About Us

When my dad, Mark Van Der Hart, was a boy growing up on the farm in eastern Nebraska in the mid-70’s, he spotted a John Deere crawler from the school bus window, and decided he wanted to own one someday.  In remembering back, he thinks it was probably a 1010C or 2010C in John Deere Ag Green.

Fast forward many years…while on a trip in Oregon, he spotted a crawler out in the weeds. He stopped, and upon talking to the owner, was told that there were two of them, and that the owner would only sell them together. He bought them both and hauled them back to Blair, Nebraska.  They were John Deere 1952 MC’s.  Because of their condition from years in the weeds, one was named Rusty; and the other Holt, for the Holt outside mounted dozer blade on it.

As my dad and I began to restore these crawlers, we discovered how difficult it could be to find parts for them. We found a supplier in Oregon that had the parts we needed. Upon talking to him, we discovered he was looking to retire, and we were able to buy his inventory. We were encouraged to start a website, and possibly manufacture some of the obsolete parts.

After hauling 10+ truckloads of parts back home, we started Keep ‘Em Crawling, Inc. as a sister company to C & R Automotive, Inc.  Over the next few years we were able to acquire inventory from several other sources, including Louisiana, California and the late Eddie Christopherson’s “Crawler Heaven” in Panama, New York.

As the businesses grew, with C & R needing more of my dad’s time and since I enjoyed crawlers and John Deere tractors and equipment, Keep ‘Em Crawling became my focus.  It has continued to evolve and grow since then.

As people noticed our growing crawler collection, they asked us to repair/restore their tractors.  We have restored locally owned tractors, as well as others shipped to us from out of state.

Our goal is to continue offering parts sales and service, as well as reverse engineering and manufacturing of obsolete parts. We also specialize in the repair of radiators and fuel tanks; starter, generator, etc. and carburetor overhauls; and painting and sheet metal work for all makes and models.

Let us help you keep your crawler crawling or your tractor rolling!