FWIW, the Trailer in a Bag I used to have came with 8" tires, and I upgraded to 12" tires. I towed my bikes on that thing for 10s of thousands of miles at speeds up to 70-75 MPH and never had a flat, or any kind of tire problem. The 12s lasted much longer than 8s as well. The problem with going to a trailer of better quality is the price. It goes from the HF trailers, which are several hundred $$$, to the higher quality trailers which are several thousand $$$, and there's nothing in between. As far as the bearings go, even if I end up buying a new HF trailer, I will replace the bearings with some better quality units. I did this with my Trailer in a Bag, and those bearings lasted the entire time I owned it. Every spring I would pull them out to clean and repack them...
Harbor Freight trailer experience ?
- Thread starter grampi
- Start date
I just checked TSC and Northern Tool. Northern Tool has one that's all aluminum (except for the axle) with an empty weight of less than 200 lbs. What I like about their trailers is they give both the GVWR, and its actual load carrying capacity. This particular trailer can haul 1100 lbs, and being aluminum, I wouldn't have to be as concerned about corrosion. The rest of their trailers of this type, along with those from TSC, are almost identical to the HF trailers...
Built two of their 4x8 “heavy duty” kits. They worked fine but the powder coating did not hold up and they started corroding, Touched them up each year but eventually sold them. Always added a marine plywood deck, spare tire, and tie downs all around.
They have a new kit that is greatly upgraded delayed several times but supposedly coming out in January.
The tires they came with were rated for 81mph. Called their Customer Service to confirm. They had a wheel recall at one point, but the tires were the same.
They have a new kit that is greatly upgraded delayed several times but supposedly coming out in January.
The trailers had a 50mph sticker because California.
The tires they came with were rated for 81mph. Called their Customer Service to confirm. They had a wheel recall at one point, but the tires were the same.
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Got sick of the corrosion of steel and there aren’t any Galvanized kits. So bought a Northern Tool 5x8 aluminum trailer kit in 2021. You can buy marine plywood in 5’ width so bought a sheet and sprayed it top and bottom with bed liner. Much higher quality and more expensive. Price is up a bit, we paid $859. Only weighs 165lbs without platform or spare.
https://www.northerntool.com/produc...ility-trailer-kit-1715-lb-load-capacity-49802
https://www.northerntool.com/produc...ility-trailer-kit-1715-lb-load-capacity-49802
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This is the trailer I referenced in my last post. How is the sturdiness of this this trailer? I like the fact it's aluminum for being corrosion resistant, but I worry it might not be as sturdy as the steel ones. TSC actually has some that are galvanized, but I have no idea how well they hold up compared to this aluminum one. I would think the aluminum one would be more corrosion resistant...Got sick of the corrosion of steel and there aren’t any Galvanized kits. So bought a Northern Tool 5x8 aluminum trailer kit in 2021. You can buy marine plywood in 5’ width so bought a sheet and sprayed it top and bottom with bed liner. Much higher quality and more expensive. Price is up a bit, we paid $859. Only weighs 165lbs without platform or spare.
https://www.northerntool.com/produc...ility-trailer-kit-1715-lb-load-capacity-49802
Built two of their 4x8 “heavy duty” kits. They worked fine but the powder coating did not hold up and they started corroding, Touched them up each year but eventually sold them. Always added a marine plywood deck, spare tire, and tie downs all around.
They have a new kit that is greatly upgraded delayed several times but supposedly coming out in January.
The trailers had a 50mph sticker because California.
The tires they came with were rated for 81mph. Called their Customer Service to confirm. They had a wheel recall at one point, but the tires were the same.
The new one would be way too heavy for my application...I need a total empty trailer weight of 300 lbs or less...
I don't bother. Moisture rises up from the ground, and if it's tarped, it might make it worse. I just try to shovel out the snow when I can, that way in the spring thaw the plywood might get a bit less exposure. The 20 year old PT 2x4's on my old one are starting to look a bit old, I didn't put anything onto them to treat. About half of the zinc plated hardware did come out when I made some recent mods (the rest had to be cut). Not supposed to use zinc with PT, but, none of them had rusted through, and the ones that needed to be cut, those threads were not touching PT, so... I'm hard pressed to spend extra on galvanized carriage bolts. [I used construction screws this time around--we'll see if I change my tune.]
