Harbor Freight Trailer?? JUNK or NOT??? 

this trailer is still outperforming what i thought it ever would. i will be doing a new video to catch up on thoughts of it from the last year and a half of use. Here is another video I think you might like. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1bZX1CfCVZ0.html

I've bought one of these 14 years ago. I've used it to haul everything from firewood, motorcycles, construction haul-off, you name it. In 14 years I've replaced the tires once (about a year ago) and the lights twice. I've seen mention of the 45mph "speed limit". This is bunk. I've towed it hundreds of miles on the freeway while loaded to it's capacity. I've never blown a tire, cooked a wheel bearing, or had any other issues related to driving at highway speed. I do maintain my stuff. I repack the wheels annually and check tire pressure whenever it's going to be loaded. I have 3 issues with this trailer. 1. the fit of the hitch over a trailer hitch ball has always been REALLY tight. Tight to the point that it's difficult to get the trailer off the ball. I've resorted to leaving a 2" receiver mounted ball on the trailer. 2. when running empty, the trailer rattles, a lot. However, loaded it pulls great. 3. After 14 years the paint is flaking off and it's getting some real rust on the bottom. That said, its always been kept outside. It's never spent a night in the garage. if you are considering a trailer of this size, I wouldn't hesitate to purchase another one. Yes, you have to put it together and the instructions suck, but for the money, no trailer on the market can touch it!

I bought and assembled this trailer several years ago. You're absolutely right about the instructions being useless but it's not that big of a deal for anyone mechanically inclined. The hardest part is keeping the frame square during assembly. Personally, after bolting it together, I also welded mine. I also disassembled the hubs, cleaned out all of the o.e.m. grease in my parts washer and used a brand name, waterproof grease to repack them. I also bolted and welded on a sheet of 1/8" steel diamond plate for the floor and made fender brackets from angle iron. My reasoning behind the steel floor is that I wanted to mount my generator, mig welder, torch set and their various accessories to the trailer permanently AND use it as a portable welding table when needed. I take this setup to the race track inside my car trailer and pull it around the pits with my 4 wheeler. I also use it around the house and shop this way. These trailers do have their faults, but they're easily overcome and they just lend themselves to modifications by the owner. For the price, you really can't beat them.

My cousin got little side business going on in Wisconsin. He cleans pools and cuts grass. He bought a old Ford Ranger and I bought him this trailer for the riding mower. He seems happy with it. And it keeps his business up and running.

I bought one of these 20 years ago, never had a problem with it and I guess they made them better back then since I never had to drill any holes for mine. It's a great light duty trailer. Nice video Mate.

Just bought one this morning, the 1750# one. Had no problems at all putting it together, took about 3 hours. Seems pretty good, need to deck it now. Nice LED tail lights also.

Great kit .i shorten the frame length and made a trailer to pull camping stuff behind my Harley ............love it

I built the same trailer, first I bolted everything together and then welded ALL of the Horizontal lines. I had all of the correct pieces working for me. I also upgraded the wheel package from Walmart and bought the 13" 5 lug, I found the tongue pieces insufficient for my use so I wrapped them in ⅛" Angel iron everything fit just a bit snugly, I had no problem registering the trailer either, I had read on the Harbor Freight site about issues, well they had forgotten to get the trailer weight before going to the DMV. All in all I am very pleased with the trailer...

Make sure to get the 1800 pound version. Get the side wall kit, too. I hauled my entire household to Las Vegas with this trailer. Owned it for 20 years. Best trailer ever.

I had to assemble one of these for my folks about five years ago. I had the fortune of getting a proper set without any mixed up pieces. (Given how similar they look to each other, it doesn't surprise me much that they got mixed up in packaging anyhow.) They're great little trailers once you get them assembled. My folks have been using theirs ever since I assembled it, and let me tell you they've abused the hell out of the poor thing, but it's still holding up like a champ. The only issue we had was that some jerk backed their car into the trailer and smashed the tail lights. Not once, but twice! So I wound up having to replace them. Fortunately, the newer LED sets (ours had the incandescent lamps when we bought it) fit perfectly where the originals went, and the trailer looks even better for that.

