendees toured trucks from the Dartmouth fire and police departments, a STAT ambulance, a cement truck, tractors, a Megabus, a school bus, garbage trucks, and more. Kids climbed in and out of vehicles to turn on sirens, beep horns, and pose for pictures.

The community event doubled as a fundraiser for Mobile Loaves & Fishes of New Bedford. Attendees donated packaged socks and/or underwear for entrance, or left a cash donation to the YMCA.

"We didn't come in with an expectation that we were going to raise money," said YMCA program director Sam Fagundes, who said the goal was to collect clothing for the homeless. "Anything we get is a super big help so we can continue doing what we do."

Fagundes said the event took about six months and $70 to put together. The money went towards bubbles. "We want them to meet the drivers," Fagundes explained, holding up the stamp cards they handed out to children. "Once they've met 15 drivers, they bring this over and we give them bubbles."

This year's two-hour event had some new features: the Taste the Rainbow presentation allowed visitors to sample various fruits and vegetables, while the sandpit gave younger kids an alternative activity.

A lot of the younger ones end up doing that, said Fagundes, pointing to two-year-old Benjamin Bumpus with his hands firmly pressed to his ears as sirens blared from the police car next to him.

Ten-year-olds like Riley Robert showed no hesitation. "It has a neat chair," she said about the tractor she was sitting on.

Even adults enjoyed browsing the selection. "I wish we had something like this when I was a kid," said Ben Connolly, 20, a YMCA camp counselor.

The event also included a rock climbing wall and self-guided tours through the Sharing the Harvest Community Farm.

"All of this was possible through great community partnerships," said Mahoney. He also credited his staff and the companies who helped out. The event was entirely volunteer based, said Fagundes.