Harbor Freight Gem- Folding Trailer

[annunaki]

Haulmaster Folding Trailer- 1195 Capacity, 12 inch tires.
Listed for $339.99.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=90154

I called and asked to speak to the store manager in Gainesville Fl.
I asked him if it ever goes on sale and if so when next.
He said that it did sometimes for $279.99 and that if I really wanted one he would let me have it now instead of waiting.
I then told him that I had a Wood magazine with a 20% off coupon.
He said he would honor that as well.
Got it for $223.99 for a savings of $116.00 (34.12%) !

It never hurts to ask !

[kevincan]

I have had that same trailer for close to 2 years. It has done a great job for me and I have been very happy with it. It is set up so that it does not fold. I did not put the hinges on and bolted the 2 parts together and did not cut the plywood deck. I do not have room in the garage for it folded up and I have space to park outside.

Some things I remember from putting it together.
* Take your time reading through the instructions. They are not very clear on a lot of things.
* Run a ground wire with your lights. They rely on the metal frame for the ground but with paint you may have issues.
* Clean and repack the wheel bearings. I read that on a forum somewhere. It is a lot easier to do it before it is assembled.

Here is a picture of mine assembled. The wood is all cedar (decking is PT ply).

[Photojosh]

Also, be smart and run your wiring in some split loom. I see a lot of people end up with screwed up wiring after a few years because they just pulled the wires alone through the trailer underside. Protect those things!

But yes, it's a great deal for the ~$250-300 that you can often find it for. I have easily gotten double my money's worth out of it in the 6 months I have owned mine.

[kevincan]

Photojosh, I forgot about the wire wrap. They do carry it in the store so you can pick it up when you buy the trailer.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=34754

[dbhost]

I had one of those trailers when I had my Ranger. (Poor little pickup was too small to haul everything I needed to haul). That trailer did a GREAT job... I had it set up with a 4' tall enclosed box made of PT lumber and Marine grade PT ply.

The fellow I sold it to tows is camping gear / kayaks to the lake with a Nissan Altima.

If I ever decide to downsize out of my full size pickup, I am going with a mini SUV like a Ford Escape, and I will grab one of these trailers and build the box again. I need the room for my camping goodies, not to mention lumber!

[JimD]

I have one too. I keep it folded up under the screened in porch with the boat (there is about 10 foot vertical clearance). I have vertical side and end pieces made of planned down 2x4s. I wanted about 1 1/8 thickness so I would have room for a 49x97 piece of melamine or MDF. I added 1/2 bb plywood at the bottom so it would fill the stake pockets. Clevis pins attach these in a few minutes. It actually takes me about 20 minutes to unfold the trailer and put the sides on. And about the same to stow it. Using a pickup is easier but I'd rather tear up one of these inexpensive trailers than a pickup bed.

Jim

[tomscanio]

Questions

I have been looking at these trailers. I downloaded the manuals on three of them and all say that the maximum speed you should use when hauling with them is 45 MPH. Is this simply covering their liability or is it really true? I have no experience with hauling trailers.

Also, how difficult is it to really fold up and raise up the trailer on its casters? I'm 61 years old, 5'8" and 150 pounds and my wife is smaller (not going to give any statistics here!). Is this something we can handle?

Thanks,
Tom Scanio

[LCHIEN]

I have been looking at these trailers. I downloaded the manuals on three of them and all say that the maximum speed you should use when hauling with them is 45 MPH. Is this simply covering their liability or is it really true? I have no experience with hauling trailers.

Also, how difficult is it to really fold up and raise up the trailer on its casters? I'm 61 years old, 5'8" and 150 pounds and my wife is smaller (not going to give any statistics here!). Is this something we can handle?

Thanks,
Tom Scanio

They're not the same trailer but I've seen plenty of U-Haul rental trailers with "Max Speed 45 MPH" written on their Fenders going by me at 70 MPH on the highway...

