I've got access to a welder if I really need one. That said, this trailer was originally built to bolt together, and I wanted to modify as little of it as possible.
Two Sons Sailing, I had the same exact reaction when I purchased the step drill bit from Harbor Freight. The step drill is my new found tool that will be in my toolbox all the time! 😃👍
Bro your awesome . Really enjoyed your video , it was real and not made to look like your a perfect clever bugger like most tutorial vids people make, my partner and I laughed , Learnt and I was gonna stop watching till I saw you break the drill bit ... mate your a legend keep up the work and happy sailing
Awesome DYI; I'm about to do the exact same thing for a boat I just built. A suggestion from one DYI guy to another: Buy a little welder and watch a ton of RU-vid videos on how to use it. My projects took off exponentially once I learned how to weld.
Good luck with it! I've got experience welding, but since the trailer was originally designed to be bolted together, was powder coated, and is made of... dubious... metal, I felt more comfortable sticking with bolts.
I'm hoping to make some progress on this this weekend, and get a video out on it shortly after that. I had a few things come up that got in the way of working on it, but it's almost warm enough to sail here so I need to get on it.
Best of luck, it's a fun project! Heads up that the HF trailers are powder coated, and pretty thin stock. Lots of grinding, and the new tongue that I used was thicker than the material I bolted it to. Not impossible to do, but it would come with its own annoyances.
A good place to get graded bolts is at a farm supply store. I'm not sure what's in your area. They usually cary metric and standard bolts for tractors and farm equipment. Good call on beefing up the tong material. Those harbor freight trailers are cheap for a reason.
You might think so, but no! The first set was admittedly old, but the new ones were a name brand from the hardware store. They weren't anything fancy, for sure, but still. User error is always my first guess.
Hi. Just curious, to what max speed have you taken this trailer? Some "sellers" of this trailer state 45mph max but it seems many people are going beyond that with no issues. I want one, but not if it has any issues on the freeway, up to 65mph. Thanks
I double checked, and it is true that Harbor Freight lists the max speed of the trailer as 45mph. I've had it on the highway without issues, and I suspect that making the tongue longer makes the trailer more stable when being towed. I wouldn't want to go cross country with it, but it seems ok. You might check the speed rating on the tires to see what they're rated for.
I'm hoping to do this for my 14' Jon boat. I'm wondering if the 12' square tube you used would be long enough. Does the boat hang behind the trailer? If I'm guessing correctly, there's about 2' of trailer behind the center cross rail. I think I'd need at least 3' of clearance from the end of the vehicle to the front of the boat so wouldn't you then need at least a 16' tube?
Almost all of the Sunfish/etc trailers I've ever seen have the boat hang off the back of the trailer to some degree. I'm going to see how this works, but I've got room to move the boat forward by a foot or so. That would only leave 2-3' hanging off the end of the trailer.
It was 2.5x2.5x0.120 I don't have any solid reasoning to back that up, aside from the fact that the hitch mount was 2.5" wide, and it was available at my local metal dealer. It seems at least as strong as what the trailer originally had, and I'm not planning on towing nearly as much weight as it was originally designed for.
Pretty well, actually. I need to repack or replace the bearings on the right wheel though. It runs hot, even without any load on the trailer. (You get what you pay for.)
Hello! I actually bought mine used. It looks like if you want to purchase a new one they're all currently listed as "special order" (at least in my local area.)
I went to the local Harbor Freight here in Maine and asked for the manager. I told him I wanted a trailer and showed him this video. He went on the phone and got one ordered "ship to store" for me. No shipping fee. Paid $299 before taxes.