The deal is - if it isn't right it. Then you have the right parts and nothing to complain about. My HF trailer is on its 2nd Floor and new sides and a total work horse after 10yrs. use.

Bought one of these and built it into a covered trailer to haul my belonging from the Michigan to Alaska. It held up the whole way with no problems. Will probably buy another and turn it into a teardrop camper.

I have the same exact trailer. Overall, solid review, but some of your cross members are upside down and I'm willing to bet your side may be flipped as well. That would explain the need to drill holes. The only holes I had to drill were to make sure the wiring and lights are properly grounded. Great trailer for the small garage. Mine folds and is still super solid. And yes, the instructions are an unmitigated disaster.

Thanks for sharing. Suggestion: A thin nylon kitchen cutting board 1/4"thick.. cut two six inch long strips the same width as the frame rails. Use these as wear shims between the slipper portion of the leaf springs and the frame rails. Doing this will minimise the wear on the springs and the trailer frame. Stainless steel pop rivets or countersunk metal screws are ideal for fastening the shims to the frame. When wear to the shims gets bad..install new shims... cheaper than spring and/or framerail repair/replacement. Best to you and yours.

You could not have been more honest. Been thinking about getting this trailer to haul my riding mower to the shop. I really appreciated your video. Old man from Louisiana.

Great job. I'm glad I got the non-foldable HAUL-MASTER 1980 Lb. Capacity 48 In. X 96 In. Super Duty Trailer, for only $40 more, at the time. I have hauled lumber, stoves, refrigerators, washer & dryer combos, furniture, boats, canoes, garden tractors, a Honda Goldwing Interstate full dresser and even 1 ton of gravel. Now the largest HAUL-MASTER trailer is only 1720 Lb. Capacity because it is Folding.

I got 27 years out of my first 4 x 8 trailer...and it is still going.

I'm thinking bearing buddy's for grease. Love the idea of only going finger tight with bolts until all together. I plan to use the folding feature, but either way, it's a good idea.

I bought one earlier this year to haul stuff from our home in Commiefornia to Utah...I got the larger model to hold more weight and to eventually use it for other projects. Yes, the instructions are horrible, having to switch parts during the build. In regards to the grease, my hubs came with not Cosmoline, but actual blue waterproof grease. But that trailer is great. First trip, was during winter, so I didn't want to haul it through 80 over into Reno, so I drove the long way down to Vegas from the Bay Area, then up 15. At times cruising comfortably at 65mph being passed by Semi's. But it hauled great. Second trip was through 80 and again flawless. No issues with the tires giving out or the weight it hauled (roughly 1k # each trip. It is a little small (4x8) but served what I needed it to do.

Dan, The "WARNING" about cleaning the Cosmoline out of the bearings and re-packing them with hi temperature wheel bearing grease IS in the instruction manual, IF ... someone bothers to read them. Some guys chose to just assemble from the pictures on the "exploded" diagram, which can cause the bearings to "EXPLODE"... ! Well ... the bearings shouldn't rust anyway.

For the leaf springs, what about drilling a hole through the frames spring seat and add some standard plastic leaf spring spacers to both sides (eg: Dorman 924-070). The spacers are ~1/8" thick so kind of depends on what the clearance is between the frame and frame seat.

I've had 3 of these, got 2 for free, 1 for $50. All online, sold the first two and just did the deck, sides and lights on #3. Perfect little hauler.

I have had mine for about 16 years. A great option for a light utility trailer. Reasonably light weight for pushing around the yard by hand.

