New HF trailer!!

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Finally got my trailer, been wanting one for awhile now and the stars finally aligned and put me in a position to get one. After SEVERAL failed leads on good deals I broke down and got a harbor freight one. It's pretty small, small wheels, about half ton tow capacity, but should be more than I need.

Ordered this last Tuesday, so it took 8 days to get here from California. All told it was right about $150 after the 25% off coupon.

Pics!

Everything laid out fresh from the 2 boxes it came in
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Assembly took about 4 hours, still need to do a couple little things and put a deck on it but I'm gonna expand on it soon and make it a couple foot longer. Should be really easy! Could even go wider.
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The bolt pattern is 4x100, but the centerbore is about 1/16" too big for an aspire wheel. I'll probably try to get my hands on a couple aspire space savers and grind the centerbore big enough to make it work with some decent size tires. That's the only difference between this one and the one rated for a lot more, 8" vs 12" wheels.
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I took it out for a quick 15 minute cruise. Had it up to 60, checked the bearings and everything feels good. Just a little noise coming from the receiver. I need to shim it or something the rattles get annoying.

Gotta get a drop hitch for the festy lol, it's only about a foot and a half too tall, my aspire is lowered!!! Bigger tires will help!



Might as well throw these in here lol, did some bird watching at work today..

[Gomez]

Drill and tap the side of the receiver part of the hitch for a 1/2" bolt then when you slide the ball into it just thread the bolt in and tighten. Works perfectly. You could even use a jam nut is you so desire to hold it in place.

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Yea sweet, didn't even think about a set screw.

[rmoltis]

That's neat!!

Even though its from harbor freight.
Let us know how it holds up.

id love to have one if I had a place to store it when not in use.

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^ did you see father johns at Ohiosteva? It's the same one. He gave me some pointers for setting it up, keep the taillights in front of the back beam and you can put rollers on the bottom easy. Stand it up against a wall somewhere haha it's not that big. Be said he's been dragging it across states for awhile now and the bearings need repacked but it's still rolling good.

Don't underestimate harbor freight lol, some of their stuff is total trash but they have good warranties. As long as you don't expect too much from too little it's a good deal. Stuff like drills and grinders that get beat around a lot won't last long, I've been using a blue palm sander for the better part of 3 years.

[TominMO]

I've been thinking of getting that trailer too, but with the 12" wheels simply for a slower bearing speed. (Those are the 8" wheels, right?) Also the taller wheels will make it a bit more stable.

Strongly recommend you spray the whole trailer with Rustoleum paint (red for frame, black for fenders e.g.), since the cheap Chinese paint will quickly come off. When I buy mine, I will spray it thoroughly before assembly.

[rmoltis]

^ did you see father johns at Ohiosteva? It's the same one. He gave me some pointers for setting it up, keep the taillights in front of the back beam and you can put rollers on the bottom easy. Stand it up against a wall somewhere haha it's not that big. Be said he's been dragging it across states for awhile now and the bearings need repacked but it's still rolling good.

Don't underestimate harbor freight lol, some of their stuff is total trash but they have good warranties. As long as you don't expect too much from too little it's a good deal. Stuff like drills and grinders that get beat around a lot won't last long, I've been using a blue palm sander for the better part of 3 years.

I've only bought one item from harbor freight (vacuum gauge kit)
But I've just heard a lot of horror stories.

Even so it looks like a good deal for a trailer for an aspire/festiva.
If I ever move back to Washington state I might get one for the move.
I've always wanted a trailer.

[bhazard]

I had the opposite situation. They were on sale and I got the biggest one. After adding rails, floor, and then painting everything with bed coating, I was way above the price that many other nice trailers were coming up for sale for on craigslist.

[scitzz]

I've only bought one item from harbor freight (vacuum gauge kit)
But I've just heard a lot of horror stories.

Even so it looks like a good deal for a trailer for an aspire/festiva.
If I ever move back to Washington state I might get one for the move.
I've always wanted a trailer.

Do you recall that ugly trailer I was dragon at Madness? It is a HF trailer. That thing has WORKED hard for me for a few years now. I regularly throw more at it than it is rated for.

You really do have to learn what to buy, and what not to buy at HF. One example, the earthquake line is pretty decent at the price, but is usually close competitors stuff in price and quality. Usually just enough cheaper to make you choose them, and the ones I have bought have taken a good beating.

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I had the opposite situation. They were on sale and I got the biggest one. After adding rails, floor, and then painting everything with bed coating, I was way above the price that many other nice trailers were coming up for sale for on craigslist.

Yea that's why I didn't want to make one from scratch, like everyone was telling me to do. By the time your done you'll have 4-600 in it and you can go buy a shiny new one for that, with a ramp!

Cheap easy effective I'll take it! Really it's getting extended longer and bigger rims and tires in the very near future and if it ends up costing more than the cost of mounting and balancing tires I'll be surprised. We have some angle sitting n the scrap pile at work so I'm gonna talk to my boss about that today.

I'm really tempted to use a couple rims flipped around inside out so I can just run a normal 13" tire.... And it will match the poked look with my festy lol..

[TominMO]

Here is the Northern Tool equivalent of the HF trailer. With 12" tires. Slightly better, in that it has a galvanized hitch and other fastener pieces. Nylock nuts too.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200612543_200612543

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Haha identical in every way, down to the pre drilled bolt holes as far as I can tell! I'm pretty sure the harbor freight hitch and hardware is galvanized.

+ the northern tool one is an extra hundred dollar bill.

[TominMO]

Haha identical in every way, down to the pre drilled bolt holes as far as I can tell! I'm pretty sure the harbor freight hitch and hardware is galvanized.

+ the northern tool one is an extra hundred dollar bill.

Oops, looks like you're right on the galvanized stuff. Just went to the HF site to check. They list it at $219 BTW. Don't know what discounts apply at Northern, but anyway the HF unit seems the better deal. Still recommend painting or at least clearcoating the painted surfaces, preferably before assembly.

Edit: also recommend moving the lights back a few inches (drill one hole each side), so they are protected by the back of the frame. Lets you stand the trailer on end easily.

[Eaglefreek]

I bought a 4x8 HF trailer back in '08. I've put a lot of miles on it towing my dirt bike. It's been to Colorado twice, Utah, Nevada and Florida. I repack the bearings once a rear and had to paint the frame because the paint faded to a nice pink. I've had zero issues with it.

[TominMO]

Nice pics! Looks good on both cars.