Vanderlely’s Truck Sales & Service, Inc. – Living The American Dream
OTTSVILLE, PA… Vanderlely’s Truck Sales & Service, Inc. is a shining example of a family achieving the American Dream. Hedrik Vanderlely and his wife Anna immigrated to American from Holland with their 12-year-old son Tom and his two siblings in 1953. The Vanderlely family was sponsored by an American farmer and the family had to work off their debt to him before starting their new life in America. They settled in Plumsteadville, Pennsylvania, about 5 miles from Ottsville and never left.
Tom Vanderlely served in the Army with the 1st Infantry Division known as The Big Red 1” and was stationed in Korea. When he returned home in 1962, Tom took a job as a mechanic at Doylestown Motors and a year later he married his wife, Priscilla. Tom began repairing trucks part time in his driveway after work. Tom and Priscilla started Vanderlely’s Garage in 1966 in a 25’x35’ garage on 1 acre of land. The couple never borrowed money but expanded as they could afford to. The additions to the business were made in 1971, 1978, 1985, and 1989 and they eventually grew to a 12,000 square foot facility located on 22 acres.
In 1980 they incorporated as Vanderlely’s Truck Sales & Service, Inc. Tom still comes to work every day and Priscilla still does the books. The couple’s son Tom, Jr., and grandson Tom, III also work at Vanderlely’s, along with eleven loyal employees. In 1975, Vanderlely’s switched gears from just repairing trucks to buying wrecks from insurance companies and offering pre-owned parts to their customers. Additionally, Vanderlely’s began buying used trucks and reconditioning them for re-sale.
Today Vanderlely’s has a variety of services that include complete repairs and rebuilding for the entire driveline, from engine to transmission, to driveshaft and rear end. They also offer brake service, as well as general repairs and maintenance. Vanderlely’s also has a TD36 Dyno for their customer’s convenience. Their full stocked parts department with new and pre-owned parts, also contains just about everything for Peterbilt tractors and CAT engines, along with other makes. Vanderlely’s can rebuild your components, or you can choose to go with a Fuller factory reman transmission or rear end. Vanderlely’s has always specialized in reconditioning used trucks, in particular Peterbilts with CAT engines. In the early days, they did a lot of cabovers, but they now concentrate on reconditioning pre-emission trucks. Inventories are tight everywhere, but Vanderlely’s currently has a couple of Peterbilts for sale.
About eight years ago, Tom, Jr., and his son Tom, III met Kevin Campbell, “The Fuel Mileage Doctor”, who has been the East Coast distributor for Bully Dog Performance products for the past 10 years. They decided that the Bully Dog line would be a great complement to their services for their customers. Today Vanderlely’s stocks the full line of Bully Dog products, including manifolds, turbos, and tuners. Vanderlely’s can do the installations if you like and will help you get your truck tuned up and going.
The Bully Dog Tuner offers a power tune as well as a fuel economy tune. Nearly every engine experiences a fuel economy gain and some Cummins engines gain as much as 1 mpg. FMD Kevin Campbell wants drivers to know that Bully Dog will be introducing a new line of turbos this fall, so watch Movin’ Out for details.
Vanderlely’s Truck Sales & Service, Inc. had a devastating fire at their facility last year and their Sales Departments and Parts Warehouse were a total loss. The company is in the process of rebuilding and hopes to have the new facility open by the end of the year. Nonetheless, Vanderlely’s is open for business and ready to serve you. Tom Vanderlely, Sr. stated, “We are thankful for all of our loyal customers and employees who have kept us going for all of these years.” Tom also wanted to remind owner-operators to raise their insurance when they have an expensive repair done.
Vanderlely’s Truck Sales & Service, Inc. is located at 34 Durham Rd., Ottsville, PA, north of Philadelphia. For parts, call 610-847-5204, for sales, call 610-847-2102.
You can reach Kevin Campbell, the Fuel Mileage Doctor at 717-320-2259.