Mile Marker 31 – Preserving Mack History: Doug Maney on the Museum, Allentown’s Legacy, and the Experience Center

On this episode of Beyond the Bulldog, we’re on location at the Mack Trucks Historical Museum in Allentown, PA, where curator Doug Maney — self-described “caretaker of Mack history” — walks us through a century-plus of innovation, storytelling, and hands-on preservation. From the famous sound room gallery and test track to a living fleet of running vintage trucks and an archive measured in tens of millions of pages, Doug shows how the past powers the present at the Mack Experience Center.

Doug discusses:

-Growing up around trucks and building a career that spans engineering, insurance appraisals, and museum curation -The Sound Room Gallery’s origins and the Allentown facility’s role as Mack’s engineering and test center (opened in the 1970s) -Why Allentown remains central to Mack’s story—and how customers still drive modern trucks on site during visits -Inside the archive: how documentation supports restorers, dealers, and enthusiasts (from paint codes to thread pitch) -Keeping history running: starting and driving near-100-year-old trucks, and why every museum vehicle is kept operational -Tours, Trucktoberfest, donations, and how the museum (a 501(c)(3)) sustains the work of preserving Mack heritage for future generations With contagious enthusiasm and real shop-floor credibility, Doug makes the case that Mack history isn’t just something you read—it’s something you hear, crank, and drive.

 

What’s next? Tune in weekly for new episodes! Visit the Mack Shop to use your discount code: https://mackshop.com/ Book a virtual truck tour! https://www.macktrucks.com/live-tour/