Show Brings Antique Trucks Back to Life

FREDERICK COUNTY, VA- Take a step back into time. Imagine the days when trucks were made of oak, and engines cranked from the outside. That's what truck enthusiasts are experiencing at the Tri-State Antique Truck Show.

"It's kind of a rolling museum of trucks," says Mel Fair, a sponsor for the Tri-State Antique Truck Show. "Part of the excitement is they get to drive them. Some of them were trailered in, but many were driven in from across the country," he adds.

From Macks to Diamond T's, many of the trucks have been refurbished after decades off the road.

"Some of the trucks you see here today, the manufacturers no longer exist," Fair says.

Most of the drivers say they've kept the rides for so long, because of a special connection.

"Many of these folks drove these trucks many, many years ago as full-time truck drivers," Fair says. "Some of them retired and because they had such a passion for the truck, they either bought the truck from the company, or kept the truck and then restored the truck," he adds.

Timothy Hoover has been restoring antique trucks for ten years. He has built many of the parts from scratch.

"If you can't find the parts, you have to make the parts," says Hoover. "That's what I do with an awful lot of the parts," he adds.

He says re-creating the vehicles takes time and patience.

"You look at historical pictures and you try to copy everything as close as you can, to be authentic," Hoover says.

Organizers say it's not just a show, but a part of American history.

"What you see is a real cross-sectional of what trucking in America is about," says John Vannatta, the President of the American Truck Historical Society. "You see the semi's that we all understand go up and down the interstate everyday carrying goods. But, you see old field trucks and wreckers and pickup trucks and dump trucks.  They all represent the trucking industry in one way or another and a particular era as well," he adds.

It's an era they plan to keep alive as long as they can keep on trucking.

The donations collected at the show will be donated to local area food banks. In past years, the truck show has donated $40,000 to local charities.