The OOIDA tour trailer heads to ATHS National Convention

Rested up after Wheel Jam in Huron, S.D., Marty Ellis next plans to take the OOIDA tour trailer to the ATHS National Convention and Truck Show on June 9-11 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield.

In addition to Ellis, Lewie Pugh, executive vice president of OOIDA, plans to make an appearance.

Organizers bill the event as the largest historical and antique truck show in the world. OOIDA Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh attended last year’s ATHS convention and also plans to be at this year’s event.

“It was really a good time to not only see all the old trucks, but great to see all our members that attended,” Pugh said.

He encouraged anyone who has never experienced an ATHS National Convention and Truck Show to check it out.

OOIDA senior member David Schnautz of Texas is the second vice president of the Kansas City, Mo.-based American Truck Historical Society. He recently discussed the upcoming convention with Land Line Now’s Mark Reddig.

“It’s amazing to see the trucks that we have coming in from the early teens, the 19-hundred and teens, back in there, all the way up to even a few of the current show trucks. So, the majority of them though, are in the, I don’t know, the Thirties, Forties, Fifties, Sixties, Seventies and Eighties, and just all different makes and different types – wreckers, flatbeds. It’s really amazing.”

The ATHS National Convention evolved into being a truck show in the mid-1970s by members bringing their trucks to the annual convention. The show often draws up to 1,000 trucks. Fuel prices may cut into attendance, but 700 or 800 trucks are still expected.

Laurence Gration, executive director of the ATHS, called the event “awe-inpsiring.”

“You can’t imagine what it’s like to get roughly a thousand trucks all in one place, and so many people excited to talk about old trucks. It really just an excited thing to be a part of.”

There will be every truck manufacturer you can think of and some you have probably never heard of, Marty Glomb, first vice president of ATHS, told Land Line Now.

“Well, it’s quite an array of different trucks and exhibitors and guest speakers that we’re going to have. We will have trucks there spanning a hundred years,” Glomb said.

There also will be vendors and a swap meet, which can be a source of hard-to-find parts.

Listen to the Land Line Now segment about the ATHS National Convention and Truck Show

Daily gate tickets are $15 for adults and can be purchased online.

A schedule of events is available.

Last year’s convention

Check out some videos and photos from last year’s convention at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds in Harrisonburg, Va.

Stop by when you see The Spirit

If you see the OOIDA tour trailer, stop by and say hello. Ellis looks forward to visiting about the Association’s activities and current issues. There are copies of Land Line Magazine to pick up there. You can join or renew your membership for $10 off the regular price at The Spirit. Face masks are available at The Spirit for anyone with a commercial driver’s license.

Ellis regularly discusses what he sees on the road and hears from drivers on Friday Land Line Now broadcasts.

After the ATHS National Convention and Truck Show, Ellis plans to take a show break in London, Ohio, before heading to the ATHS Ohio Vintage Truck Reunion in Ashland, Ohio.

Here is the schedule for The Spirit. LL