I've had my 1190 Harbor Freight trailer for 10 years! Moved several people with appliances! hauled logs for a guy with a mill till he got one! Just hauled almost 1500 pounds of free flooring and shop equipment from Phoenix to southwest Arkansas! Only two modifications were new tires and an "anti-sway" kit, also from Harbor Freight! Had no problems doing the 80 mph through Texas!

I bought the light duty one about 2 months ago, just now getting around to assembling it today. Honestly besides the instructions being a bit iffy on a couple quickly fixed things it went together really easily... But now it's sitting in my shed, wheels up 95% assembled and it says to flip it back over onto it's wheels..... Yeah guess I should have realized seeing it was upside down it would have to be flipped. So now got to wait till the Uncle gets home from work to help me flip it, there's barely enough room in my shed to assemble it let alone have a single person attempt to flip it over.

I bought one about 6 years ago to haul my Honda 350x, have also hauled other things as well. I painted it black with 3/4 inch oak plywood deck, stained and clear coated, built a box to go inside the hitch. I now have two 350x on it all the time, love the trailer. The whole thing sits in storage unless I'm pulling it.

I have one of those trailer plus a boat trailer, assembly was easy and trailers are about 20 plus year old still looks like when I assemble the trailer. Use either trailers almost every weekly. My neighbor had a back yard fire trailer got a tailight damage and a tire burned. And a little damage to part of frame other then that doing fine.

Built one ten yrs. ago ended up selling it with my atv,the damn thing was great,tracked behind the van perfectly,while my buddies fancy store bought aluminum trailer would swing back and forth behind his truck,just assemble on a nice flat surface and use a square,I never had to drill any holes in the one I bought,and if your gonna check for it being square make the damn thing square or dont bother.

I have had 2 of these trailers now and had no issues with missing/wrong parts.

I bought mine in 1999, hauled everything from appliances, Motorcycles, I have no idea how many miles on the trailer, guessing 100K plus. Got lazy on maintenance, two runs back lost both wheel bearings, bought a kit, went to 12" tires, back in business, this may be my best life purchase ever! BTW, if you go to 12" tires, raise the fender mounting bracket, otherwise if heavily loaded the bolt heads will tear up the tires... I have abused mine like no other tool or equipment I own, never complains, also I have never used the folding feature, just a solid 4 X 8 3/4" plywood floor which has been replaced several times.

I have had the 1750# for 2 years now. Wasn't too bad putting together. I did brace the fenders as not to lose them, ran the wiring through grommets in the holes under the 3/4" plywood deck I put on. I have abused this thing to no end. I use it in the winter to haul my bags of salt and equipment for snow removal and all summer hauling shit. Motorcycles, dirt, landscape shit, etc. As far as highway driving it went to Arizona and back from Michigan hauling my Harley and tools doing the speed limit without a problem, have had zero problems except for one...the LED license plate light went out in the first week. For the money you can't beat this trailer.

@ 8:30 you talk about rubbing and wear of the leaf springs metal to metal... that is why I keep pieces of old tie down straps. Anything that I have that’s metal to metal like that I cut and bolt/rivet/glue a piece of the strap between the metal. It stops all of the metal to metal squeaking also.

I'm guessing the drilling issue is an a to a b to b issue. I've ran into that with two parts look the same one being like an e and then a g and I'd put the two Es together and later realize it and have to take everything apart.

The only maintenance I've had to do to this trailer is the side rails and the wiring which is normal for any trailer. It has been a very reliable trailer and the hardest part about owning it is making sure it doesn't get stolen. The box was missing a couple of pieces but harbor freight made good on them and I got it up and running very quickly. The instructions? Well I didn't look at them long enough. I just glanced at the pictures when I got stuck. I think I paid like 350 for it about 6 years ago.

good honest review! i built one earlier this year and i felt the same. mine was missing the trailer tongue and the i also opened up the same hole you at the carriage bolt hole

