Check Out These Trucking Museums Across the U.S.

If you ever talk to truck drivers, they’ll probably list several reasons for why the transportation industry is a great option. Maybe you’ll hear something about competitive pay per mile. Perhaps you’ll be engaged in learning about the full range of benefits drivers receive. One thing is for sure… You will definitely hear about the advantage of having a job that allows you to travel while getting paid! That’s not too bad of a deal.

So while you’re out traveling across the U.S., you may be in search of something interesting to do in your time off. There’s way more out there than movie theaters and truck stops! Why not get a look at the history of your industry by visiting one of our country’s many excellent trucking museums? The folks over at Transport Topics Online have put to get a great interactive map that allows you to search out what’s going on in trucking history near you.

Let’s take a brief look at the various trucking and transportation museums open to the public from coast to coast.

If you find yourself trucking throughout the northeast, swing through Bangor, Maine to check out the Cole Land Transportation Museum. The goal of the museum is to collect, preserve, and display both civilian and military transportation equipment from across the Pine Tree State. The museum features a fire engine exhibit, motorcycle section, and (not surprisingly for the northern state) an exhibit of historic snowplow trucks and machines.

Photo: Cole Land Transportation Museum

Heading south a bit, make a pit stop in Cherryville, North Carolina. Here you’ll find the C. Grier Beam Truck Museum. The museum big on exhibits! It houses over seven decades of vintage trucks and other equipment in a building covering over 7,500 square feet. With rows and rows of red trucks in pristine condition, you shouldn’t miss the Beam Truck Museum if your truck driving career takes you through the area.

Photo: ajrsmom

In the mid-section of our country, you’ll find one of the nation’s best trucking historical organizations. In Kansas City, Kansas, find your way to the American Truck Historical Society headquarters. They have loads of vintage trucks from all areas: long-haul, dump-trucks, military trucks, and more. It seems they are looking to build a major museum soon, but surely it’s worth it to get in touch if you’re in the area. Maybe you can sneak a VIP peak at their incredible collection!

Photo: American Truck Historical Society

Finally, as you find yourself looking to the Pacific, take a break from the road and venture to the Pacific Northwest Truck Museum in Salem, Oregon. The museum houses trucks, equipment, parts, and memorabilia that helped to develop the rugged and mountainous landscape. They also have an annual truck show, which brings participants and trucks from all over to celebrate the history of the trucking industry. The museum opens as the weather warms in April of each year, so be sure to plan your trips accordingly!

Photo: Pacific NW Truck Museum

If you’re a current driver or considered a career in trucking, you can be sure that you will join a long history of truck drivers that have come before you, and have also enjoyed the fun of nationwide travel. Experience great pay, benefits, and join the drivers of yesteryear in building this great country on the road!

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