New - Will need trailer

[oneal]

That is a great chart that I have never seen. I promise there are many around me that couldn't care less. But if you have an accident and are out of compliance better hope no one was hurt even if you are not at fault. The ambulance chasing lawyers will swoop in for the kill.

 

[Big Red]

I was surprised too; I never knew that the weight rating requiring a trailer to have brakes was controlled at the state level. You would think this would make it difficult for trailer manufacturers to decide who's rules to follow. For me I've trailered loads over 3000 lbs. with no brakes and didn't really care for it. As long as you're on dry pavement and never have to brake hard it's no big deal, but if conditions change it can get scary quickly.

 

[Andy]

We have a nice Featherlite available. 2023, 26F Featherlite Aluminum Enclosed Car Trailer like new - trailers - by owner - vehicle automotive sale -...

 

[oneal]

That is a very, very nice trailer Andy. Why aren't you going to use it ?

 

[Mr.C]

Wow, nice trailer! I haven’t seen a featherlite in a long time. I assumed they went out of business. Used to see nothing featherlites around here a lot. Now if I do, it’s an older trailer. Nothing newer.

 

[Maxfe]

I was surprised too; I never knew that the weight rating requiring a trailer to have brakes was controlled at the state level. You would think this would make it difficult for trailer manufacturers to decide who's rules to follow. For me I've trailered loads over 3000 lbs. with no brakes and didn't really care for it. As long as you're on dry pavement and never have to brake hard it's no big deal, but if conditions change it can get scary quickly.

I'm glad there some people out there that want to be safe while hauling a load I bought a XD. This last year single cab and was going to haul it with my utility trailer 3500 lb axle w/brakes it came with in 200 lb of the Capacity of the trailer after pulling it around a couple thousand miles and upgrading to E load range tire It did feel right. So I upgrade to a Aluma but I wanted to stay with a single axle trailer so I could move it and with out have to hook to vehicle Aluma has a heavy single HS it's got a 5200lb axle very well build it has 6k tie points and drive over fenders it 15 ft long. That's what you need to pull a 1500 or a tandem will also work just much harder to move around IMO

 

[Big Red]

For me it's both safety and liability. If you in an accident and your trailer does not meet the legal requirements you're going to get sued. The last thing I need is a headache created by my own making........it's so much easier to follow the law.

 

[Andy]

That is a very, very nice trailer Andy. Why aren't you going to use it ?

We bought it for a play trailer for our UTV's and just never us it. For us once you pull a Featherlite it's had to switch brands. there's Nothing like it on the market.

 

[Andy]

Wow, nice trailer! I haven’t seen a featherlite in a long time. I assumed they went out of business. Used to see nothing featherlites around here a lot. Now if I do, it’s an older trailer. Nothing newer.

Featherlite is a strong company. They mainly build Nascar Stacker Trailers and Horse Trailers. If you can get your hands on a inclosed hauler they're a bit hard to find.

 

[Mr.C]

Featherlite is a strong company. They mainly build Nascar Stacker Trailers and Horse Trailers. If you can get your hands on a inclosed hauler they're a bit hard to find.

I agree, they make great trailers. And yes, it was usually a horse trailer with living quarters, or big race trailers. Seems now I see a lot of ATC’s for race/enclosed trailers around here.

 

[oneal]

Featherlite are probably as good as you can purchase. We had a couple diesel pushers and Featherlite was the most common name seen behind them for full timers.

 

[Big Red]

I drive past the Featherlite factory every time I visit my friends in MN. (2-3 times year) They have a huge lot that used to be full of Nascar, World of Outlaws, and other racing trailers. They also used to have a huge inventory of horse trailers and a few others. I don't remember exactly when but sometime in the last 5 years or so the lot became almost completely empty and there were very few cars in front of the plant. I have no idea what happened, if the business tanked, changed their production model, or moved most of the manufacturing elsewhere. I just know the once booming factory looks like a ghost town.

 

[oneal]

I drive past the Featherlite factory every time I visit my friends in MN. (2-3 times year) They have a huge lot that used to be full of Nascar, World of Outlaws, and other racing trailers. They also used to have a huge inventory of horse trailers and a few others. I don't remember exactly when but sometime in the last 5 years or so the lot became almost completely empty and there were very few cars in front of the plant. I have no idea what happened, if the business tanked, changed their production model, or moved most of the manufacturing elsewhere. I just know the once booming factory looks like a ghost town.

Interesting, they are pricy but in their nitch market money is not really an issue.

 

[Big Red]

They once were the major player in many markets, I don't know if that's still the case or not. Like I said they look like a fraction of what they once were.

 

[oneal]

They once were the major player in many markets, I don't know if that's still the case or not. Like I said they look like a fraction of what they once were.

I didn't know that, what other markets are they in ?

 

[Andy]

They once were the major player in many markets, I don't know if that's still the case or not. Like I said they look like a fraction of what they once were.

here's an interesting fact about u.s. aluminum trailer manufacturing! Aluma Trailers 2024 annual revenue $21.5M 40 employees. ATC Trailer 2024 annual revenue $45M company 50 employees. Featherlite trailer 2024 annual revenue $430M with over 1300 employees. Featherlite is the largest aluminum trailer company in the US.

 

[oneal]

here's an interesting fact about u.s. aluminum trailer manufacturing! Aluma Trailers 2024 annual revenue $21.5M 40 employees. ATC Trailer 2024 annual revenue $45M company 50 employees. Featherlite trailer 2024 annual revenue $430M with over 1300 employees. Featherlite is the largest aluminum trailer company in the US.

Wondering what Big Red viewed being a ghost town, maybe moved or outsourced?

 

[Big Red]

Wondering what Big Red viewed being a ghost town, maybe moved or outsourced?

Like I said in my post, I don't know what happened to the facility I drive past on the way to my friend's house. I've been making this drive for over 20 years and all I can say is that it used to be full of trailers and cars and now it's not. I've never dug into their financials or tried to understand what changed only sharing what my eyes have seen.

 

[Big Red]

here's an interesting fact about u.s. aluminum trailer manufacturing! Aluma Trailers 2024 annual revenue $21.5M 40 employees. ATC Trailer 2024 annual revenue $45M company 50 employees. Featherlite trailer 2024 annual revenue $430M with over 1300 employees. Featherlite is the largest aluminum trailer company in the US.

So I had time today to poke around Featherlite and this is what I found. They still manufacture at the plant I drive past in Cresco IA, it is the only plant they have. They were sold in December of 2019 which is around the time I saw the big change in the amount of inventory on their lot. After visiting their website today, I think they changed their production philosophy as they look to be a custom order facility now with about a 3-month lead-time. When you click on the inventory button it lists 1 new trailer and 4 used ones, all big trailers requiring a semi to pull. One reason their sales are so high is the average racing trailer is $330,000 to $375,000 which makes it much easier to be a $430M company rather than making it $4K-$10K at a time. Browsing their website shows a big focus on specialty high end trailers for racing, control and command centers (for emergencies) large food and vendors for LARGE events, custom horse trailers, and so on. Their lessor known trailers are all stocked at dealers across the US so I'm guessing the dealers order and own what's on their lots. An article I read said they have 400 manufacturing employees which suggest they have huge overhead in the sales, engineering, and marketing side of the business which makes sense since the big money is coming from expensive custom trailers. The lack of cars I see could be explained by when I drive past the plant which is usually late afternoon on Friday, and I return on Sunday morning. So good to know they are still around and hopefully doing well, sales sound strong, but sales don't always translate into profit. They have a rich history of being a premium trailer with a premium price to go with it.

 

[oneal]

Makes sense on the times you past by. Thanks for the update