A while back Grandville Trailer was contacted by a gentleman, Fred, who lives in upstate New York. Why might a man living in upstate New York be contacting a West Michigan trailer dealership you ask? You guessed it, he was in need of a trailer. Not just any trailer, though. He was specifically looking for an enclosed trailer that would soon be towing his precious cargo across the United States. Let us explain this nifty story.

Fred found his 1932 Roadster, named Deuce, out in California from a man that had recently built the car from the ground up.  With the 1960’s muscle car in mind, Fred’s Roadster is powered by a 327 cubic inch engine mated to a GM Turbo 350 automatic transmission and finished off with a 8″ Ford differential. Topping off this masterpiece is a full leather interior and trunk area as well, clearly no detail was spared. The only dilemma in this match made in heaven, was how to get this new beauty from the west coast to the east coast.

This is where we come into the story.  Fred found himself a Haulmark enclosed trailer that he liked and knew would suit his needs in transporting Deuce from point A to point B.  He contacted us with his request and we were able to get him in touch with our Haulmark friends down in Bristol, Indiana. We were able to arrange for Fred to travel from his upstate New York home over to Haulmark in Bristol, Indiana, grab his new trailer and continue on the road to Reno, Nevada, where Deuce was eagerly awaiting his arrival.

Fred says that Deuce traveled extremely well  from Reno back to New York and even though the Roadster isn’t suitable for the snowy New York winters, he looks forward to sitting in his garage and admiring it when he isn’t out driving it around.  As for Grandville Trailer, we couldn’t have been more thrilled to help Fred achieve this dream of his and to have had the opportunity to play a role in this truly unique story.

At Grandville Trailer, we’re pullin’ for ya

This post was brought to you by:

Meagan Wiersma.

Today I want to take a minute to tell you about all the wonderful people that work at this wonderful dealership. They make Grandville Trailer a great place to work and do business. It’s not all about the trailers… It’s about the people!

Management

Let’s start with the owner, Dave. I probably don’t need to talk about him because you probably already know him. Everyone in west Michigan seems to know Dave Tosh. He’s fun, kind, generous and everybody’s friend. Before he stepped into the exciting world of trailers, he had a counter top business called Tosh’s Tops. After giving everyone in Grand Rapids new and beautiful counters, he decided it was time to sell everyone in Grand Rapids a trailer! Dave runs a fair and honest business. He genuinely loves his job and seeks to do right by his customers and employees. On his few days off, he hunts, travels all over to visit family, and cruises around in his fully restored 67′ Mustang.

Service Department

One of the things that makes Grandville Trailer stand out is our excellent service department. Our mechanics work hard to keep customers’ trailers working perfectly. Among other things, they repack bearings, replace electric and hydraulic brakes, install hitches, and repair damaged trailers.

Joe is our head mechanic and has been at Grandville Trailer longer than anyone else. (His assistant Phil has been with Grandville Trailer for almost a year, and the two of them make a great team).  Joe works hard and does his job very well.  Joe’s love for repairing things has led him to several auctions where he has purchased different machinery items in need of repair. A gear head with a green thumb, he also has a passion for gardening. We hope that Joe will continue to stick around for a long time!

Sales

We strive to have the best selection of cargo, utility, dump and landscape trailers possible. We also want to make sure we have all the right parts and supplies in our store. We have an awesome team of guys that work together to make sure our customers get all their questions answered. We don’t want to sell trailers for the sake of selling trailers. We genuinely want our customers to walk away happy, informed and satisfied with their experience.

John just may be the heart of Grandville Trailer. He is an awesome employee who loves his job and loves to give customers a great experience. He is patient, thorough and very knowledgeable about our products. He is “Papa” to six sweet grandkids, and in his free time he enjoys bowling, camping and just spending time with his wonderful family.

Greg is the son of Dave and Andrea. He’s a goofy guy with a love for people. He keeps things  fun at work, but don’t let that fool you. He works hard and knows a lot about trailers. He spends his free time with his beautiful wife, disc golfing, scoping out new breweries in Grand Rapids or reading “What to expect when you’re expecting”.  That’s right, Greg and his wife are expecting their first child (baby boy) this October.  We are so excited for the two of them, and cannot wait to meet the little guy.

Jim Is a retired 7th and 8th grade computer teacher, and is a part-time employee of Grandville Trailer. He is a man of many talents and he is gifted musically with singing and playing the guitar. He recently began leading worship at Lifeline Church! Jim also has a passion for building and has almost completed the year long project of building his new house. We are thankful to have him on board!

