At only 19 years old, twin brothers Lyndon and Loren Burkholder mowed a patch of grass
at the edge of their parents’ dairy farm and started selling trailers.
Thus, began Green Mountain Trailers, a company born from humble beginnings with only
the brothers’ personal equity to get the dealership off the ground. Lyndon and Loren may
not have had the experience of owning and operating a trailer dealership, but they had the
dedication to see it through. For the first few years, trailer sales only made up enough
income to offer part-time employment. The brothers continued working on the family
farm as well as a variety of side jobs before they were able to focus on Green Mountain
Trailers full time. Due to their dedication, eventually Green Mountain Trailers led to a
full-time, profitable business.
“We gained traction and realized market potential, but we needed to dedicate more
attention to it. Around that time, I purchased my brother’s share, rented commercial
space and jumped in with both feet,” shared Lyndon Burkholder, owner of Green Mountain
Trailers.
Burkholder was learning the industry hands-on by literally running each department.
Luckily, some help in the form of Burkholder’s family, who helped finance the inventory,
and friendly business mentoring from fellow dealership G & E Trailer Sales LLC kept the
budding dealership on track.
“G & E were great mentors in terms of helping me get a feel for things and they became
friends to bounce ideas off. At the time, I had no other experience,” remembered Burkholder.
“Looking back, I was a little naive. It was a lot of bootstrapping. We have come a
long way since then. I credit success thus far to God’s blessing and incredible hard work.”
Today, Green Mountain Trailers offers diversity on its lot in both trailers and truck bodies.
Tried and true are the trailers from Belmont Trailers LLC, a brand that has been with
Green Mountain Trailers since the beginning.
“The people at Belmont stuck their necks out for us, establishing us as a dealer when
we had very little to offer. They let us start small and were there for us every step of
the way,” said Burkholder. “Now, I can drop into their plant, sit down with the owner
and even discuss design developments. Our relationship with Belmont feels more like a
partnership. It’s the next best thing to building the trailers ourselves.”
continued on page 18
TYPES OF TRAILERS
ATV, Cargo, Car Hauler,
Dump, Enclosed, Fifth Wheel,
Flatbed, Gooseneck, Heavy
Equipment, Heavy Utility,
Motorsports, Race, Snow
Mobile, Tilt, Truck Bed, Utility
TOP TRAILER BRANDS SOLD
Belmont Trailers LLC
Aluma Trailers
CM Truck Beds
FLOE International
ITI Cargo by Novae
Futura Trailers Inc
106-A Stafford Ave.
Morrisville, VT 05661
802-730-7068
16 NATDA Magazine www.natda.org