Over 40 years ago, the American Truck Collectors Association (ATCA) began hosting their Macungie Antique Truck Show on Father’s Day Weekend. Founded in 1971 in Boyertown, PA (only an hour from me), ATCA has always been “about the trucks.” This annual truck show has become known as “The Greatest Truck Show on Earth” and for good reason. Each year (this year was the 44th anniversary of the show) the number of trucks has increased, and this year (2024) the number of registered trucks surpassed 1,000! ATCA’s show in Macungie, PA does not discriminate, as every make and model of truck, large or small, is welcome. From beautiful Ford dent side pickups all the way to off-road Mack dump trucks, they all made their appearances at this year’s show.
I have been attending Macungie for the last eight years, only missing two, due to the pandemic. Every year the number of trucks has grown and there has always been a fantastic mix. Macks tend to dominate the show, primarily because the show is in “Mack Country” – the Mack Trucks Lehigh Valley Operations Center is just down the road from Macungie Memorial Park, and the Mack Museum is not far away, either.
Being that the ATHS Convention was held in York the previous week, a bunch of trucks stayed for Macungie. These additional trucks definitely added some flavor compared to years past. Venezia, RW Smith, Radco, The Mahan Collection, and a few others brought out their trucks to the show, as they had done the week before. I stopped by Thursday evening before the show began to grab a few shots of what was there and then returned Friday all day and Saturday. The caliber of trucks there was seriously amazing, and ranged from projects, to originals, to full frame-up restorations.
The overall atmosphere of this show is always great, as it is truly enthusiast based. I’ve made many great friends over the last few years at the show. The weather was favorable, although a little humid. Those PA summers, especially with high humidity, can be rough! But that didn’t stop swarms of trucks and spectators from making their way to the show. Macungie also offers a pretty cool flea market, with truck parts, signs, scale models, literature, shirts, and many other things available.
G. Greene brought some beautiful trucks from their fleet. Greene is based in Boston, and they have been attending Macungie for a long time. The DePaul family was represented well with two red Superliners, an R Model, and a U Model Mack. The DePaul’s have been great friends of mine for years, and Anthony always has a project going. Manchester Brothers always brings cool trucks from both their locations in PA and CT.
One of my favorite trucks to see year after year is Matt Landis’s Mack DM886SX, in its original Bethlehem Steel livery. Matt saved this truck from being scrapped by the nearby Bethlehem Steel Plant. Bollinger Acres, local to me, brought out a beautiful Brockway dump truck that had only been finished up a few hours before the show! Livengood Excavators, a contracting company also in the local area, brought out three of their beautiful Ford trucks.
As many know, I work full time for a large construction and materials outfit in PA. The co-founder, John B. Haines IV, has a jaw dropping collection of trucks and equipment at his museums, located only a half hour from the show grounds. John’s most recent project is a 1919 Mack AC, which at some point made its way to Denmark from the US. The truck is lettered in its original name, Aarhus Oliefabrick A/S, which started in 1871 as a palm kernel processor, and grew immensely since then. This truck was brought back stateside and traded hands a few times before my boss, John B. Haines IV, purchased it and then had it restored – and this rig is beautiful.
There were so many cool trucks to see during the course of this show. If you haven’t been to Macungie, PA, I highly recommend making the trip. The show always falls on the Friday and Saturday of Father’s Day Weekend, so it’s hard to forget the dates. And from the pictures here, it’s not hard to see why it’s one of the coolest shows in the world. Come out and celebrate Father’s Day Weekend 2025 with your dad (or son) in style – I promise, you will not regret it!
