Modern semi-trucks shining in the summer sun fill the Iowa 80 World’s Largest Truckstop near Walcott. But step into the I-80 Trucking Museum and experience the wooden panels of the Eldridge 1903.
The motorized wagon has the steering wheel on the right side, a holdover from putting the strongest horse on the same side. Built in Des Moines, it is believed to be one of the first trucks.
Founder Bill Moon began collecting trucks in the 60s and 70s until his death at age 59, in 1992. He realized people were scrapping old trucks that no longer had practical uses, and he believed this history had to be preserved. His children, William Moon and Delia Moon-Meier, grew the exhibitions to over 130 trucks. The museum was founded in 2008. Since then, there have been three extensions and it now covers 120,000 square feet.
VP of marketing Heather DeBaille said the museum seeks to, “preserve where the industry was and where,” and to “understand how far it’s come.”
She said it parallels the history of trucking to the history of America. It shows how trade expanded via trucking and the creation of interstates in the 1960s.
Curator David Meier said, “The United States is unique with its interstate highway system. You don’t stop at a checkpoint. You don’t realize everything trucks and truck drivers do. …We have some real important people, a part of society that people don’t notice until something’s missing from the store.”
Curating is done on a “case-by-case basis,” said Dave Meier. First of all, the truck has to be interesting. He, “looks for what’s out there, and take it from there.”
Unlike car companies that made a narrower range of designs, truck makers tailored vehicles for very many different uses. That includes Chicago Walker electric trucks made 1906 to 1942 for short deliveries in Chicago. On display is a 1911 Walker Electric Model 43. The truck delivered milk for the Bowman Dairy to hospitals and restaurants in Chicago.
The museum also has a large collection of familiarly branded trucks, such as Mac and Kenworth.
Truckers also customized their own trucks regularly. The driver of a 1946 Studebaker on display built the sleeping cabin, a wooden box above a metal cab with a single vent on the side for a window. The cabin locks from the outside with a latch.
A restoration team of three works on three to five trucks at once on site at Iowa 80. Dave Meier said they do, “just about everything.” They fix engines and do machine shop work. They are working on a Dodge Airflow Straight truck. Older vehicles adorned with wooden cabs or wheels are outsourced to craftsmen.
The wheels on the 1917 Velie 26 B 3.5-ton were constructed by an Amish craftsman in Iowa. The Velie company itself was headquartered in Moline and part of the factory is still standing. The founder, Willard Velie, was the grandson of John Deere. Like many trucks of this era, the vast majority of Velies were scrapped for the first and second World War efforts.
The museum is celebrating the 1924 White truck's centennial. Featured in the classic film, “Fried Green Tomatoes,” the tow truck’s crane almost touches the high ceiling. The tow truck drivers would have to hand crank and the height improved leverage.
Trucks are not the only display at the museum. Lining the walls are original mint condition signs, including route and gas station markers that once hung in the Iowa I-80 truck stop.
Complimenting these are vintage gas station restorations, including a Texaco service station. H. Lisle Leas of Waukon, Iowa, would order parts and assemble stations across the country. The one installed at the museum originated from the East Coast. The museum is installing an exhibit of a Shell gas station. Lining the lobby also are vintage gas pumps.
On display at the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum are many more fascinating trucks that span the history of the industry. To learn the complete story of each truck, the museum has a website and an app. It is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekdays and Saturdays, and noon to 5 p.m., Sundays through the summer.