Seventy years ago, the state of the art in television service was provided by Appliance Distributors Inc. of Chicago using a fleet of vehicles that included three mobile service vans like the one shown here. Repairs were usually done the same day thanks to a very efficient operation. The company had begun by having servicemen in cars, and the system worked well, since most repairs could be done in the field with limited tools, and only about 10% of the jobs required bringing the chassis back to the shop. But with a large business, that ten percent amounted to a lot of work, and those sets would take a few days to finish.

To streamline the process, the shop purchased three vans like the one shown here. At the beginning of the day, the trucks, along with servicemen in cars, would be stationed strategically throughout the city, often at service stations. The men in cars would handle the calls, but if the job required time in the shop, the truck was dispatched right to the home in question. The chassis was brought outside and worked on in the truck. Power was provided by a shore power cord that could be plugged in to the customer’s house. In situations like an apartment building, where no outlet was available, the set could be taken to a nearby service station where the company made arrangments to use the power. Virtually all jobs could be finished the same day, meaning that customers could watch their programs.

The company also serviced radios and phonos, but time was less critical on these jobs, and they were handled back at the shop.

The photo and accompanying article appeared in the October 1951 issue of Radio-Electronics.