The paint does oxidize quickly. I toyed with slapping house paint onto the last one I bought, decided, if I have to replace it 10 years from now, I don't really care. Shot some RP-342 in some places, called it done. It's a wheel barrow, a cheap one at that, and nothing lasts forever (but our needs can and do).
My only regret is that it really needs to be just a few inches wider and longer, so that 4x8's can fit more easily. But then I'd probably complain about how I need more than a single 4x8 sheet of plywood for the flooring...
Here is the new 5' x 10' trailer
I bought one of the 1140 pound ones back in 2017 to tow behind my Ford Focus for home projects. Recently helped a friend build one of the heavier ones and it was about the same building both.
The biggest advantage is their light weight. Otherwise , if you have something that has a towing capacity, I'd go with something like a carryon trailer or even make one out of an old popup camper.
The tires on mine were 65 MPH rated 4.80-12. My friend's were 5.30-12.
Bearings need to be repacked before using because the grease is just for corrosion resistance. They are metric spindles, bearings, hubs. If you plan on taking an extended trip, it wouldn't be a terrible idea to carry a spare set of bearings. The only place I found any were on Amazon. But mine made it lots of miles on the highway without a problem.
The paint is terrible. I soaked mine with fluid film and it still only made it 3 or 4 winters before getting super rusty and the paint peeled right off. If you're going to keep it outside, keep it on a tarp so the ground moisture doesn't kill the paint. And if you run it in the winter often, it is not going to like that.
As with any trailer I have / work on, I ran a separate ground circuit and tied it back into the plug. There's just too many frame sections that need to but up to each other or the lights to stay grounded for long.
Ultimately I killed mine when I loaded up over 3000 pounds of trash. The tongue bent.
I ended up buying an old 1970s popup camper, welded up some sides out of old bed frame "angle iron" and made a ramp for it. It still looks like a harbor freight trailer (legally it may still be a harbor freight trailer
) but the fully boxed 2x3 tubing frame is much more stiff. I'm still stuck with weird spindles / hubs / bearings ... made by a company called Dayton Fayette that went out of business before I was born.
If you're on a budget and need to tow smaller things or you need as light of a trailer as possible, they're worth it. Or if you need the ability to fold it's really your only option. My friends' that I helped with last year is always stowed folded up.
If they ever release the 5x10 I may consider buying that. My popup camper converted utility trailer is rusting out real bad and the axle is bent so it burns the driver's side tire off quickly. I go through one every few months now that I'm putting a lot of miles on towing my 4 wheeler.
The biggest advantage is their light weight. Otherwise , if you have something that has a towing capacity, I'd go with something like a carryon trailer or even make one out of an old popup camper.
The tires on mine were 65 MPH rated 4.80-12. My friend's were 5.30-12.
Bearings need to be repacked before using because the grease is just for corrosion resistance. They are metric spindles, bearings, hubs. If you plan on taking an extended trip, it wouldn't be a terrible idea to carry a spare set of bearings. The only place I found any were on Amazon. But mine made it lots of miles on the highway without a problem.
The paint is terrible. I soaked mine with fluid film and it still only made it 3 or 4 winters before getting super rusty and the paint peeled right off. If you're going to keep it outside, keep it on a tarp so the ground moisture doesn't kill the paint. And if you run it in the winter often, it is not going to like that.
As with any trailer I have / work on, I ran a separate ground circuit and tied it back into the plug. There's just too many frame sections that need to but up to each other or the lights to stay grounded for long.
Ultimately I killed mine when I loaded up over 3000 pounds of trash. The tongue bent.
