Smith’s Sanitary Septic Service. Try saying that several times fast. Tongue twister or not, the Hanover, Pennsylvania, company, now in its third generation, has been around since 1959. And those around the area recognize their name and their signature blue-and-white fleet of trucks instantly.

With a fleet of nine trucks, Smith’s Sanitary Septic Service prefers to go local. All of its trucks/tanks are built out by Pik Rite, located just 100 miles away in Lewisburg.

“We’ve been with them since 2001,” says Joan Smith, who owns Smith’s Sanitary Septic Service with her husband, Steve. “They do great work.”

Winter in Pennsylvania can be rough. Smith says this year alone they saw 21 days in single digits, so each truck in the fleet is outfitted with heated valves.

The Smiths’ current Pik Rite fleet of nine trucks all carry steel tanks, either 4,200 gallons or 5,500 gallons, all waste. Smith says they prefer the steel tanks for appearance and durability.

Model years range from 2008 to 2018, including five from Kenworth, one Peterbilt and three Macks. Most of the trucks run pumps from Wittig (Gardner Denver) or Jurop/Chandler; the last three were purchased with more powerful vacuum blowers from National Vacuum Equipment.

One of Smith’s drivers recently submitted one of their notable trucks for Pumper’s Classy Trucks series. Adam Kreider drives the company’s blue-and-white 2016 Kenworth T-880, which has a 5,500-gallon steel tank and National Vacuum Equipment Challenger 4310 Pro Pack blower.

The truck is powered by a Cummins ISX15 500 hp engine tied to an 18-speed Fuller transmission (Eaton Vehicle Group). The rig features dual 4-inch inlets at the front of the tank and 4-inch rear discharge and 3-inch rear inlet and manway access. The interior has air conditioning, air-ride seats and cab, CD stereo, and cloth seats. Lettering was added by Gene Reynold Signs out of McSherrystown, which does all the lettering on Smith’s trucks. Kreider drives the truck for commercial and residential pumping.

Joan Smith says she likes the Kenworth because it’s fancy and offers a good ride.

The Smiths — now led by second-generation Steve and his son, Stephen — service a 25-mile radius from their 330-acre farm in Hanover (located about 10 miles from the historic city of Gettysburg). They have 14 employees, and their business is strictly septic with about 75 percent of their work in the residential sector.