06/12/2026
Check out the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum's 1928 Graham Screenside!
The Graham Brothers may be unfamiliar to many, but this company played a significant role in establishing one of the most successful truck lines in automotive history. Graham began building truck bodies in 1919 and entered into a partnership with the Dodge Brothers just a few years later. This partnership proved beneficial for both companies: Dodge Brothers supplied Graham with powertrains and sold Graham trucks in their dealerships, while Graham enhanced Dodge's limited commercial offerings with their well-regarded and extremely popular trucks.
This collaboration was so successful that Dodge outright acquired Graham in 1926. During this period, all commercial vehicles sold at Dodge dealerships, including a few originally developed by Dodge, were branded as Grahams. In 1928, Chrysler purchased Dodge and, in 1929, discontinued the Graham brand.
The Screenside, also known as “the Commercial Car,” was one of Dodge’s few commercial offerings before partnering with Graham. It was closely based on a light-duty truck that Dodge developed for the U.S. military during World War I. After fully absorbing Graham in 1927, Dodge rebadged its Screenside trucks as Grahams. However, by 1929, the Graham name was phased out, and the Screensides reverted to being Dodge vehicles. Our 1928 model is a rare example from this transitional period.
To learn more about the history of trucking, visit our website: https://iowa80truckingmuseum.com/exhibits/trucks-on-display/