120+ Rare Trucks and Free Admission: Inside the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum

Right off I-80, next to the World’s Largest Truck Stop, sits a museum with a 1911 electric truck, a wrecker that appeared in a 1991 movie, and more than 120 rare and one-of-a-kind trucks spanning a century of hauling freight.

The Iowa 80 Trucking Museum started as one man’s personal obsession. Bill Moon, founder of the Iowa 80 Truckstop, spent years collecting antique trucks and trucking memorabilia before deciding to share that collection with the public. He passed away in 1992, but the museum he dreamed of has only grown since, and it’s currently in the middle of its biggest expansion yet.

Quick visitor information

Iowa 80 Trucking Museum

Address: 505 Sterling Drive, Walcott, Iowa 52773

Phone: 563-468-5500

Hours:

• Labor Day–Memorial Day: Wednesday–Saturday 9 a.m.–5 p.m., Sunday noon–5 p.m.
• Memorial Day–Labor Day: Monday–Saturday 9 a.m.–5 p.m., Sunday noon–5 p.m.

Admission: Free (donations welcome)

Suggested visit length: 2–3 hours

Location: I-80 Exit 284, north side, next to the Iowa 80 Truck Stop

Website: iowa80truckingmuseum.com

A trucker’s personal dream, made public

Every serious collection starts somewhere, and this one started with Bill Moon simply loving old trucks.

As the founder of the Iowa 80 Truckstop, Moon spent years acquiring rare and antique trucks along with the signs, gas pumps, and other memorabilia that went with them. Rather than keeping the collection private, he wanted to share it, and the museum that resulted sits right next to the truck stop that made it possible in the first place.

Currently expanding: 25,000 more square feet

If you’re planning a visit soon, it’s worth knowing the museum is mid-expansion.

Ground broke on a new 25,000-square-foot addition to the exhibit hall, which will bring the museum’s total exhibit space to 121,000 square feet once finished. The new wing will house several Sterling-brand trucks from the 1920s through the 1940s, along with a 1948 Mack armored truck that once hauled coins for Wells Fargo.

The museum stays open on its normal schedule throughout construction, so there’s no need to wait for the expansion to finish before visiting.

The first truck Bill Moon ever bought

Of everything on display, one of the more meaningful pieces is also one of the simplest: a 1919 International Harvester F-1 Ton.

According to the museum, this particular truck was the first one Bill Moon ever purchased, the seed that eventually grew into this entire collection. The F-1 Ton was only produced for five years, from 1915 to 1920, and a new one cost $1,500 at the time. It ran on a 201 cubic-inch, 4-cylinder “L” head engine with a magneto ignition, a 3-speed sliding gear transmission, and a top speed of 17 mph. The model was renamed the Model 31 in 1921, and 1,591 units were built in 1919 alone.

I got the tour from Lee Meier, Marketing Manager for the Iowa 80 Group, who shared in a museum video that Bill Moon was her grandfather. Standing in front of the truck her own grandfather bought to start it all added a personal layer to the visit that a placard alone wouldn’t have given me.

A wrecker with a movie credit

Not every truck in the collection can claim a scene in a major film, but this one can.

The 1924 White Wrecker Model 40 ran a White 4-cylinder, 371 cubic-inch engine with a 4-speed transmission and a top speed of 15 mph. White built 1,443 of these wreckers in 1924, and this particular truck, with an 11.6 gear ratio, made its film debut in the 1991 movie Fried Green Tomatoes. It’s the wrecker used in the scene where a car belonging to Ruth’s husband is pulled from the lake.

It’s a fun surprise to run into a piece of movie history parked inside a trucking museum just off I-80.

The 1911 Walker Electric

The oldest surprise in the building might be its most modern-feeling exhibit: a fully electric truck built in 1911.

The Walker Electric Model 43 runs on a 3.5-horsepower, 84-volt DC electric motor, paired with solid rubber tires and a top speed of 15 mph. It could haul up to 6,000 pounds and travel up to 50 miles on a single charge from a battery pack weighing 400 to 500 pounds.

Long before electric trucks were being talked about as the future of the industry, this one was already quietly doing the job over a century ago.

More than trucks: a gas station under one roof

The museum isn’t limited to vehicles. Scattered throughout the exhibit hall are vintage gas pumps, model gas stations, and a wall of restored petroleum-branded signage from companies like Shell, Gillette, and Mobiloil.

It’s easy to walk past a truck, glance to the side, and find yourself in front of a fully restored antique gas pump or a recreated filling station setup, which adds a nice change of pace between the larger vehicle displays.

The REO Theater

For a break from walking, the museum’s REO Theater plays short films on trucking history on a loop. It’s a simple, low-key way to learn more about the industry’s history without covering more ground on foot, and a good stop if you’re visiting with kids who need a few minutes to sit down.

Next door: the World’s Largest Truck Stop

Since the museum sits directly next to the Iowa 80 Truck Stop, it’s easy to turn the visit into a longer stop. Grab a meal, browse the truck stop’s own shopping and services, and treat the museum as one part of a bigger break rather than a stand-alone destination.

Good for road-trippers and truckers alike

This museum serves two very different audiences at once. For families and history buffs driving I-80, it’s a genuinely worthwhile detour and a free one. For working truckers passing through on their route, it’s a legitimate way to spend a break, offering something more engaging than another fast food stop.

The museum also runs education programming for school groups, including guided exhibits and historic timelines designed to help students understand how the trucking industry has changed over time.

Who will enjoy this stop?

The Iowa 80 Trucking Museum is a strong fit for:

• Truck and transportation enthusiasts
• Families road-tripping I-80 looking for a free stretch-break stop
• History buffs and mechanically-minded visitors
• Working truckers with time between loads
• School groups and educators covering industrial or transportation history

Final thoughts

The Iowa 80 Trucking Museum exists because one man loved old trucks enough to start saving them, one purchase at a time, starting with a 1919 International Harvester F-1 Ton. More than a century of trucking history later, that collection has grown into more than 120 vehicles, a movie-famous wrecker, a fully electric truck built before most people had electricity in their homes, and an expansion currently underway to make room for even more.

It’s free, it’s right off the interstate, and it rewards anyone willing to spend a couple of hours walking through it.