Harbor Freight Trailer

[ktrjc]

Good info on this trailer, the wife and I have been looking at this for some time, now I just need to make space in the garage for it.

[wibby]

I have the same trailer, the bearings are crap and pricey if you can find them. I could only find three without the races and it cost me $57

I went to a local trailer parts shop and bought a whole new straight axle for $99. No bearing buddy's needed, it has the zerks attached to the end of the spindles

I bought the trailer in '96, I mostly use it to haul a small boat. Once hauled 2,500 lbs of topsoil in it, and another time I hauled a unit of 12 foot plywood home in it! Damn tires held up somehow!

[switchback]

I bought a trailer of the same design with rails. Bearings did self destruct but I didn't maintain them so that was my fault. I did however break the whole trailer in half hitting a large unexpected pothole and the axle disconnected. I managed to bolt it together with parts from other portions of the trailer and limp back to town at 10 mph and found a welder. Very cheaply made but I will admit they are nice to store in the garage.

[Thinc2]

Originally Posted by markgsnw

the light foldable trailer is listed as having a 990 lb payload and 8 inch wheels. The larger one is listed as 1175 lb payload with 12 inch wheels.

I agree and I thought I was buying the 1175 one. But the manual said 1400 something.

Not that it matters, because i don't intend to ever get close to loading 1100 lbs on the thing. i just wanted the 12 inch wheels.

[Spam16v]

did you have yours shipped or go to a store? i need to do the math and calculate sales tax vs. shipping charges. there's a store by my rent's house back in ny and i live in CT. do you think you could use a 1 1/4" hitch with this safely? i have an Element also, and have a lil hitch on it for my bicycle rack and debating weather or not i should get the 2" reciever. just gonna put my DRZ on it too.

[wibby]

Unless they changed it, shipping is FREE!

I did not have a store anywhere near me when I ordered mine

[Thinc2]

Originally Posted by Spam16v

did you have yours shipped or go to a store? i need to do the math and calculate sales tax vs. shipping charges. there's a store by my rent's house back in ny and i live in CT. do you think you could use a 1 1/4" hitch with this safely? i have an Element also, and have a lil hitch on it for my bicycle rack and debating weather or not i should get the 2" reciever. just gonna put my DRZ on it too.

I picked mine up at the store, so not sure about shipping.

Not sure about the 1 1/4 hitch either - not famliar enough with trailers to advise. Maybe someone with more experience could tell you.

[D'Artagnan]

Has anyone here ever used one of these? If the "testimonials" can be trusted, there seem to be lots of happy users. Easy to store as well.

Manufacturer Website
http://trailerinabag.com/


User review:
http://www.zenreich.com/ZenWeb/motor...ilerinabag.htm

[Thinc2]

Originally Posted by D'Artagnan

Has anyone here ever used one of these? If the "testimonials" can be trusted, there seem to be lots of happy users. Easy to store as well.

Manufacturer Website
http://trailerinabag.com/


User review:
http://www.zenreich.com/ZenWeb/motor...ilerinabag.htm

I looked at trailer in a bag andhad two concerns:
1) Price: I think it sells for about $1200, vs the $350 i spent. Plus you can use the Harbor Freight trailer as a utility trailer - although this may not be important to everyone.

2) Ride Quality: I don't see any springs on the trailer in a bag. What happens if you hit a bump or pothole?

[D'Artagnan]

Originally Posted by Thinc2

I looked at trailer in a bag andhad two concerns:
1) Price: I think it sells for about $1200, vs the $350 i spent. Plus you can use the Harbor Freight trailer as a utility trailer - although this may not be important to everyone.

2) Ride Quality: I don't see any springs on the trailer in a bag. What happens if you hit a bump or pothole?

$1200? That certainly seems like a lot. What am I missing here? I was intrigued by the compact storage, you could throw it in the trunk of a car if needed. It seems a read somewhere that the bike suspension is supposed to smooth out the bumps in the road.

[elmoreman]

Originally Posted by Thinc2

I picked mine up at the store, so not sure about shipping.

Not sure about the 1 1/4 hitch either - not famliar enough with trailers to advise. Maybe someone with more experience could tell you.

1 1/4 inch hitch is considered class II - up to 3500 lbs. You do not need class III - 2" hitch.

[murgatroid42]

Originally Posted by ktrjc

What is the max speed listed for that trailer? Or do they have one? Thinking of getting one of these, that way we will actually have room inside the truck for the kids, dogs and us.

I have the exact trailer. It does fold up very nicely, and takes about 2 ft. of space from the wall.

The 12 in. tires say 55 mph on the rim. I used the trailer to haul my XR650L from Fort Collins to Pueblo (170 mi. each way) in the snow for neduro's dirt riding class. I went 75 mph most of the time. I didn't even know it was behind me; it worked great.

[Pro_Marinero]

I looked at the Harbor Freight models, but there build quality scares me enough on hand tools (which I own more than a few of), let alone something I'm going to be towing at 60 mph with a few thousand dollars worth of bike on it. I paid a couple hundred bucks more and went with a Snowbear 8000. I bought mine from a guy who used it to move from Ohio to California, but you can find them Costco and Home Depot. They run around $600.

http://www.snowbear.com/html/8000.html

The fore/aft gates can both be laid down to extend for a longer load, the rear gate doubles as a ramp. and there are plenty of spots for tying down. The tongue can be extended, and you can tilt it for loading long-wheelbase items (snowmobiles) or dumping in a pinch. After the initial investment for the Chinese inmate-built trailer, decking, rails, better bearings, and tires you'll just about be at the cost of a Snowbear. The build quality is better and the tires are not the Cheng Shin junk you get on the HF. I repacked the bearings when I got it and try to do it about every 3k miles. I hauled a KLR, CR500, TRX250 quad, and a lawnmower on it from CA to WA with zero problems. I think it's rated at 1500 lbs.

But you can't fold it, so that might be a turn-off.

[Thinc2]

Originally Posted by Pro_Marinero

But you can't fold it, so that might be a turn-off.

Exactly - that's sort of the whole point of the HF trailer. If you don't need that, there are a lot of other trailers to consider.

[hava98]

Originally Posted by Thinc2

Exactly - that's sort of the whole point of the HF trailer. If you don't need that, there are a lot of other trailers to consider.

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but did you have to cut the sheet of plywood in half to allow you to fold the trailer? Appears that way from the pics, just wanted to make sure. I think I'll have one of these in my garage this week.

Thanks!
hava98