Iowa 80 Truckstop Celebrates 50 Years

The 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 Truckstop founder, located the spot, at what is now Exit 284, for Standard Oil.

They built and opened the truck stop with Moon 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. 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.

Today, after 28 expansions and remodels, Iowa 80 is overseen by the second generation of the Moon Family, and includes the Iowa 80 Kitchen, a 300-seat restaurant; gift store, the Super Truck Showroom, a dentist, a barber shop, a chiropractor, a workout room, laundry facilities, a 60-seat movie theater, a trucker’s TV lounge, a Verizon store kiosk, 24 private showers, a Food Court featuring Wendy’s, Dairy Queen, Orange Julius, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Caribou Coffee; a convenience store, a custom embroidery and vinyl shop, 10 gas islands, 16 diesel lanes, a fuel center, a 7-bay truck service center, a 3-bay Truckomat truck wash, a CAT Scale, a Dogomat Pet Wash, and the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum.

Iowa 80 currently serves 5,000 customers per day and has parking spaces for 900 tractor-trailers, 250 cars and 20 buses. Each year in July, the Iowa 80 hosts the Walcott Truckers Jamboree, a 3-day event dedicated to Celebrating America’s Truckers.

A book celebrating Iowa 80’s 50 years in business is underway and will be available this spring. For more information about Iowa 80, visit www.iowa80truckstop.com.

Fun Facts:

In 50 , the Iowa 80 Truckstop has served:

• Over 18 million eggs;
• 2 million cups of coffee per year;
• An average of 53 tons of beef per year - enough to fill 106 pick-up trucks;
• An average of 58 tons of pork per year - enough to fill 116 pick-up trucks;
• Over 70 million customers;
• Customers use an average of 55 miles of toilet paper per month.