“The trailer business got so busy, we
just had to get away from go-karts
and concentrate on the trailers.”
dealership and the community at large. Right
up until the move, the trailer sales produced
the largest profit margin for Viper Trailer
World. The new facility, with its impressive
service bays, means Riggs can hire a new
mechanic or service technician.
“We’ve got a facility where we can do the
service and handle more parts,” Riggs says.
“We’re in a better location right off the
interstate in a high-visibility area. Our service
and parts center could move over and, very
easily, be our big income.”
As a dealership that already sells about 75-
80 trailers, on average, a month, there’s a
firm base to build on. With the new bays,
Riggs will be adding in more custom work
to appease customers that aren’t necessarily
looking for long wait times to get the exact
trailers they need.
“We’re going to do more custom options
like adding windows, doors, finishes and
options. Before, I just didn’t have a good
facility to work with and we did pretty much
everything outside. So, if somebody comes in
and needs a trailer with a couple windows in
it and they don’t want to wait 5-6 weeks, they
can, in two days, come pick up one that we
install ourselves.”
trailers at some point in the year to serve a
demographic that currently results in missed
profit opportunities.
Admittedly, Riggs has a lot on his plate,
and 2018 was surely a nerve-racking time
to transition to a new facility. With the
industry’s changes last year, it would’ve been
understandable for Riggs to reconsider the
idea of relocating. However, he says the
changes have had a minimal effect on his
overall business.
Riggs has focused a good portion of his
expenses on marketing tactics. To him,
there’s no better time to do that than when
you’re opening a new facility. Locating
himself right off the highway has given Riggs
the opportunity to reach quite a few new
people, so he placed an order for three
different billboards in his area – all of which
were facing different directions. Between the
billboards, an increased digital presence, good,
old-fashioned word of mouth customers and
a beautiful new sign, Riggs believes business
can only grow from this point forward.
As a dealership that prides itself in delivering
top-quality
trailers
from
top-quality
manufacturers, Viper Trailer World’s new
location seems to be having a major impact
on the dealership’s direction.
That’s not all Riggs has planned, though. He
says he’ll be venturing into used and rental
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