🎙SMB15: Giving Fire Trucks a Second Life with Brian Reyburn, Owner of Firetrucks Unlimited

This is SMB15, a rapid-fire interview series featuring small business owners, investors and service providers. We dig into different industries, business models, and SMB topics. Hosted by Will Fry, founder of Mainshares.

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When Brian Reyburn’s father left the Air Force fire service to start a landscaping company, no one could have predicted it would lead to refurbishing fire trucks for the U.S. military and fire departments across the country.

In this episode of SMB15, Brian shares the 20-year journey of building Fire Trucks Unlimited, from a “dumb idea” combining old landscaping mechanics and fire service connections into a thriving 50+ person operation.

Some takeaways:

1. Market creation: Fire Trucks Unlimited applied military refurbishment practices to municipal fire departments after the 2008 crisis, inventing a market where none existed.

2. Economics: A new ladder truck can cost $1.2M–$2.5M. Refurbishment? Less than half that.

3. Funding model: They avoid debt and floor plan financing by collecting 50% deposits up front.

4. Trust in sales: Photo journaling refurbishments created transparency and built trust across fire departments nationwide.

5. Family business lessons: Respect isn’t automatic, Brian had to earn it with his team, even as the founder’s son.

6. Exit wisdom: “Get as much money day one” when selling to PE; earnouts favor the buyer.

7. Personal balance: After selling, Brian shifted into sales-only to prioritize family time during his kids’ last years at home.

Where to find Brian and Firetrucks Unlimited:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-reyburn-7bb84746/

• Website: https://www.firetrucksunlimited.com/

In this interview, we discuss:

• 0:00 Brian’s family roots in business

• 1:00 From landscaping to fire trucks

• 2:00 First big break with the military

• 3:30 2008 crash creates a new market

• 4:30 Fire truck economics: $2.5M new vs half the cost refurbished

• 5:30 How the industry consolidated to 3 big players

• 6:30 Early projects, big losses, key lessons

• 7:45 Funding projects with customer deposits

• 9:00 What “refurbishment” really means

• 10:00 How long fire trucks actually last

• 11:00 Anyone can buy a fire truck (and people do)

• 12:00 Wildest sales stories: ISIS, war zones, remote islands

• 13:00 Photo journaling turns into a sales engine

• 16:00 Family business: challenges + respect on the shop floor

• 17:30 Lean manufacturing lessons from Tesla to fire trucks

• 20:00 What Brian learned from selling businesses (twice)

• 22:00 Advice for sellers: get paid upfront, beware earnouts

• 23:00 Life after the sale: shifting into sales, focusing on family