I bought my HF trailer used, over 7 years ago. I have hauled the max weight on several trips, when I moved 7+ years ago. Mine has held up great and it is so light I can pull it with my Elantra with no problems. ( Elantra has 1500 pound tow limit ) I bought mine used and assembled with plywood base and sides for $300 when new mesh style 4x6' trailers were $650 at Lowes. I had to haul a V Star motorcycle across town once when it broke and the flip down ramp of the Lowes one would have been nice, other than that, this trailer has been great for all these years. My plywood base is rotting so it will need replacement in a year or so. ( kept outside in the weather ) The metal ones probably last longer but right now in 2022 this HF one is 550 and the Lowes one is 950. Figure $50 for 1/2 inch plywood so 600 vs 950 and the 950 Lowes one is only 4x6 where the HF one is the full 4x8'.
I have one of these and love it. Tows great. Actually heavier capacity than what I need; probably could have gone with the 1170 # one but was planning on future use. I used bedliner on the decking. The one thing that I would like to suggest is GET RID OF those NyLok nuts. Get real nuts & back with flat & lock washers and bolts on the English system.; easier to find & replace than metric. Also, get heavier L-brackets for the taillights. They bend easily. IF you have the ability to do it, weld the pieces together. Future add-ons/mods will be to extend the tongue, widen the width 1 ft (6 in each side using 2 X 4s), 2 X 4-6-8 the decking, add a fold down ramp, and maybe add a hydraulic lift to the tilt bed.
Thanks for the long term review, very helpful. As someone elae mentioned, it on sale for 349 with coupon now(mar3 2019). Ive been trying to get the smaller one for the lower weight, but they are always out of stock, and i got lucky with the coupon and timing for the 1720 one. For anyone curious, i weighed everything, tires,nuts bolts, frame, etc., and it weighs 251 pounds, waaay lighter than the hb website says...
Nice video, I have the same trailer now about 6 or 7 years old. I have a little hatch back, It was cheaper to buy the new trailer than to rent a U-Haul trailer for a 1400 Mile move, and I have owned it all these years. Like you said cheaper than owning a Pick up truck. I have a Cargo van and a suburban but long drives with my hatch back and trailer are a cheap way to save on gas. I have a 1" Plywood deck that I think ties it together stronger than 1/2". I added 4x8 1/2 Plywood around the outside of the deck 4x8, Built an enclosed cargo box with a hinged back door that locked. under $500. with the plywood and a spare tire that I just first used after maybe 10,000. Miles ? I drove over 200 miles to pick up an old Sears SS 16 Riding Tractor/Mower in the snow, returning through open farm land late at night dark, snowing and had a flat at 60 mph. Luckily I had the spare ! Great Deal !
The tire on the tongue also provides tongue weight for improved handling. My dad towed a trailer from Missouri to California while my brother and I drove the moving van. Somewhere in Texas he commented on his trailer being loaded too heavy at the back, but he had the entire load shrink wrapped, so distributing the heavy items to the front was not possible. We took the spare from the car and duct taped the heck out of it onto the A-frame in front and the problem went away. Kinda seemed like a hair brained idea, but they agreed to try it just for spits and giggles and it was a success. He was amazed at the difference it made. So was I, tbh. Lucky to have seen a RU-vid video about tongue weight shortly before the trip.
This video (I'm betting the one you saw) shows how front loading the heavy stuff is critical for stability: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qEHD9Wjw3lk.html
I just got mine finished a few weeks ago. I'm moving just across town in a very small town but I'll find lots of uses for it after that job is finished. Mine designed to fold and I "just knew" I'd never need that but all the pieces were there so I built them in. And what's happened, I keep finding times or places I want to fold it and I find it's well worth the time/ effort to do it. I agree about the fenders and lights - even after just a few weeks of use. I did as another commenter said and used grade 10 bolts with proper washers and lock nuts. I don't know if it will really be worth it but it gives me peace of mind. I whipped a motorcycle tie--down from corner to corner and trued it up to square before I put the plywood deck on. It's straight as an arrow now. Have you had any trouble with tires? I don't expect to carry any heavier loads than you do on the highway (and probably no more than that at the heaviest around town) but the tires look small and thin to me. Have you had to go up a size - and is that even possible? Thanks for the video, it's really useful! BH
Great review. Just a comment to anyone else who reads this. This is the 3rd or 4th time I've heard warning about the fenders. Definitely something I'm going to look a securing them better before I get to really using my trailer.
My small one had both fenders fall off on a trip to Alaska from Chicago. I ended up at a steel fab shop in Anchorage make 1/4" steel plates that mount to the frame and then I mounted the fenders to that. Has latest forever since then. it's the mounts themselves that are worthless.
That plastic "dust cap" is absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about! That is genius and worth the watch! I was going to buy one on sale, but HF didn't have one within two hours of my location, so I bought a used 12' trailer for about a hundred dollars less! But I would still like to have one of these because of lite use that doesn't require my bigger heavier trailer. Now these trailers have gone up nearly another hundred dollars, but then again, everything has gone up in '21!
