WALCOTT, Iowa – The Iowa 80 Trucking Museum here is driving forward with plans for a 25,000-square-foot expansion to create more space to display the Moon and Meier family’s collection of historic and rare trucks.
“The collection of trucks and trucking memorabilia has outgrown the current facility,” said Lee Meier, marketing manager of Iowa 80 Group and its World’s Largest Truckstop.
“We’re looking forward to displaying new trucks in our collection, including four new Sterling Trucks that were added to the collection last year,” she told the QCBJ. “We also will have our 1948 Mack ESQ, which was an armored coin carrier for Wells Fargo, available to the public for the first time post-restoration.”
Family-owned Iowa 80 Group recently received unanimous approval from the Walcott City Council to move forward with the project. It expects to break ground next spring.
Ms. Meier represents the third-generation of the family business. She said in an email the expansion will be built by Davenport-headquartered Russell. They hope to complete it by October of 2026. She did not disclose the project’s cost.
According to Ms. Meier, Iowa 80 will add on to a section of the museum that most recently was expanded in 2021. The new construction will not impact the museum’s operating hours or visitor tours.
Located at 505 Sterling Drive, Walcott, on the northeast corner of the sprawling 220-acre truckstop, the museum first opened to the public in 2008.
Bill Moon’s dream
The late Bill Moon, who founded the Walcott truckstop six decades ago, had always dreamed of opening a trucking museum in retirement on the Iowa 80 grounds to showcase his collection and share his love of professional trucking and the industry.
In fact, the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum was created in his memory by his wife Carolyn and family to celebrate trucking history and display the collection of antique trucks, vintage toys, signs and other petroliana that he began collecting in the early 1980s.
Along with the actual vehicles, the museum shows short films about trucking history in its REO theater, and has an audio tour, kid’s activities and other unique artifacts.
Ibce completed, the addition will span a total of 121,000 square feet. The main truckstop building is more than 130,000 square feet.
“We’re adding on to showcase more of our collection,” said Ms. Meier, who is the granddaughter of Bill and Carolyn Moon.
Today, the Iowa 80 Group and its namesake truckstop are led by their son, Will Moon, and their daughter, Delia Moon Meier.
Popular with group tours
Visited by nearly 40,000 people a year, the museum also is a regular stop for students learning about the trucking industry. They include school groups, church and summer programs, Boy and Girl Scout troops, car enthusiasts, river cruise passengers and more.
“We are pleased to share this collection with the general public,” the website said. “Every truck has a story to tell and can provide a unique glimpse back in time.”
The modern museum is free and open to the public. It houses more than 130 antique trucks, hundreds of vintage signs, toys and more. Regular hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday until Memorial Day. After the holiday, the museum extends its hours to 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday and from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. For more information, visit iowa80truckingmuseum.com.
Ms. Meier said the 1948 Mack ESQ to be put on display was restored in-house over four years by the Iowa 80 restoration team. “So we’re excited to unveil this truck to the public soon.”
