Know your customer” is said to be sound business advice. The Iowa 80 Truck Stop in Walcott, Iowa has put this into practice, offering truckers and RVers access to amenities that are few and far between on the road.
Billed as the World’s Largest Truck Stop, travelers and truckers in the ball park of 5,000 per day stop in to eat, shop, use the restroom facilities and just take in what has almost become a tourist attraction. Not to mention, Iowa 80 is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including major holidays. Its claim as the world’s largest truck stop is backed up by some solid facts. The truck stop encompasses 225 acres with 900 parking spaces for trucks. The on-site retail services take up about 100,000 square feet.
“We welcome an average of 5,000 visitors per day, so I guess that makes it nearly 2 million visitors per year,” said Heather DeBaillie, Vice President of Marketing for the Iowa 80 Group, in an interview with The Buzz. The Iowa 80 Group are the owners of the facility. “Iowa 80 is for everyone. Truckers, travelers, local people. We want everyone to feel welcome.”
It all started in the early 1960s when Bill Moon, an employee of Standard Oil, located the spot for the truck stop. The location was on the eastern part of the state, a site that would soon be near the proposed Interstate 80. Standard Oil built and opened the truck stop in 1964 and Moon and his wife Carolyn took over management of the location in 1965. In 1984, the Moon family bought the truck stop from Amoco (formerly Standard Oil), according to DeBaillie.
Moon had an affinity for truckers and the trucking industry. According to family members as recorded in the truck stop history, Moon would sit in the restaurant and talk to his customers about what they needed in order to make their work on the road more palatable. It is a tradition that is carried on today.
“Iowa 80 is focused on making life easier for our truck driving customers,” DeBaillie said. “They are limited on available time and also on where an 18-wheeler can be navigated easily. We want to be their home on the road so we strive to provide what they may require when trying to do their job.”
Inside the shops at Iowa 80 Truck Stop. [Photo/Iowa 80 Group]
For the truckers, this has meant a plethora of amenities. In addition to the 300-seat restaurant on site, guests can choose between numerous fast food restaurants. Truckers have access to a barber shop, chiropractor, convenience store, dental services, a custom embroidery shop, a laundry room, a library, a movie theater, and even a workout room, as well as fuel centers, service areas and CAT scales.
But Iowa 80 also offers some of these same services to RVers and other travelers.
“Iowa 80 truck stop offers pull through trailer parking, RV supplies, pet supplies, a Truckomat Truck Wash that can wash RVs, a DOGOMAT pet wash, CAT Scale to weigh RVs, 36 pumps featuring gas and diesel fuel; as well as 10 restaurant choices, clean restrooms, the extensive gift shop…I could go on and on,” DeBaillie noted.
Adding news services to the rest stop is based on the conversations that Moon would have with his customers. DeBaillie said that is how Iowa 80 has continued to grow.
“We are fortunate to have tremendous customer and employee input,” she explained. “We listen and add services and amenities as we are able. Our employees do a great job of serving our customers. We’ve built and remodeled over 50 times in the past 56 years.”
The truck stop number of services and the convenience of them all in one spot appeals to travelers, as well as those who are wanting to do a little sight-seeing. The Iowa 80 Truck Museum provides a convenient respite for road weary travelers who want to learn a little about trucking history. More than 100 trucks and memorabilia are displayed at the free on-site museum.
“It’s very interesting to see how far trucking has evolved in the last 100 years,” commented DeBaillie. “Trucking is a very important part of making our economy work. People are intrigued by that. Plus, trucks are just cool!”
When asked what her favorite truck on display is, DeBaillie had difficulty narrowing down her choices.
“I’m not sure I can pick just one,” she admitted. She did allude however to an antique piece of machinery. “Our oldest truck is a 1910 Avery Farm Truck that you could hook other implements to; like farmers did with horses. We also have a 1912 Saurer, the only one known to exist, and a 1974 Ryder Paymaster that was a driver designed aerodynamic truck of which only 16 were produced.”
Many of the trucks are on permanent display and several are rotated to be featured in the lobby.
“We do change out some of the trucks on display a few times a year, she mentioned. “We also add new trucks as we acquire them or complete a restoration project.”
The museum also has films about trucking, a collection of toy trucks and relics dubbed “petroliana”, which refers to collectibles related to gas stations or the petroleum industry. Other exhibits on display include antique engines, gas pumps, and metal signs, along with a featured truck of the month.
Each year in July, Iowa 80 hosts the Truckers Jamboree, aka “Celebration of American Truckers”. In 2019, an estimated 45,000 people attended the event. “The event began in 1979 as a way of thanking American truckers, or Iowa 80’s customers, for their commitment of the movement of products across country.
Although the origins of the Iowa 80 Truck Stop are with truckers, anyone is welcome here, DeBaillie informed us.
“Iowa 80 offers something for everyone,” she explained. “I think the variety of food offerings, our sparkling clean restrooms, and the gift store are reason enough for a quick, or rather extensive, stop to say you've been to The World’s Largest Truck Stop.”
Destinations, Entertainment, Iowa, Open Road, RV Lifestyle, Travel