BY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP
Staff Writer
JEFF GRANIT staff Leonard Schickler, owner of Brunswick Mobility Professionals in North Brunswick, demonstrates how a ramp extends out of a custom 2005 Entervan. NORTH BRUNSWICK — Nothing makes brothers Bob and Len Schickler happier than moving people.
The twins believe in travel without limits and, whether their customers want to drive to Florida for a vacation, to a relative’s house across town, or to the corner grocery store, they believe their shop, Brunswick Mobility Professionals on Route 1, can get them there.
Part of a family business founded in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1969, BMP provides one-stop automotive services in maintaining and repairing any vehicle’s complex systems.
“We do brakes, air conditioning, electrical, cooling, tune-ups or any other maintenance your vehicle may require,” Len said.
In addition, BMP has a full-service mobility division that specializes in the sale, installation, repair and maintenance of all types of adaptive equipment to suit almost any physical requirement.
“Our typical customer is someone who has had a stroke and is going through rehabilitation and getting back behind the wheel,” Len said. “However, over the last 35 years, we’ve evolved into an independent mobility center where we can get almost anyone with any physical disability into a vehicle safely.”
PHOTOSBY JEFF GRANIT staff Brunswick Mobility Professionals in North Brunswick outfits vehicles with special-needs equipment. Owner Leonard Schickler drives up and down a ramp with a scooter. Quality certification by the National Mobility Dealers Association makes BMP an approved mobility vendor for the state of New Jersey. The designation also authorizes the company to install and service mobility equipment.
BMP’s adaptive equipment section provides a full range of modifications for cars, pick-up trucks, minivans and full-size vans.
Their numerous services and installations offer solutions to help short- or long-term disabled children and adults, the elderly, wheelchair and scooter users, and almost anyone achieve mobility.
“We are dedicated to helping the physically challenged achieve an independent and active lifestyle by offering one of the largest selections of mobility products and vehicles in Central New Jersey,” Len said.
Options for those with short- or long-term handicaps include manual and electronic hand controls and voice-operated equipment.
“If driving is the challenge, we can install special pedals or hand controls in a vehicle,” Len said. “If it’s difficult for a customer or their family member or friend to get into a car, we can add a transfer seat.”
The business can outfit a vehicle with steering and foot controls that allow an ambulatory person to operate a vehicle with ease.
For those who need to transport a wheelchair or scooter, BMP offers a car-top wheelchair carrier for the roof of a vehicle or a lift that automatically places and secures a wheelchair or scooter into the trunk.
The companion seat offers any family member who may have difficulty entering and exiting a domestic minivan the key to greater mobility. The seat system uses a unique power base that rotates the seat from its forward position and extends the seat out a door 20 inches.
Those who need to ride in a wheelchair could purchase a minivan with a lowered floor and a raised roof or a full-size van that would allow them to drive the vehicle.
BMP sells the Braun Entervan, a special conversion of the Chrysler Town and Country minivan.
Although indistinguishable from other minivans on the road, Len said the Entervan gives people with short- or long-term physical limitations the ability to travel.
The van can hold up to five ambulatory passengers or a maximum of three wheel-
chair or scooter users.
At the press of a button on a key chain remote control, the Entervan kneels as the original Chrysler spring suspension compresses to provide a gentle ramp angle for manual chair users.
A sturdy, lightweight aluminum ramp lowers, allowing a wheelchair or motorized scooter user a smooth, secure transition from the ground into the van.
Once inside, a traveler in the Entervan experiences a lowered floor area, designed to give manual chair operators easy access to the interior controls of the vehicle. A full 10 inches lower than conventional vans, the floor gives wheelchair users the comfort of riding at eye level with other occupants.
The seats of the van roll in and out, allowing for the manual chair operator to ride as a driver or front- or back-seat passenger.
The Entervan also features amenities such as retractable tie-down belts to secure a wheelchair in place and an automatic lift gate in the rear so wheelchair users no longer need assistance when stowing cargo.
After the selection of a new or used vehicle or the installation of chosen vehicle modifications, BMP’s customer service offers thorough instruction so customers and their families can easily and safely enjoy their adapted vehicle.
The Schicklers believe without service, parts are just parts.
The Schicklers boast having the finest team of automotive and mobility technicians to perform all of the repair and service work, even the oil changes, on a vehicle.
All 13 technicians at BMP are fully trained and certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE).
In addition to well-trained technicians, BMP offers service advisers who are also ASE certified, meaning they can explain maintenance and service issues in detail.
“For whatever reason your car is in our care, you can be assured you will be treated with respect and honesty,” Len said. “We strive to do the job right the first time at a fair price.”
Because affordability matters to most people, BMP assists customers in obtaining financing for mobility equipment selections and offers several affordable financing plans for both new and used vehicles.
“This helps maximize the enjoyment of new mobility without sacrificing a budget,” Len said. “We aim to help all of our customers live longer, happier, more mobile lives.”
Bob said each customer at BMP becomes an integral part of their family.
“You can’t help but develop long-lasting relationships in this business,” Bob said. “Our jobs are very rewarding.”
Len said giving individuals and families the means to travel as they used to is what keeps them in business.
“We have so many touching stories,” Len said. “Just the other day, I had a woman thank me for giving her the means to go out for breakfast with her husband again. Another time, a taxi pulled up, unloaded a passenger, suitcases and a wheelchair. Our customer told us he was going on vacation in his newly outfitted vehicle. Two days later we got a phone call from from him in Florida thanking us.”
As a way to thank their customers and to meet and greet potential customers, BMP will hold an open house Nov. 5 and 6.
For more information call (732) 545-6300.