I bought the 1750 lb rated trailer a few years ago. Assembly went fine until I got to the axle. The flat spot on the welded-on mounting points weren't in the same plane. Rotating the axle slightly didn't solve the problem. I contacted Harbor Freight and told them my problem. The local store told me to contact Customer Service in Camarillo. I did, and they sent me a new axle. It wasn't going to arrive for 4-6 weeks, so I called the local store again to complain. They opened up a new trailer box, and said "Here's an axle. Happy ?" Yes, I was. Then I installed it. The original one was round, with welded-on mounting points, the replacement was square with welded-on mounting points. Hey, great. Problem solved. Uh - not so fast. When I got to the bearings. the exposed shafts were too long at both ends to get the bearing covers fully "on" - the threaded area didn't go back far enough toward the center to seat the bearing in the race properly. I've been using it locally until I can change out the axle for the extra one I have. Either that, or I'll have to thread both axles further into the bearing area, and then cut about a quarter inch off each axle end's threaded area.

I made my 1100 lb one into a snowmobile trailer and bought new tires after 18 years plus add paint and grease every 3 years. It's been a great trailer after 22 years and good as new.

Hi, just caught your video, and you were wondering about the springs wearing away I'd be more worried about the frame wearing and was thinking that if you got 2 thin sheets of nylon you could make a pad to fit in between the chassis and the spring so you'd have 2 sheets of nylon rubbing instead of metal to metal, probably be a few £££ to source and fit but gotta be worthwhile?

Thanks for all the great information. Answered a lot of the questions i had.

I've got this trailer too. Damn good review and really well spoken. You could have your own DIY show. But don't forget your safety glasses! Funny story - this trailer is so low, some vehicles (like a pick up truck) may not see it after stopping at a red light. This happened to me, and the pick-up driver plowed into the back of my trailer. Some damage, and I ended up replacing the rear channel beam with a 2x6. Also, I added a 3 more 2x6" with tapered ends as additional cross members because it didn't look like it could hold it's capacity (1200 lbs). This trailer is great for everything, including a stack of drywall or plywood. Also, I ended up add red reflectors mounted on fibre glass rods that project upwards about 3 feet. They are mounted in 2x4 mini blocks that go into the exterior slots for fencing. These reflectors remind any vehicles that there is a trailer there!

Nice video. Thanks for putting in the time and effort to produce this! A couple of thoughts from someone who has owned one for a long time... Since yours is already done, this may help others 1. The paint job is not great, so before you assemble, lay out the part and paint with some rustoleum. Focus on the parts inside/underneath in particular. You will have to do it sooner or later, and its much easier doing it before assembly. I've heard some spray undercoating under the deck before flipping, which is a nice idea, too. 2. Use pressure treated plywood. It lasts much longer 3. Where you mounted the anchor points, drill a drain hole so all the way through, so it doesn't hold water and rot the deck faster. (You probably did this, just didn't notice) 4. Bearing Buddies aren't necessary, but are very nice to have. You shouldn't ever need to mess with the bearings if you use them. Mine probably has 30,000 miles on the original bearings with no issues. 5. Better tires! The 5.70-8 size tires are a great option initially, or when you eventually replace the rubber. They cost about the same on Walmart.com, are a little wider, don't wobble under heavy weight (I load mine like a madman) and of course have a higher load capacity. After upgrading to these, I would never go back to the skinny ones. This is a big upgrade, in my opinion. No more sweating as you pull two 4-wheelers! I hope this helps someone. Also, I would love to see your ramp brackets! Thanks again.

Had mine for years. I still use it as my "pickup truck" as I don't own a pickup truck. It's been an awesome little trailer and haven't had any trouble with it. I love the ability for me to fold it up against the wall so I don't have to store a full laid out trailer somewhere.

Some times you can check and see if you have the Fram turned the right way. If one or more of your holes are not there check and see if you have part of the frame upside down of backwards.

