Anyone have any experience with this trailer? It's $300 at Harbor Freight. I'm just curious how well the bearings hold up to 75 mph driving for a few hours. Is this worth looking into as a cheap alternative to a real trailer that I simply don't have the room for at home to store?
Like ANY new trailer, I would repack the bearings anyways. I used a 4x8 tilt bed many times when I didn't have an enclosed trailer. Had the 8" wheels. Larger tires are better for bearing life, don't spin as fast. Just keep the bearings greased.
I've got ~10k miles on mine. Never had a problem with it. Purchased when I was a poor student, still have it.
I put one together a while back but sold it before I ever really used it. Heard plenty of stories about bad wheel bearings, they only come coated with grease, not packed, so packing them is a must (might be why people have experienced so many failures). Wouldn't hurt to buy a couple extras though, just in case. Otherwise it's a fairly solid trailer.
Opt for the bigger 15" tires and wheels. Not only will it help bearing life, but also stability while traveling.
It appears they have quit selling the 15" tires. It was a separate purchase add on. Buy the 12" tire version.
http://www.harborfreight.com/1720-lb-capacity-48-in-x-96-in-super-duty-folding-trailer-62671.html This is the one I bought last year. Have about 3000 miles on it with no issues. I did pack the bearings before use. It has the larger 12 inch tires. Run it down the highway at 80 mph with no issues
I have probably close to 20k on mine. I used 1/4" aluminum diamond plate as the floor; it is really what holds the trailer together so don't cheap out on some flimsy particle board or something. I used a pitbull trailer restraint and 0 straps and have gone all over the Midwest and as far south as Barber with 0 issues. First thing you should do is clean and grease the bearings. I have the stock bearings that came with it still installed and clean/lube them every spring. Tires wore out so I swapped to a better tire after 2 or 3 years of pulling it around. I also use mine for jet ski hauling so it sees all sorts of terrain and honestly it holds up just fine. I also painted the frame and wheels black and used blue rim strips and green grip tape to match my zx10, nerdy I know but its better than the old man red and white that it comes as. I have actually had several people at gas stations and the race track ask me where I bought it from and they all chuckle when I tell them I got it from Harbor Freight.
I have one. I was apprehensive about the bearings, so before I went anywhere, i bought a spare set of bearings.still haven't used them yet. Like others have said, just pack the bearings before using them. also, the hubs that came with mine were bent, so i went back to hf and they gave me a new set of hubs. so now i have a spare hub as well. i'm very fond of this trailer. its light, holds my bike, and i use a pitbull TRS, but i opted to use plywood with truck bed liner on it as my floor, so i used 2 pieces of 4ft long angle iron to bolt the trs to, and its sturdy. pull my bike everywhere with it. my only gripe is with the wiring. also its so small, its hard for me to back up with it because i cant see it in my mirrors!
I have the same trailer. I have never had any problems. I have a sub-floor wooden base that peels a little bit, diamond plate like mentioned above would be a lot nicer. I store it in my side yard with the tires up on small boards to keep the tires from sinking into the dirt. Also I check the tire pressures EVERY TIME I use it ... good habit no matter what it is. It's not the sexiest trailer but it gets the job done!
Has anyone ever bought an aftermarket axle for them to fit 13" - 15" tires on the HF trailer? Something like this? https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/carry-on-trailer-idler-axle-for-5x8-trailer?cm_vc=-10005
Why change the whole axle when you could just change the hubs. I'm not sure why you would need to change to bigger wheels, the 12" wheels with good (and properly lubed) bearings work just fine. Mine is about 10 years old, has gone back and forth across the country plus at least 15 track weekends per year without any issues (once the no lubed/stock bearing issues is resolved). The wheel size is not the trailer's week point.
I would add support to the frame where the fender bracket attached. My frame cracked there on both sides. If I remember correctly I put a 2x2" square hollow tube into the frame opening (C channel) where the bracket attaches and used longer bracket bolts which went all the way through both sides of the "C" channel.