WALCOTT, Iowa -- Iowa 80 TA Truckstop, located in Walcott, Iowa, will be celebrating its 45th year of serving America's professional drivers in 2009.
Iowa 80 began its operation in 1964 in a small, white enamel building in the middle of Iowa cornfields just west of the Mississippi River; Interstate 80 wasn't even complete.
Standard Oil built and opened the truckstop. At that time, Iowa 80 had two diesel pumps, one lube bay and a small restaurant operated by the Peel Family. In September 1965, Bill Moon took over management of the truckstop for Standard Oil.
"[image-nocss] My father had an amazing ability to see things that others couldn't. He always said that Walcott was the perfect spot," said daughter Delia Moon Meier.
Under Moon's keen management, the truckstop began to grow, and in 1984 he and his wife Carolyn purchased the truckstop from Amoco.
Now that it was theirs, the Moon family was able to remodel, update and expand the restaurant and truckers' store. The shop bays were closed to build state-of-the-art private showers and a drivers' area, both of which were very rare in a truckstop at the time.
In 1989, Iowa 80 added a new store probably most famous for-other than its chrome selection-the 1918 Oldsmobile hoisted above the cashier island.
Three years later, in 1992, Iowa 80 Truckstop expanded its fuel center and became a Truckstops of America (TA) franchisee. This move gave Iowa 80 the opportunity to associate with a nationally recognized name and at the same time maintain its independence. Truckstops of America would also serve as a connection to the trucking fleets that had grown over the years. And one year later, Iowa 80 opened its TA Service Center.
In 2006, a new multi-million dollar Super Truck Showroom was added at Iowa 80 Truckstop. It houses more than 67,000 square feet of chrome, stainless, lights and other trucking accessories to browse. The Super Truck Showroom also includes three big rigs on display that sport the latest accessories. The Super Truck Showroom also features a wall of lights allowing drivers to see what every single type of available light looks like when it's illuminated.
The vinyl graphics, custom T-shirts, embroidery center and laser engraving are all housed in a one-stop Custom Shop, where drivers can see their designs come to life.
An elevator from the Super Truck Showroom can take drivers to the third floor and one if its 24 private showers, library, drivers' den, movie theater, barber shop, dentist office, chiropractor, laundry facilities, and a balcony where drivers can overlook the Super Truck Showroom.
The food court was also expanded and now includes Wendy's, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut Express and Dairy Queen/Orange Julius. The convenience and gift stores have also undergone complete makeovers.
"We are always looking to improve the Iowa 80 experience for our customers," said Meier. "We've expanded Iowa 80 Truckstop 25 times in the last 45 years, and we're not ready to slow down yet."
This coming year also marks the 30th anniversary of the Walcott Truckers Jamboree, the biggest professional-driver celebration in the country.
Walcott, Iowa-based Iowa 80 TA Truckstop is part of the Iowa 80 Group, which also owns Joplin Petro Truckstop, Joplin, Mo.; Oak Grove 70 Petro Truckstop, Oak Grove, Mo.; Kenly 95 TA Truckstop, Kenly, N.C.; and the Truckomat sites in North Little Rock, Ark.; Temple, Ga.; Effingham, Ill.; South Holland, Ill.; Indianapolis; Walcott, Iowa; Joplin, Mo.; Oak Grove, Mo.; Kenly, N.C.; Hebron, Ohio; Oklahoma City; Laredo, Texas; and Wytheville, Va. It also operates IOWA80.COM, the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum and CAT Scale Co.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.