Location: Nevada, Mo
Owners: Justin and Karri Vickers (pictured)
History: Bulldog Trailers was established in 2015, when Karri Vickers told her husband, Justin, that she didn’t “get married to be a single wife.”
Her husband, Justin, has been welding for 20 years beginning in 1996 as a graduate of the Missouri Welding School in Nevada. He has gone all over the United States welding, but decided to get serious about starting his own business doing welding at home – and Karri works with him daily.
Products and services: Together, the young couple builds four types of custom trailers. The equipment trailer is for moving farm equipment and will carry 14,000 pounds.
The gooseneck they make will carry 16,000 pounds. The car hauler has slide-in ramps and will carry 7,000 pounds. However, the utility trailer they make is as useful to a farmer as the pocket on your shirt. It has a flip up ramp and can be used to haul your mule or 4-trax behind farm equipment. That way you can move from one field to the next by yourself.
They made 250 trailers last year, but would like to get up to around 500 to 600. The trailers are sold in Springfield, Lowry City, Joplin, Bolivar, El Dorado Springs, Adrian and Iola, Kan.
Justin does the welding and custom fabrication. Bill Ennis, an employee, puts in the seasoned wood floors, and builds gates and tongues.
“He does woodworking as a second job,” Kerri said. “So he is very meticulous.”
Justin also does custom combining on the side, and helps his dad farm.
“I do the painting, accounting, dishwashing, whatever needs doing,” Kerri said with a smile.
Both agreed it was good to have their own business where they could serve farmers and others with a quality commodity – and do it together – at home.