Lance joined us a few months ago, making him the newest member at Grandville Trailer. He is quickly learning the in’s and out’s of the industry, and is really enjoying meeting all of the customers. He is a true Michigander at heart and loves his sports, especially basketball and golf.  He and his lovely wife, one and a half year old daughter, and 3 four legged family members (his dogs) are currently in the process of finding a new home for their growing family.  We are grateful to have found him.  He makes a great addition.

Behind the Scenes

Ron is Grandville Trailer’s trailer master, and you will see why.  He is the one who oversees the coming and going of trailers, he keeps our lot nice and tidy by organizing the trailers by height and size, takes photos of new inventory for our website, preps the trailers for the lot, and keeps the trailers nice and clean.  And as if that’s not enough, he also cuts the grass, and takes care of all other building maintenance needs.  We appreciate everything he does to make our place look nice, and run smoothly.

 Brendan, is a high school senior at South Christian.  He is very active in a youth program called Teens Encountering Christ (TEC).  Brendan is planning on attending Cornerstone University in the fall of 2017.  He spends his Saturday’s working at Grandville Trailer during the school year, cleaning the store, vacuuming, taking out the trash and his greatest task, putting up with Greg’s antics.

Andrea is Dave’s wife and she has been by his side through it all.  They work together in running this awesome dealership.  Andrea does all of Grandville Trailer’s bookkeeping and a whole lot of paperwork. She spends a lot of her time volunteering, working out, spoiling her grandbabies, and just loving on all the people in her life. Grandville Trailer is blessed to have her around and so is her family!

And then there’s me, Meagan. I am Dave and Andrea’s niece. I’m here in the mitten state with my awesome husband and crazy 9 month old puppy.  I’m a full time waitress at a local restaurant, and work part time for Grandville Trailer doing their computer marketing. I was so excited when they asked me to be a part of their team and in the process I’m learning a lot about marketing, trailers and everything in between. I’m loving every minute of it and I’m so glad to be doing my part to keep our customers informed!

Have you had a good experience at Grandville Trailer because of these people? If so, could you leave us a quick review? We are so thankful for your business and a couple positive sentences from you could do a lot for our little store! You can leave a review on Google, or on our Facebook page.  Thank you and we look forward to working with you in the future!

At Grandville Trailer, we’re pullin’ for ya!

1 in 5 Children in the United States, go without which one of the following options, every day?

A. Access to Social Media           B. Cell Phone                  C. Cable TV                         D. Other

While A, B and C are great guesses, if you guessed “other”, you’re on the right track.  The ratio of 1 in 5 is actually how many children in the United States will go without food, today!

In an effort to narrow these jaw dropping numbers, many organizations have joined the fight to help end hunger in the United States.

Did you know, that all of these organizations combined are helping over 20 million children receive either a free or discounted lunch during the school week? While the assistance that these kiddos receive during the week is certainly a huge blessing, it still raises a pretty big question.

Where do those same kids get proper nourishment on the weekend?  

I’m glad you asked! This is where Hand2Hand steps in.  Hand2Hand is a local organization here in Jenison, Michigan (just a hop, skip and a jump from Grandville Trailer) that was founded in 2008 by a woman named Cheri Honderd.

Cheri Honderd, Hand2Hand Founder and Executive Director

During her childhood, Cheri’s parents struggled as well to find employment. She could relate to the children in her community who don’t always know where their next meal is coming from, and the ongoing stories Cheri heard, of children going hungry, caused her to take action.

Cheri’s passion, dedication and nearly 730 volunteers make the Hand2Hand vision a reality! Hand2Hand’s mission is “to deliver hope to hungry children by mobilizing schools and churches to provide nutritious food over the weekends”.

The Hand2Hand organization not only bridges the gap of weekend hunger, they also show these kiddos that they are cared for, and that there can be a “constant” in their life.

Recently, Grandville Trailer had the opportunity to partner with Hand2Hand, in helping them fulfill their dream of having a “Hope on the Move” trailer.

The brilliant idea behind their “Hope on the Move” trailer is to bring the donation center to you, and make donating even more accessible.  Their hope is that different groups will host the trailer in their neighborhood or at their workplace.  The trailer would then become a 1 to 2 day mobile “drop off” location for anyone willing to donate food to the Hand2Hand ministry.

We were beyond flattered that they asked us to be a part of such a huge mission, and obviously, gladly accepted.

What started as an idea in 2008, with 19 children being well nourished over the weekend, has grown to 3692 children, and a partnership with 85 Michigan schools and 59 Churches.

In 2016 Hand2Hand is on track to partner with 12 more schools and 9 more churches, and with the help of the Lord, faithful volunteers with servant hearts, and loads of donations, hopefully their impact can spread even farther than West Michigan.

At Grandville Trailer, we’re pullin’ for ya!