[Kristofor]

I have been looking at these trailers. I downloaded the manuals on three of them and all say that the maximum speed you should use when hauling with them is 45 MPH. Is this simply covering their liability or is it really true? I have no experience with hauling trailers.

Well... I don't go 80+ with mine like I will with just the car/truck, but I will drive 65. I've seen stories from plenty of folks who have used these trailers for towing motorcycles cross country at highway speeds for 1000+ miles.

Keep the tires at the correct inflation, and buy the spare, you'll probably need one eventually.

Make sure to check/grease the bearings and see if they're cool or hot shortly after stopping to see if they are becoming a problem. If they're hot you may want to pull and repack them. Some folks recommend doing that from the beginning but mine have always been cool to just above ambient temp even at legal highway speeds having only added grease never fully repacking them.

Also, how difficult is it to really fold up and raise up the trailer on its casters? I'm 61 years old, 5'8" and 150 pounds and my wife is smaller (not going to give any statistics here!). Is this something we can handle?

Well, I'm 6'1" and probably weigh as much as you and your wife put together but I think the folding process is pretty trivial.

However my garage has a 12' foot ceiling and enough open space to fold it in there so I'm not fighting rough terrain or a sloping/slanting surface which could make it more difficult. I have read several stories about the included casters (for moving when folded) failing on rough terrain as well but that hasn't been an issue for me personally.

The actual fold/unfolding time is maybe 2 minutes, but the whole process is perhaps 10-15 with the need to remove/reattach bolts/nuts in the un/folded position.

[LinuxRandal]

I thought the max speed, was always more related to the tires? Size, pressure, speed rating, etc.

[aggrex]

I thought the max speed, was always more related to the tires? Size, pressure, speed rating, etc.

I like trailers like HF at low speed (45mph) and I avoid following them on the highway (even if they are not doing 80) like overloaded pickup trucks. So that's great if they are limited to 45mph IMO

[JimD]

I doubt the wheels are balanced but I think 45 mph is plenty conservative. Mine has gone 60 mph or more a bunch of times. I do not know exactly how fast he went with it but mine got used by my son to haul an engine for his truck several hundred miles. I'm sure he went 70 mph, probably more.

With respect to folding it up, I am 54 6'2" and 180 lbs. It is not hard for me but its not really easy either. I think 5'8" and 150 lbs is too small to do this safely. The only other person to fold up mine is my son who is taller, younger, and heavier than I am. If you have a neighbor or friend to help, I think you would be fine. The instructions say it is a two person job. I think it's either one above average size and strength person or two average sized guys. There are two points where it is a little heavy. First you have to raise the back part over the front. That is pretty easy but I usually end up supporting mine with one hand while I get the wire clear with the other. One handed it is heavier. That is simple compared to the next step. You now walk over to the other side to pick up the tongue and stand the whole thing up. You are dead lifting 100-150 lbs but it gets easier as you go up (the entire trailer is about 300 lbs). Once you are up, you just have to hold it steady while you pull the pins and put the tongue down. My son pulls the pin and lifts it while the tongue goes down. That is too many moving parts for me. It also prevents lifting right in the middle where I think it's easiest. But putting the tongue down makes is more stable once you up. Until the tongue is down it is kind of tippy. That is the only part where a small person would be somewhat helpful - minimal strength is required if you don't let it start to fall but more hands to hold it up while the pins are pulled (another minimal strength job) would be helpful.

Jim

[thrytis]

I use a slightly different approach than Jim for folding up the trailer which involves parts dragging on the ground but doesn't require as much strength. I first remove the license plate and the pins from the tongue (and would remove the bolts that keep the back section from folding, if i used bolts). Then i flip the front section upright, letting the tongue and the back section drag on the ground. Once the front section is up, i flip up the back section and secure. I wouldn't describe it as easy, but i'm not particularly strong and i don't have trouble doing it this way.

[tomscanio]

Thanks to all of you for your input. I think I have a much better feel of what I would be getting into.

Tom