We spent the rest of our afternoon at the Iowa 80 Truck Museum. I had heard good reviews about this museum and since we were in the area…
A little history:
“Iowa 80 Truckstop began serving truckers out of a small white enamel building in 1964 before Interstate 80 was completely built. Bill Moon, Iowa 80 founder, located the spot, at what is now Exit 284, for Standard Oil. They built and opened the truck stop with Bill taking over management a year later, in 1965. Years passed, Interstate 80 was completed and hundreds, then thousands of truckers and travelers stopped by Iowa 80 to fuel, grab a bite to eat and head on down the road. In 1984, Standard Oil (now Amoco) decided to sell the facility. Bill Moon, who had been managing the place for nearly 20 years, jumped at the chance. He and his wife Carolyn, leveraged everything they had, including borrowing money from friends, to purchase Iowa 80.
Once the Moon Family owned Iowa 80, they could expand the building and add services as needed. “Bill just loved everything about trucks and trucking,” says Carolyn Moon. “He loved to sit at the counter in the restaurant and talk to drivers about what would make their life easier if Iowa 80 had it. He truly enjoyed the truck stop business and all of the people he encountered.”
The Iowa 80 Trucking Museum, a dream of Bill Moon, Iowa 80’s founder opened in July of 2008. The museum houses many of the Moon Family’s antique trucks and transportation memorabilia.”
“The Iowa 80 Trucking Museum collection was started by Iowa 80 Truck stop founder, Bill Moon. Bill Moon had a passion for trucks and was always looking for a new truck or trucking artifacts to add to his collection. There are now over 100 antique trucks on display in the museum. We also have 304 original petroliana signs and 24 vintage gas pumps.”
More information can be found here:
https://iowa80truckstop.com/about-iowa-80/our-history/
https://iowa80truckingmuseum.com/
This place was HUGE! There were three big areas: one that housed memorabilia and equipment and two that housed trucks. This is one of the truck warehouses:
Andy loving the gas price on this one – 18 cents per gallon:
Check out the one in the middle – 12 cents per gallon:
Cool!
1927 Fisher Jr. Express:
1925 Douglas:
1933 Ford Model A Paddy Wagon:
1930 Ford A Snowmobile:
1919 Ford Model T:
Unimog:
1921 International Harvester:
1981 Kenworth K100 Aerodyne:
1930 Mack AK:
1931 International:
1914 Diamond T:
Did you notice all the old signs on the walls? Impressive!
This was a great museum. If you are in the area, please stop by!
On a side note – Got gas in Walcott for $3.19.Gallon – YAHOO!
On Sunday, 4th, we just hung out at the campground and did some more repairs and upgrades. I was able to get caught up on some blogs and some planning. (Sorry I was so late in updating.)
Tomorrow we head to an Saylorsville Lake Campground for much needed nature time. So stay tuned and enjoy today!