I ended up buying an old 1970s popup camper, welded up some sides out of old bed frame "angle iron" and made a ramp for it. It still looks like a harbor freight trailer (legally it may still be a harbor freight trailer
) but the fully boxed 2x3 tubing frame is much more stiff. I'm still stuck with weird spindles / hubs / bearings ... made by a company called Dayton Fayette that went out of business before I was born.If you're on a budget and need to tow smaller things or you need as light of a trailer as possible, they're worth it. Or if you need the ability to fold it's really your only option. My friends' that I helped with last year is always stowed folded up.
If they ever release the 5x10 I may consider buying that. My popup camper converted utility trailer is rusting out real bad and the axle is bent so it burns the driver's side tire off quickly. I go through one every few months now that I'm putting a lot of miles on towing my 4 wheeler.
One would think.
The only effective measure we found was to keep it in a shed with a solid floor.
It was outside for two years and still looks great. We’ve only had about 1,000 lbs on it but seems fine.
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Mine's not going to have any wood on it. I will be installing a Condor wheel chock, and an aluminum channel directly to the cross members. My concern about deterioration is only concerning metal corrosion. Maybe a tarp under and one over the top?
I'd recommend against that, if it's the typical HF 4x8 and not one of the newer ones, or something else. Mine was flimsy behind imagination just by itself. Dropping a 4x8 3/4" sheet of plywood with several carriage bolts (4 corners, one or two at each halfway point? and a couple in the middle? something like that) goes a long ways to giving some ability to resist twisting. Think stepping in one far corner and watching the whole thing torque.
Maybe it's overkill for your needs, but that is what comes to mind for me, twist. Then again, that might increase drag and if you are doing mile after mile, that might not be good--I do short trips with mine and mpg is a big don't-care.
I'm guessing my problems with this trailer will be it's empty weight (too much), and it's cost (also too much). One thing I didn't mention is I don't need it to fold, and I also don't need it to tilt...the aluminum one from Northern Tool is looking better and better (except for its price, ouch!) unless I can find a really good deal on one of the HF steel trailers. One thing about the NT aluminum trailer is I will have to drill holes to mount the chock and the channel, and I don't like the idea of drilling holes in the aluminum. Aluminum is so soft that the holes could weaken the structure. The steel ones won't do that, so I wouldn't be as concerned them. There are usually several of those used on FB Market Place at any given time for $300-$500, but those aren't gonna last forever either...my biggest problem is finding trailers that are light weight (empty). Most are over 300 lbs, and the weight just goes up from there. That takes up 1/3 of the car's towing limit. Even the 4' X 8' HF trailers would end up being 300+ lbs once the wheel chock and aluminum channel are installed. Not everybody has a pickup to haul trailers around. I even looked into having a trailer/welding shop build me a Trailer in a Bag copy, but even that is cost prohibitive. This search has become more complicated than I ever imagined...
I'd be sure to clean out the pig snot and repack the bearings with some decent grease I were buying one.
A plywood deck would add even more weight, and I'd still have to install the wheel chock, and then the channel has to go on. I don't know why it would torque when loading/unloading a motorcycle. All of the push is straight forward and back down the middle of the trailer. I could see it if loading/unloading a lawn mower, or an ATV, but not a bike. A 450 lb bike isn't going to tax one of these trailers much...then there's the fact I'd have to remove the chock and channel every time the deck needs replacing...
The first thing I do with any and every trailer, I remove the bearings, buy new, good quality ones, and pack them with syn grease....
I get 5 to 10 years out of the deck. I don't think it's a big deal. It's the cheapness that I'm after.
Good luck with that one... that does argue against the HF one, I'm not sure if "cheap" bearings exist for them, and I'm not sure if any of them are good. That might push you up a size in order to get quality.
Better quality bearings can be had at any automotive store, and they are a common size. The ones I put on my Trailer in a Bag lasted the entire time I had the trailer (over 10 years). I should also mention that installing the wheel chock and channel is like adding a spine to the trailer frame. It will add strength to the frame...more than adding a sheet of plywood would...
Great tips. People don’t RTFM to learn the bearings have to be repacked. And mine were 25mm, just slightly different from 1” and most auto parts stores only stock 1”.
Also add a ground wire rather than use frame.