I bought one over 10 years ago and I love it. The biggest headache I had was with my local tax department valuation of $2000. Absurd.

what i am working on for my 4x8 trailer that i have just like yours is trying to find 15 inch wheels that will fit the axle so i can buy some used tires to throw on them as well. That will help the trailer track a lot better and not sway as much as well as lift it up just a little bit because mine sits at an angle tilted backwards.

One could use stair nose ( from carpet department ) around the perimeter of the plywood. Seal the bottom with something. I used Flex seal. I just dumped a gallon of it and spread it around. Its great stuff but expensive...$88.00/ gal. You could also seal the top then use outdoor carpet to cover. More $$$ but it would look gret.

That Spring "U" shape sound at 8:17 😆 classic!!!

Well done. I see you outlined some of my same concerns. Thanks for doing this so completely.

I would put 2x4 below plywood deck where the tiedown loops are fastened. Span them between frame rails front to back. Or just use etrack for everything. A strip across front and back and down each side. bolt them through the frame too.

In almost Aug 2021, this trailer now goes for $550. Gets to be about the price of getting a completed one from Tractor Supply. Home Depot 3/4" Exterior Pressure Treated Plywood - sit down for this one - $83!!!

The part of the leaf spring that slides back and forth on the frame what's good to do drill a hole through there and put a grease fitting in there at least you got a little bit of grease that cuts down on the wear.

What I did to the rear spring was put a 1/4 inch thick flat plate there and then every 3rd pull it dose not take 5 minutes to jack it up and put some grease there with your finger. I have two of them and do these all the time one is 40 years old the other is 20 years old.

Interesting I purchased mine in 2001 I used 1/2 pressure treated plywood and it lives out side, I did a refurb in 2010 were i cleaned it up new tires new plywood new lights and paint , needless to say its time for another refurb its has not lived an easy life but its was a great investment

Noticed you did the same thing I did, put the coupler on and forgot to run the safety chain lol. Glad I wasn't the only one....

The slipper end of the spring is only loosely held against the frame. This means when driving with the trailer unloaded, an unholy racket comes from the slipper slapping the frame. Everybody will look at you. I put a bit of pvc pipe in there to act a bit like a cushion and taking up some of the slop. It helped... I have to question the hub grease. If you fill with grease that is not compatible, you can have problems. When I built mine I cleared out the old grease as best I could, and refilled the hub with standard lithium complex grease.

I added the spacers so the plywood would sit level. Also, I disassembled the leaf spring packs and sanded off the paint, then repainted each leaf. I left off the shortest one to reduce bounce, plus added never seeze between each leaf. Without doing this, the trailer will bounce a lot. Also, I repacked the wheel bearings as the grease that comes with the trailer is not proper wheel bearing grease. This is a MUST DO!!! BTW/ depending on when you bought your HF trailer there has been some recalls for tires, and lights. Check HF website for models affected.

I own 2 of these i regularly fold them up for more space in my garage. Ive put thousands of miles on both and have had zero problems. I bought mine way back when you could use the %20 coupon (you can no longer use it) got them for 275 each out the door great buy. You must of put it together wrong i never had any problems putting them together everything lined up perfectly

i’m retired now and i see these trailers assembled with sides on Craigs list for sale cheaper than you can buy one at Harbor Freight in the box so many of the holes need to be adjusted and reamed out to build these that its easier to buy one already built IMO plus they are usually already titled in your State and where i live you need to have a trailer inspected at your cost by a private State Authorixed facility which is a pain in the ass as most trailers have a electrical issue somewhere

I’ve had mine for 8 years. It’s a great trailer for the price.

It's perfect for people with mechanical education. Good base to start from for the $.

Crazy this has doubled in price in 2 years and it's not due to supply and demand. Just good ol fashion running the $ printer at full speed for 2+ years.

I got mine 10 years ago still looks like it did back then mine sets in the garage with the 350 rancher 4x4 still tieed down to it I put wire mash on mine.