I have well over 10,000 miles on my trailer. Last summer a bearing seized and made the tire blow which then ground the rim down. I always way over load the trailer so all that heat sent the rim sparking across two lanes of traffic on rte76 into the divider and straight up in the air with a tail of sparks. Ti make a long story short I was able to get it home by taking another axle from a welding trailer I was building and replacing the 1,500 pound axle on the trailer. Later I replaced the axle with a 4,500 pound axle and it was the best thing I ever did for it. I wil be closing the c channel off with welded steel to strengthen the tongue and front frame of the trailer.
Just picked up one of these with a $349.00 super coupon this morning. Went together pretty easy really, about 4 hours. Right on about the fenders, I could not believe the little tiny piece welded at the folds. I welded up mine good before I put them and welded the tail light brackets also. Will be putting a deck on it tomorrow.
Once you have had a chance to pull the trailer at hightway speeds loaded and unloaded can you post on how it pulls? I’m wondering if speeds of 65-70 are possible understanding the posted recommendation on the trailer itself. I would looking to trailer an 800-900 LB ATV on it. Thanks!
I just bought this trailer , not finished building it yet , and have read all the reviews and watched the videos. I also have a Honda CRV to pull it and wasn't sure how it will do > I appreciate this video to see how it will be after a few years. great report !
I picked up an old trailer to fix up for use, but after seeing what I can get from Harbor freight, the cost of materials is equivalent to the cost of the HF model! Good to know that it is a decent piece.
Thank you very much for taking the time to put this together. We've been looking at the Harbor Freight trailers to tow behind our Forester and this video sold me! By the way, you're one of the luckiest people alive to live in that spectacular landscape! Wow, thanks for that little teaser at the end!
Like I said in the video, it isn't a perfect trailer, but for money it is a great trailer and has served me very well for many years. I hope yours will do the same.
good follow up video ive owned a lot of different trailers and one helpful thing i came up for pulling low / flat trailers you cant see behind the tow vehicle is i glue a pvc t onto a 1/2” pvc pipe and using the t i zip tie it to the trailer in a manner that allows you to stand the pipe up vertically or lay it down by doing that with the pipe stood up you can see the orientation of the trailer in your rear view mirror to avoid jack knifing one thing to keep in mind is many of my trailers were boat trailers and often you have to back them down a ramp to load the boat onto why i use that zip tie system as a hinge of sort was that if your boat has a operator that can drive it onto the trailer they can simply drive into the pvc and go right over it without any damage to the hull plus’s the zip ties DONT rust and are cheap just like the pvc parts i agree with your thoughts on the H F trailer its a pretty decent value for the price btw a good upgrade is the put bigger tires on to lower wear and tear on the hubs and bearings for highway pulling ive always done that on personal watercraft trailers that come with the smaller rims and tires
Thanks so much for making this video! I was afraid that inexpensive meant cheap, but you have convinced me that this is a good trailer. Thanks for saving me money and time!
Harbor Freight has one for 259.99 with coupon... I really need a trailer, and I came here looking to see if he had how he put the wood on or how to build up sides on one.
Thanks R.J. for providing this very informative video. This, along with ones (also "liked") others folks have posted have convinced me that this trailer will serve my needs quite well.
It’s not a pivot or tilt trailer. It’s for folding the trailer to the smallest size possible. The deck folds in half and the tongue arms fold down to allow it to fit in a standard garage. When folded, it rolls around on the casters very easily.
No, you are incorrect. They have models now that fold in half for storage. This trailer does not do that, and was never designed for that. The tongue of this trailer has a pivot point and pins to tilt it. And it was advertised that way. Thanks for the comment, but you are incorrect.
I have a commercially built teardrop, and they are the greatest thing. Ours has been across the US at least 3 times now. Good luck on the build. I'll checkout the channel. R.J.
I would like one but I fear the 12 inch tires...which seem to be rated for 45mph. Are those the 12 inch tires that it comes with? Do you travel at highway speeds?
I have a 1997 Honda CR-V, have the same trailer disassembled and just mounted a trailer hitch that is 15" from the floor to the center of the opening where the other part of the ball hitch will slide into. To haul this trailer as level as I can, what should the height of the tip of the tongue be from the floor? Hope that makes sense. Thank you for sharing your video. Cheers
Hi R.J. I just purchased one and was surprised to see that they don't recommend going over 45 MPH. But, the tires might be rated up to 80 MPH. Do you limit to 45 MPH or regularly go above that? Ever hear of any issues?
Just curious if that axle is the same axle you can get from TSC. 5x4.5 bolt pattern. I'm wanting to buy this one here after I get a different project finished, but make it into more of an on/off road trailer, ie different tires for more ground clearance and perhaps another axle.
I know this is and older review but all the same still now. Thanks. I have the 1200lb folding model and has been faithful for the past 10 years. I am now going to purchase a second to build a Teardrop on..
I started to assemble mine today. A couple of holes are missing and some parts are already corroded with paint peeling off. Not impressed at all. Oh, and bolts are missing.
