The Nuss Collection keeps history rolling in Rochester, Minnesota

You've probably seen classic car museums and car shows across the state, but likely not a vintage truck museum.

In this week's Finding Minnesota, John Lauritsen shows us how the Nuss Collection keeps history rolling in Rochester.

"When you are having fun and working, there is nothing more pleasurable," said Bob Nuss.

When Nuss Truck and Equipment opened its doors in Rochester in the early 70's, they never imagined their full-time work would translate into a full-time hobby.

"There were two trucks, and then a couple years later three or four trucks," said Nuss. "We had all these old trucks in here and we thought, let's make it a museum."

A museum that Nuss said contains some of the rarest construction relics on the planet- dating back to the early 1900's.

"This is a 1914, the Sternberg, and it's the only one in the world," said Nuss while pointing at the Sternberg truck.

He calls them the vehicles that helped build America. One of their trucks even helped construct the Hoover Dam. But these rigs also helped win World Wars.

"When you think about it, 4,000 trucks going over to World War I. These were very instrumental in winning the war in Europe," said Nuss.

Mack Trucks helped with war efforts and wine efforts. They once made trucks for wineries.

Mack even dabbled in passenger buses. The museum has one that was built in 1952 and was used by the Richfield Bus Company until 1973.

"The first bus was a Mack, and the first Mack was a bus," said Nuss.

He is a walking encyclopedia of vintage truck knowledge. Information he gladly shares when he gives tours.

"I'm standing in front of the first new model truck that had a Mack bulldog on it," said Nuss.

When you're in the business of restoring century-old vehicles, you need a full-time pit crew to help make it happen. There is an archive room with old parts manuals- but much of what you find in the manuals isn't manufactured anymore.

"Sometimes we have to create a part ourselves. They just don't exist. You can't call up Sears and Roebuck and say I need a part for this truck," said Melissa Schuch, director of marketing.

In some cases, it can take two years to bring a truck back to life- or turn it into something else. Like when they turned a 1926 fire truck into a touring coach.

"That's a one-of-a-kind truck that we created. It's a get on and get of touring coach," said Nuss.

The entire museum is a non-profit, and when they hold their open house, they don't charge a dime. It's their way of paying tribute to the trucks.

"These are yesterday's trucks. We never want to forget the past," said Nuss.

"These will live on for future generations. Otherwise, they'll die off and no one will know what happened. So, we are happy to open this up to the public," said Schuch.

Mack Trucks got the bulldog logo because British troops started calling them Bulldog trucks- believing they almost never got stuck in the mud during the war. For more information on how you can visit the Nuss Collection website.