When Tim and Sue Kelley first started out, they thought selling
one to two trailers a month would lead to extra income. They
were about to have their third son and Sue wanted to stay
home with the boys.
Their trailer business started in their garage, with Tim working
on a snow trailer for a neighbor. He repacked the bearings,
fixed lights and more. They decided to run two advertisements
in their local newspaper, advertising snowmobile trailers for
sale. The phone rang off the hook.
The two figured there must be other people that needed
quality trailers, so they ventured out to start their own trailer
business. Twenty-seven years later, the Kelleys are still going
strong. In fact, they were recently forced to put up a new
building just to keep up with demand.
When they first purchased their 8-acre facility, it only had a
double-wide mobile office. When trailers came in, they’d
assemble and prepare them outside regardless of rain, wind, ice
and snow. A few years later, they built a pole barn as a shop. As
the years went on, that old trailer office was showing a lot of
wear. So, the pair decided to replace it with an actual building.
They worked out of a 36’ temporary office for seven months
as the building project was being completed. Now that it has,
the team has seen an increase in both sales and parts and, with
more space, they can now stock more parts than ever.
The Kelley’s “claim to fame” is a family-friendly experience that
customers receive when they walk through the door.
“We treat everyone like family,” says Tim. “Not because we
want to make a sale, but because that’s who we are.”
Instilled in the Kelleys growing up was that someone should
never lie, cheat or steal. So, they always give a truthful answer
to customers’ questions. They listen and recommend trailers
that best fit the customers’ needs.
“We treat everyone like family,” says Tim. “Not because we want to make a sale,
but because that’s who we are.”
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NATDA Magazine www.natda.org