Unless you keep this in a garage, use marine plywood ( more expensive but you won't be replacing it every few years ) Mine was toast after a couple of years with regular plywood even attempting to rain proof it. Trailer itself worked fine even after overloading it a fair amount.. No electrical issues at all.

I have the same trailer ..you where talking about ramps..you DO realize that you can pull front tongue pins and you have a tilt trailer lol

I bought my first one in 93, and I still have it. I use it around the yard with my lawn tractor. Two years ago I bought a new one with the 12 inch wheels like this one. I have an 89 Dodge Aries and I can haul anything a half ton pickup truck can haul. It's a great deal.

I built mine the same way you did bolt it all together then welded both sides top and bottom painted it black and built a teardrop on top of it LOL took a about 30 days to finish it

I took a 4x4 trailer from harbor freight, used a palet to make it a 4x8 with sides 4ft and a top filled it with my sons stuff and traveled over 2500 miles. I would say it ain't junk.

Wonder how much a 2 eye spring and shackle would be instead of that slipper end? Get a piece of UHMW and screw it under that spring end. Eliminate wear and keep it quiet.

It looks like you mixed up the beams. It appears all the correct holes are there if they where in the correct spot.

The exact same thing happened to me, I got this trailer to put my fishing kayak on, they sent me 2 back right beams.. I called them and they said it would be 8-10 weeks to get me the correct beam... so the end of the summer... I just got done drilling my own holes into it..

trailer spring don't flex unless you have 1000 pounds on them. two full oil drums kinda ok ,one and it jumps . empty literally jumps 4 to 8 inch in air . railroad tracks about a foot in air . other than that it's good . i have to run my tires at 12 lbs psi seems to help

I built this trailer in 2016. A lot of defective parts came out of the box. It really made it a nightmare. I don't think you can beat it for the money, though.

Enjoyed the watch and the build.

Just the quality I would expect from Harbor Freight.

I bought the same trailer had to return it once for missing parts and ended up getting a bigger discount, slapped it together put a bed and rails and was perfect on its first 300+ round trip and was loaded down with camping gear.

I doubt if they could they have made it any cheaper. A friend of mine bought one & the tire spindles were out of round to the point that he couldn't go over 30 MPH without the trailer jumping off the road. He got them to exchange the axel & tire spindles & it improved somewhat but it still wasn't great. They just cut to many corners to keep the price as low as possible. He finally sold it & got a better one from Northern Tool. I guess you get what you pay for.

What are the overall width measurements of the outside if the wheels? (Wheel to wheel).

Owned mine 10 years. I welded 2 foot sides on mine and a mesh ramp. Have hauled mulch annually and even loads of stone. Stone Very heavy. Only down side is the nice red paint always turns chalky pink on them. Lol

So you remember the weight and dimensions of the boxes the trailer came in?

You're a good teacher. i think i'm going to buy one of these and make a kayak trailer. Thanks for the video.

Would this trailer be good for hauling common household item? For example, a lot of local furniture-appliance stores charge a noticable amount to deliver. Im just looking for something cheap for light duty. Im not planning on loading it with very heavy items. Thx

I’m getting ready to build a teardrop camper. In your opinion, do you think this trailer would be good for that build? I don’t want to get too costly with this project. Thanks in advance.

I had the exact same problem with mismatched holes. Super annoying, but I guess you get what you pay for!

Awesome trailer for harry homeowner stuff and even a lawn tractor ,I lived mine and still going 15 years strong . Paint on it is cheesy If I bought another one I would repeat a better paint on it before building it . 100 worth the money

I would worry more about greasing where the spring slides. The bolt, yeah,ok, but neversnease would work too. And do the bolts for the spring use nylocks?

I thought the directions say explicitly to NOT use the grease packed with the trailer - that the grease it came with was for shipping only - and that you MUST disassemble, clean and repack all bearings with new grease - true bearing grease rated for higher speeds than the packing / shipping grease.

