GEORGETOWN, KY — “Why do you need trucks that big?” That’s a question people often ask Ron Gaines, owner of R.L. Gaines & Son Heating & Air Conditioning here in Georgetown, about his moving van-sized work vehicles, according to a story in Tempstar’sThe Dealer Starnewsletter. He recently added two new large vans to his company fleet and had them painted with the Tempstar logo and the R.L. Gaines & Son signage.

Why so big? Gaines does a lot of new construction work in Georgetown, Lexington, and the surrounding areas, and his trucks are lined with shelves and are large enough so that a crew can load an entire job in one of those vehicles, including ductwork, refrigeration lines, and condensing units all at one time.

“We have a shop foreman who takes care of pulling materials for each house,” Gaines said. “He has the job pulled and ready, so when the installers finish one job, they go back to the shop and load another job on that truck and take it to the next destination to be installed.

“We do jobs in Georgetown, Nicholasville, Winchester, Versailles, Richmond, Cynthiana — all around the perimeter of Lexington — so while the crew is going to a location out of town, they can load up the materials for more than one job at a time. So, you need a big truck. It has paid off for us.”

He also points out that with the trucks newly painted signage, they are like billboards on wheels.

Gaines started his business in June 1976, working alone at first. Now he has eight employees and most of the company’s installations are in new homes. His firm often does installations for entire subdivisions and Gaines says that he installs heat pumps in 95 percent of his jobs.

Publication date: 12/23/2002