Chiefland to the
yellow building.

Chiefland at a glance

• County: Levy County
• Population: about 2,444 as of 2024
• Distance to the shop: 26.8 miles, about 35 minutes
• The way in: US 27 Alternate

For a town of about 2,400, Chiefland has four franchise dealerships, so there is no shortage of service departments. It comes in on US 27 Alternate, the same road as Bronson, and Manatee Springs is about six miles the other way.

Chiefland is where US 27 Alternate meets US 19 and US 98, the main road down Florida's Gulf side, so a lot of long-distance and commercial traffic rolls through. Every June the Chiefland Watermelon Festival takes over town on the first Saturday of the month, a tradition that goes back to 1954.

This is farm, cattle and timber country, and the trucks that work it tow heavy and run long. Towing puts heat into transmission fluid and brakes, and a truck that pulls a trailer all week needs both looked at more often than one that doesn't. Engine and transmission work, brakes and suspension are all done in the Williston bays, a straight run east on US 27 Alternate through Bronson. A side-by-side that works the property can come along too.

Long highway runs at 60 or 70 miles an hour in July heat are when a weak cooling system or a tired A/C compressor finally gives out, usually far from home. A check before summer costs less than a tow.

Chiefland questions

Do you work on trucks that tow for a living?

Yes. Transmissions, brakes, suspension and the engine behind them are all handled here.

Can you repair a side-by-side or ATV?

Yes. Side-by-side and ATV work? Our sister shop, TMT Offroad, handles it.

Why people drive it

Fifteen things are painted on the front of this building and all of them happen inside it. A truck that comes in for brakes can leave with the lift and the wheels done on the same visit, and the parts and audio counter is in the same room as the bays, so nothing gets sent across town for the next part. For anyone coming from Chiefland, that is usually what decides it.