JIM DYER, founder of Big Bend Trailers, wasn’t always a trailer
manufacturer. In fact, he wouldn’t even claim “manufacturing” as
his main job. He’s a rancher. It was that career, with its rough
roads and extreme use, that led Dyer to realize insufficiencies
existed in the trailers he was forced to use.
“We had a lot of different trailers, but we got tired of having to
weld on them all the time,” Dyer explained. “At the time, we were
working with a group of Mennonites, so I told them I had some
ideas and asked if they could build it.”
In 2003, that group of Mennonites took the task to hand. Now,
Big Bend Trailers is churning out 400-500 trailers a year. To spread
the word on his new company, Dyer took Big Bend Trailers to the
show circuit in the Southwest. After attending the National Finals
Rodeo, the World Ag Expo and the Cattle Industry Convention &
NCBA Trade Show over the years, Dyer has now set his sights on
the 2019 NATDA Trade Show & Convention.
“We’ve got thirty-five to forty dealers across the United States,
but none east of the Mississippi,” Dyer says. “We thought this
would be a good time to find some dealers over in that neck of
the woods.”
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Big Bend Trailers may be exhibiting for its first time at the
2019 NATDA Trade Show & Convention, but Dyer believes
that its trailers have something that well set it apart from most
manufacturers.
“Most gooseneck trailers are built with angle-iron frames and
angle-iron runners. We use rectangle and square tubing,” says
Dyer. “With angle-iron, you’ve got one corner to give you strength
on a piece of angle-iron. Our trailer has four.”
It’s an idea that stemmed from a trailer, one of the first goosenecks
manufactured in America, that his father owned. The design
allows Big Bend Trailers to use a lighter material, but create added
strength.
“Our frames are 2x4” rectangle tubing with a heavy wall. We have
2x2” square tubing cross-members on the bottom. The frame is
probably stouter than anything going down the road,” Dyer says.
After creating a growing manufacturing business, Dyer handed the
day-to-day reigns of the company over to his daughter, Amanda.
She’s now setting the path for the company, which includes a very
hands-on approach to its dealer base.
NATDA Magazine www.natda.org