What size wheels/tires are you running? Those don’t appear to be the 12” set up that typically comes on those trailers? Thanks and great long term review!!
@@r.j.sworkshop7883 seriously? They look bigger that the tiny 12 inch tires that come with the trailer. Did it come with the 5 lug or did you switch to them?
I'm planning on hauling a 700 pound Harley-Davidson through Canada from Alaska to Texas. This is about a 4000 mile trip. Much of the trip will likely be at 60-70mph. Would you recommend this trailer for a trip like that?
Would this trailer be good for a small landscaping operation? Loading and unloading a mower/snowblower a lot of times, or do you think that would become a pain with this trailer?
The trailer is more than capable of handling the loads, but if I were loading and unloading a mower or blower I would look at a trailer with a lower profile with a ramp/gate built in.
@@r.j.sworkshop7883 Thanks for the tip! I have to se how much more a trailer like that would end up costing me. I do have the loading ramps (from harbor freight actually) because I currently load into my pickup truck. I wonder if I can just use those ramps with this trailer or if that would be dumb. Do you know of any trailer models like the one you suggested?
I do not understand - how could you drive 65 MPH on highway on these tires? There are only rated for 45/55 MAX. Is it possible that your older trailer model came with better tires? I checked on HF everybody complain about this issue - not highway rated tires on all HF trailers (including heavy duty and super heavy duty).
Apparently some of the older models actually come with smaller 8" wheel. The rating on the new tires is 55mph but you could always add bigger tires to the trailer and modify the fenders. Your best bet is probably to build the trailer and use it for a bit and then when you have some use out if it swap the 12" tires out for some 15" tires rated for faster speeds.
I can't comment on the tilt feature since mine doesn't work correctly, and I never use it. But unless your mower is very narrow, this trailer is exactly 48" between the fenders. Good luck.
A lot of videos recommend replacing the grease that is supplied by HF, as it's a rust preventative shipping grease, and not a proper high speed high temp grease. Also that they don't pack them properly. Did you repack these bearings? I'm about to buy one and take it on a cross country camping trip, fairly lightly loaded.
I have repacked the bearings, but no I did not repack them before the first trip. Which was 1500 miles. And of course, this was 8-10 years ago, so take a close look at what you have. Many things may have changed over the years. Good luck.
I kind of want to buy one of these to haul a kayak. After reading questions and reveiws everything says its only rated to go 45 MPH. Its making me apprehensive about getting one as i would be driving 60-70 MPH. Would you say this trailer, as it comes stock, would handle those speeds?
Yes, Harbor Freight states not to drive the trailer over 45 mph. I will say that the trailer is stable and tows very nicely, but I would not drive it 70 mph, or even close to that. Good luck with your trailer search. R.J.
The 4 lug one is rated to 45. The five lug as he has is equipped with tires rated to 89 mph and are DOT rated. I have had this trailer for a year now with a trip from Michigan to Arizona and back hauling a motorcycle and tools, about 1200#'s. Did the speed limit the entire trip hitting above 70 many times with no difficulty at all. I did brace the fenders much better but I have had no problems with it at all. It goes up north with me often, about a 350 mile round trip again at highway speeds and have never had a problem.
I bought mine (2000# model with 5x12 wheels) in 2016 before the hiatus on sales. At that time I noted that HF sold 12" tires with 2 different speed ratings, so it was important to check. I put a teardrop trailer on mine and I have put 25K miles on it since 2017. I have traveled at 75-80mph for hours with no problems. The tires do wear out quickly; I'm on my third set. I also change the bearings every 5000 miles just to be safe.
Wouldnt be my first choice for a 17' kayak. Probably imbalanced with zero or negative tongue weight. I've thought about using this for general boating gear for inflatable kayaks (deflated), equivalent to general gear hauling
R.J.'s workshop My main issue is my local store (3) of them have a display model but none I stock and they don’t know when they will be back in stock ! I really need one. Any info on how to get one online ?? It only says store only !!!
Thanks for watching, but for what I paid for this, which was not the retail price, there was absolutely no way I could buy a used 5x8. I have access to a 5x8 that I use regularly and other than loading lawnmowers the HF is way more convenient. Plus the "bad tires" have outlasted every other small tire that I own. The trailer has been a great value and I use it all of the time.
I've seen several used 5x8 trailers lately in the 350 to 500 range. However they all looked like they were rode hard and put away wet. By time you replace bearings and tires you still have a 5x8 welded frame trailer over a 4x8 bolted frame trailer. Assuming the bones are good on the used 5x8 I'm not sure which is the wiser option.
@@RedfishInc Depends on the user. I just got rid of a 5x10 as I didn't use it that much, It5 was heavy and a pain to move by myself when needed. I just bought one of these HF ones and for anything I'll ever need going forward, it's perfect.
I built a 5x10x8 feet tall. weight 1750 and roll it to tuba city 435 miles one-way fro LA. 870 miles round trip. and no problems. check out my trader build on my page
