Harvey's Hobby Hauler

2006 Featherlite Model 4929

On Sunday April 9, 2006 we purchased a new Featherlite Model 4929 to replace our 2003 Pace American Shadow GT that was involved in an accident (not our fault) and was totaled by our insurance company (the deadbeat that hit us was uninsured at the time of the accident).

The new trailer was purchased from Huffman Trailer Sales in Harrisonburg Virginia.

This trailer is all aluminum. It is the 24' model and is 102" wide.

It Comes Standard With The Following:
Model 4929 has a higher floor and street side door over fender well.
Fender to Fender 81"
Inside Height 6' 6" - Loading Height 20 ½"
2 - 4800# Axles
ST225/75R15 · 6-Hole Silver Modular (qty 4)
Tie Downs - Stainless Steel Swivel “D” Rings (qty 4)
Side Door 48" × 58" (streetside) Deluxe Camper 36" × 68" (curbside)
Rear Ramp Full Height with Cable Assist
Interior Light, Spare Tire Mount

Options Installed At Factory:
ATP Stoneguard
Smooth Extruded Aluminum Floor, ATP Rear Ramp
Roof Vent, Clear Lens LED Lights

Factory Options Added To Trailer By Owner:
12V 3500# Tongue Jack, 6 Additional Stainless Steel Swivel "D" Rings
2 Additional Interior Lights, 1 48" Swing Up Aluminum Side Step
1 Additional Spare Tire Mount
Additional Clear Lens LED Marker Lights

2003 Pace American Shadow GT
This was our first enclosed trailer.
It was totaled in an accident on 3-15-2006

If you are looking to purchase your first new enclosed trailer,
I'm certain that you have many questions. The best advice I can offer
is for you to do your "homework".

The primary issues are probably going to be:
Price, Quality, Options, Primary Usage and Delivery Time.
In my opinion, if you are going to transport a vehicle,
you should only be looking at trailers that are:
2' longer than what you think you need, 102" wide, and
at least a GVWR of 10,000 or more.

Although I did as much "homework" as I possibly could at the time,
there are two questions that I didn't ask... but everyone should ask!
"How do the employees at the assembly plant get paid?
Do they get paid hourly, or do they get paid per unit built?"

You read that correctly! Would those questions have been on your list?
In my opinion, the reason you should ask is simple: The quality and quality
control of the trailer being built seems to decrease when the employees
are paid per unit. The focus seems to shift from quality to completion!
We could discuss the pros and cons for management and production
using this method of payment, but without the facts and figures...
it would just be more opinion.

I have taken some photos of the features that were important to us
when selecting a trailer. The photos below include comments
as to why the option was important in our dual usage situation.

Our trailer is 102" wide and 24' long. On these units, the interior width is 96" and the rear door is 88" wide. However, the distance from door support cable to support cable is only 85" wide. The mirrors on our 74 Monte Carlo have about 2" of clearance on each side when entering and exiting the trailer. A trailer that is 96" wide would have been a big mistake on our part!

Our trailer sits higher than the standard trailer. The extra clearance was a result of using 32° down-start axles. This was necessary to permit the driver's side doors on our Monte Carlos to open completely after loading without hitting the trailer side door frame. I have not experienced any additional handling problems on the highways due to the extra height.

Again, to permit the driver's door to open entirely, we ordered this 96" double side door. The price difference between the 60" double doors and the 96" double doors was only $17.00 list price. With the extra floor height and extra wide side doors... getting in and out of the Monte Carlo is very easy. Notice the minimal amount of distance
(actually 8 1/4") from the floor level to the top edge of the bottom door frame. The extra wide doors make loading and unloading crafts much easier.

Because of the extra floor height we had this 42" aluminum fold-down step installed. This side door is the standard 48" door with this unit. This step makes it a whole lot easier to enter and exit... especially when we are doing our craft shows!

By now, you have noticed the white, red, and black "faux finish" that Cindy and I applied to the walls. The walls are just the standard 3/8" plywood. We wanted to protect the wood and also to enhance the appearance of the interior. We also self installed the cabinets in the front section of the trailer. The optional black and white vinyl floor will also help protect the standard 3/4" plywood floor and make any clean-up much easier.

Although this picture is very similar to the picture above, I wanted to show the 6 forward 6,000# swivel floor mount D-rings. We also placed 2 of these near the rear door. Proper placement and measurements were determined before ordering the trailer. You can also see the placement of the "in floor" tire compartment. Be careful where they hinge the compartment door. I don't think that releasing the tie downs and moving the car backwards just to get to a spare tire sounds like fun... especially when you already need to fix a flat tire!

Because of the additional floor height, we also ordered a 36" heavy duty ATP flap with ATP supports. The flap reduces the angles for entrance and exit of the vehicles thus eliminating the possibility of a "bottom out". The extra ramp flap also makes loading and unloading our crafts much easier too!

This white vinyl ceiling material is standard on this trailer. It came with 2 lights, but we added a third light. We also determined where we wanted these 3 lights. We also had 1 additional 3-way switch installed so that the lights could be operated from the front or back of the trailer.

We also had them install a 12 volt tongue jack and 12 volt battery and battery box for the trailer. If you have ever tried to "hand crank" a trailer with the car inside you already know why we wanted this option. The battery is also wired to control the interior lights when the trailer is not connected to the tow vehicle. We also paid to have them "set-back" the tongue jack to ensure that our truck tailgate will have plenty of clearance when the tailgate is lowered.