Hi, great video! I have a question for you. I'm thinking of getting this trailer to haul a liquid oxygen tank (dewer). Its a cylinder about 5' tall with a diameter of about 2.25'. I want to strap it down to the four corners of the trailer. So the potential problem I'm seeing is since its a folding trailer, wont the the tie-downs cause it to fold back up while under tension? I'd be placing the cylinder directly above the axle. The tie-downs would go from the top of the cylinder to the 4 corners of the trailer.

I have put 12 of these together s sometimes you can get them mixed up.

How fast can this trailer go? And is it road legal? How do you get these properly license?

I've had one for 4 years. I would recommend putting an extra coat of paint on it before putting it together. The original paint is garbage. Mine started rusting, in Florida! I had to replace the wheel bearings after 3 years of medium use

Are you sure you don't just have the parts in the wrong place?

Can you make a video with the four wheelers on the trailer

Recent update; the half ton trailer is now $400 and the 3/4 ton is $500. Got the 3/4 ton and started to assemble, and found that they did not bother to put in what they label as Carriage Bolt M10 x 25 & M 10 nut - 4 sets. Called the company and they told me they do not replace those items, and I could go find a hardware store. So much for service (although undoubtedly, given HQ is in the US and the assembly in China, they are not going to get the manufacturer to cough up). The company needs to hire the folks with IKEA who write IKEA manuals. Ironton has what looks like the identical trailer for $669; so there it that.

I finished mine yesterday. Today I tried to register it. OMG, this may be imposible. These trailers are not sold in Louisiana, but theoretically can be bought in Texas and registered in Louisiana. I went to my favorite DMV office in Vivian, La. where after waiting 20 minutes outside, because of the Chyna virus they only allowed 4 nonemployees in the building at a time. After being allowed in the building, I waited another 20 minutes to be told that they would not recognize the receipt as a "Bill of Sale", despite it having the price paid and the VIN number (in addition I have the actual title in hand). They gave me a form that would require me to take a Longview, Tx. HF cashier to a notary, or vise-versa. Also, they were behind a plexiglass shield and wearing a mask. It was like talking to Kenny on Southpark. Thinking they were wrong, I then drove to a title company that does registrations in Bossier City, La.. Another 20 minute wait outside. They basically told me the same thing. After half a tank of gas and standing around waiting outside, I was a little frustrated. I called the Longview HF where I purchased the trailer. The young lady told me that since the trailer is a kit and did not come assembled, it does not require the paperwork they are asking for. She told me that this problem is nothing new and that there is a form that explains that the paperwork is not required and should be avalible at any HF (even in La.)or the staff should be able to get me a copy of it to take with me to the DMV. I drove from the title company to the nearest HF (just a couple of miles). Told the lady at the cashier counter what I needed. She had not idea what I was talking about. She called someone over who she believed would know about what I was requesting. He had no idea what I was talking about. He did try to help though. After going to his office he searched on his computer for this mystical form, and could not find it. His best advice was to keep going to the DMV until I was assigned someone who would register it. Assuming that I will have to have this form mailed from Texas, or have to drive from Shreveport to Longview and pick one up in person. Still no guarantee that I can get it registered.

How does registration go with these trailers. Are they exempt or need to be properly registered?

I put one of these together in less than 3 hours! Not bad for a retired electrician, huh? I even modified mine for my homemade micro camper boat!

An 1/8 of an inch is a lot at work we are only allowed 1/16 of an inch when we squaring something up.

One little thing I'd suggest is drilling out a 1/4" where the plywood lays on the frame hex bolts so it sits flatter.

Buy a $10 Teflon cutting board and cut a 4"x6" section out and use it where the spring slides on the frame.

I have this same trailer as the base for my teardrop camper. It has been strengthened with welds at corner and the fold was welded not to bend. What I want to know is what you ended up doing to strengthen your fenders.