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Five Featherlite trailers—20 years of satisfaction

12/13/2011

Barry Blomquist of Onalaska, Wis., spent almost 40 years manufacturing durable goods before retiring in 2007. So when he extols the virtue of an all-aluminum Featherlite trailer, he knows what he’s talking about. 

“I am a big believer in the benefits of aluminum, in terms of durability and weight,” he says. 

Blomquist bought his first Featherlite about 20 years ago, a flatbed trailer for his business. The performance of that trailer sold him on the brand. “We just never had any problems with it,” he explains. “It was maintenance-free.” 

Since then, Blomquist has bought four trailers for his family’s personal use. Two of the Featherlites are horse trailers. “In 2000, I bought a four-horse gooseneck trailer with living quarters for my wife,” Blomquist says. “In 2006, we bought a two-horse slant load for shorter trips.” 

Both Blomquist’s wife and daughter are involved in Western and English horse competitions. “We have a farm with 16-17 horses, and every weekend they go somewhere,” he says. “They’ve gone to Kansas City, Tulsa, St. Louis and a lot of other horse shows around the Midwest.”

One of the best features of the gooseneck horse trailer is the living quarters, according to Blomquist. “My wife and daughter use it for storage of clothing and as a dressing room for the shows. Some of the shows get extremely hot, so they also appreciate the A/C,” he says. 

However, Blomquist himself has another hobby. “I’ve been restoring cars since I was 16 years old,” he says. “I’ve had a real passion for automobiles all my life.” Currently, he has three collector cars, including a 1962 Corvette. For a long time, he hauled his automobiles in a Featherlite Model 4926 car trailer. “I looked at a couple other brands,” he explains, “but I only wanted an aluminum trailer. Part of the reason was to keep the weight down. The truck I’m driving has a 12,000 lb. Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW)—how much the truck can weigh with passengers and cargo. Cars weigh 3,000 lbs. apiece. An aluminum trailer weighs 5,000 lbs. If I bought a steel trailer with wood lining, I would exceed the federal weight limit.” 

“Besides,” Blomquist adds, “why would you want to pull an extra 1-2,000 lbs. that do nothing for you?”

In addition to the trailer’s durability, Blomquist also likes the 4926’s ramps. “They’re nice and wide and easy to get into,” he says. 

Recently, Blomquist has bought another Featherlite car trailer—a gooseneck Model 4941. “I wanted it because of the size,” he says. “I needed a trailer that could carry two cars at one time.” 

In fact, Blomquist played a large part in designing his new 4941. “I weighted out two cars on the trailer and worked with engineering on where to put the tie downs and things like that,” he said. “It ended up working perfectly.” The 4941 also sports extra lights, alloy wheels and a fold-down ramp. 

When asked what he likes about his Featherlite trailers, Blomquist gets right to the point. “They’re easy to work with, they’re maintenance free and they don’t rust,” he says. “The long term maintenance is next to nothing, and you don’t have to haul around any dead weight.”

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