Check out the vintage trucks at the 2018 ATHS show

May 31, 2018

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Chuck Robinson

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Take a look at some of the vintage trucks polished and lined up at 2018 American Truck Historical Society’s annual convention and truck show in Lexington, Ky.

The convention and truck show runs May 31 through June 2.

The location is Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.

Jon Osburn, skipper of OOIDA’s touring trailer, is there. He was given a prime location to park the Spirit of the American Trucker. When you leave the arena to see the trucks outside, you can’t miss it.

The Spirit, OOIDA's tour trailer, at the 23018 ATHS show
OOIDA’s touring trailer, the Spirit of the American Trucker, parked near the vintage trucks at the 2018 American Truck Historical Society annual truck show and convention at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky. (Photo by Jon Osburn)

The ATHS predicted more than 1,000 large vintage and antique trucks would be on display. However, Jon estimates the number is more like 1,200.

Registration for the show is closed. Daily tickets are available at the gate for $15. For kids 12 and younger, admission is free. There is an interactive children’s area at the show.

The vintage and antique truck show opens at 8 a.m. and closes at 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, it opens at 8 a.m. and goes to 5 p.m. There are trucks inside the arena and outside.

Vendor hours start at 8 a.m. and go to 5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.

In case you want to see something other than vintage trucks, attendees get several chances to see Greg Evigan, who starred as Billie Joe “B.J.” McKay in the TV series “BJ & the Bear.” The TV show ran for three seasons, 1979-81. He has one of the trucks he drove on the series at the show. ATHS has programs on the history of Cummins trucks planned on Thursday and Friday and a Cummins Fly Wheel Engine Start planned on Friday.

Check here to see the schedule of events.

Click here for information on tours, personal golf cars, camping and other convention topics.

The show is presented by the Kansas City, Mo.-based American Truck Historical Society, which was formed in 1971 to preserve the history of trucks, the trucking industry, and its pioneers. ATHS’s Zoe James Memorial Library has collected more than 100,000 photographs, 35,000 pieces of sales literature, 45,000 books and periodicals and a collection of scale model trucks.

Here are some pictures of vintage trucks that Jon Osburn took during set up at the show.

A 1922 Mack Truck at the 2018 ATHS show
Here is an OLD Mack. The license plate suggests it is a 1922 truck. Mack Trucks was founded in 1900 as Mack Bros. Co. It made its first truck in 1907. It became Mack Trucks in 1922 and the bulldog became its corporate symbol that year. (Photo by Jon Osburn)

 

GMC cabover, similar to the first truck Jon Osburn drove
This truck evoked some personal nostalgia for Jon. “My first truck,” he says, “but mine was yellow and green with a white stripe.” (Photo by Jon Osburn)

 

Marmon truck at 2018 ATHS show
This is a four-door Marmon. The Marmon truck was a low-production, handmade truck. The last Marmon was made in 1997, and the production facilities in Garland, Texas, were taken over by Navistar’s Paystar division. (Photo by Jon Osburn)

 

 

Consolidated Freight double bottom trailer
Consolidated Freight double bottom trailer (Photo by Jon Osburn)

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Chuck Robinson formerly was senior copy editor for a weekly trade publication serving the fresh produce industry. He has served trade publications, horticultural journals and community newspapers for 25 years.