HF Trailers?????

[MilDoc]

Anyone have any of the HF trailers? I'm especially interested in

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=90154

Any feedback on this one, or any other, appreciated!!!

[John Hunter]

Wonder what the shipping will cost?

[jaybee]

I've been searching for and drooling over homebuilt teardrop trailers. The base trailer to build one on is either one of the HF trailers that you are looking at, or, for a lighter build:

http://www.redtrailers.com/TrailersFolding.asp

Which bolts together. Try this:

http://q.webring.com/hub?ring=teardropper

for a bunch of sites to get opinions about both the HF and red trailers.

[DUD]

I didn't get my trailer from HF, I bought an unfloored 4'X8' at TSC. It pulls great. I use it mostly to haul material or stuff to the dump. Bill

[spazlab]

Probably not the type of feedback you are looking for but (in Pennsylvania) I have heard nothing but bad things about getting HF trailers titled for road use. They even have signs up in my local store about it now. On the other hand, the guy from 'redtrailers' (which is a few towns away for me) says that his are 'simple to title'. I can't imagine what the difference could be except maybe the 'certificate of origin'?

PA's rules seem pretty strict on this so this type of thing might not effect you in any way. I've pondered buying that HF (or redtrailer) folding trailer for about a year now, but have been afraid to go down that road.

[kwgeorge]

I have thought about getting one for hauling around sheet goods. One of the dumbest things I ever did was getting rid of my truck. I gave it to my youngest son as I thought I would still have access to it but then he moved 300 miles away! So now I have my Firebird and the wife’s SUV. So a trailer seems to be the way to go but I never considered problems getting it titled so I guess I better check into that, thanks for the tip.

Ken

[Stytooner]

Small trailers in Alabama don't even need to be tagged if privately owned. That said, I don't think too much about these little trailers, although I have considered them.
I live about 1 mile from Buy Rite Trailers. Man! They make some nice ones at a great price. $700 gets you a 5' by 8'' with treated 2 by floor and steel side rails. Has the ramp style tall tailgate. Including hitch, jack, leaf springs and lights. Frame colors in red, black, green or blue complete with complimentary scrolling and full size mag wheels and nice tires. I very nearly pulled the trigger on one, but his computer was down that day. May get one soon, though.
Very similar to the one in this link.

[Scottydont]

Teardrop trailer builders use the HF trailers a lot. Similar to major tool purchases, I guess it depends on what you want to use it for and how long do you expect it to last?

I have owned a cheepy trailer that rusted out in 4 years. The last trailer I bought was $800 made by Featherlite. They are known for their all aluminum horse trailers. I bought a 5x8 and it has a built in ramp, 3500lb axle and all aluminum body (no rust!) I concider it a bargain because it lightweight, built like a tank, and best of all no rust and will likely outlive me.

[LinuxRandal]

Teardrop trailer builders use the HF trailers a lot. Similar to major tool purchases, I guess it depends on what you want to use it for and how long do you expect it to last?

I have owned a cheepy trailer that rusted out in 4 years. The last trailer I bought was $800 made by Featherlite. They are known for their all aluminum horse trailers. I bought a 5x8 and it has a built in ramp, 3500lb axle and all aluminum body (no rust!) I concider it a bargain because it lightweight, built like a tank, and best of all no rust and will likely outlive me.

How does something like that handle, on windy days (wondering if it's too light)? I have been looking at trailers for a while, as all I would like is for plywood, and the lawnmowers. I have always wondered if 4x8 is really big enough. I looked at a friends homebuilt (he was asking $300) as it was 5x12, but it was a little to long for where I have to park it (5x10 max), and I was unsure about having to modify it.
TIA

[leehljp]

I have the HF trailer mentioned in the first post. Well, it is the immediate predesessor to the one mentioned in the first post. Purchased in 2000 from the local HF store in Memphis.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=90154

My son in law has it now. It was not hard to get it licensed in MS. It pulls good and is great for hauling plywood and lumber from a local store, carrying a riding more around, which was its original intention. My SIL carried my riding mower between his house and mine - a one way distance of about 40 miles - about every other week for a couple of summers. With a spare tire, I would not hesitate to take it on trips of several hundred miles.

I built my own trailer about the same size in 1974 and hauled lots of stuff between my parent's home in Mississippi and my house in Texas - 3 to 4 times a year. This was between '75 and '80. My dad sold it when I came to Japan in '86.

Anyway, the HF is not quite as tough as the trailer I made, but it is a tough little trailer. I am not an engineer and have a tendency to over build things to be on the safe side. Having said that, it (mine) will carry the load capacity well and pulls straight.

[softop41]

trailer

I have an all-aluminum trailer much like Scott's. It's from Aluma LTD out of Iowa. I've towed it to Las Vegas. Nevada and back twice with about 1500 lbs(half of which was my Harley) on it and it follows like a string even down the mountains in Colorado and Utah at 80-90 mph! I have recently moved and no longer have my big yard and six car garage and may have to get rid of it and it breaks my heart! I have considered the 'folding' trailers as an alternative since I no longer have the Harley to haul to Vegas. I haven't made a decision yet so I am very interested in how this thread develops.
Jerry

[Scottydont]

How does something like that handle, on windy days (wondering if it's too light)? I have been looking at trailers for a while, as all I would like is for plywood, and the lawnmowers. I have always wondered if 4x8 is really big enough. I looked at a friends homebuilt (he was asking $300) as it was 5x12, but it was a little to long for where I have to park it (5x10 max), and I was unsure about having to modify it.
TIA

Definately not too light. That 3500lb rated axle weighs it down pretty good. No regrets.

[just4funsies]

My son has the HF trailer you mentioned, Paul. He uses it to haul his mowing equipment around (he got the steel side kit for it). Like most HF stuff, it comes across cheap, but does an adequate job for very little money. We had to rig a way to mount a license tag, as the taillights do not come with a bracket for this purpose. Also, the fold-up feature is basically useless, because with the floor split in half to allow the folding, the floor and frame become very unstable, and bounce around over the bumps (along with anything you happen to be hauling). Once the side kit is installed, you can't fold it up, anyway. If it were mine, I'd put on a solid PT plywood or expanded metal floor, and make PT stakebed sides, but remember that this extra weight reduces the payload capacity of the trailer.

[LinuxRandal]

Thanks all,

I will still be deciding for a while. I think my transmission may need a rebuild before long (only part of the truck I didn't redo, when I bought it for $200, with a blown motor/no oil). The HF ones would be fine for me, based on reccommedations, but as soon as I get it, work will probably need some heavy equipment moved (commercial freezers, mixers, beer tappers, etc), so I wanted to look a little heavier, then I plan on using.