I have that trailer and I
bolted on an extension. Not sure of the size but if I remember correctly the original trailer tongue has to be bolted on. So, take it to a metal supply place, show it to them and tell them what you’re doing. Let them solve it. Oh, and also definitely use nylock nuts.
Best way to bolt-on?
To answer Guideboatguy’s assumptions about welding…I have never welded anything in my entire life, so renting one would be pointless unfortunately.
As for bolting a square tube on, how would I do that. Would I drive a bolt through the trailer, the top of the square tube, and out the bottom?
cheap chinese junk
My personal opinion is that Harbor Freight is the Dollar Store of tools. Most are cheap Chinese knock-offs. Every time I go there, I decide to spend the extra money and buy something decent.
That said, some people love HF. My boss does but regrets most purchases.
IF you get a trailer, check the bearings and stress-points. If you are going on long trips, HF trailers rarely have bearings rated for the freeway.
And the stress-points may not survive a lot of bumps with a decent load.
I looked over their trailers and after checking the bearings, stress-points, welds, materials and adding the cost of my modifications to convert a flat-bed into a multi-kayak trailer, it was actually cheaper and better to spend an extra few hundred bucks and buy a Malone Micro-sport.
Bolting on a square tube
– Last Updated: Jan-22-15 11:17 AM EST –
I just looked at the photo of the trailer you are considering. Based on what I see, I'm pretty certain that the way the original tongue bolts on is with bolts going vertically through the top surface of that "C" channel through the matching surface of the trailer frame. The side surfaces of the hitch bolts through the sides of that "C" channel.
With square tubing, for the rearmost attachment of the tongue to the frame, drill bolt holes through the top of the square tube, and reach in through the open end to get a wrench on them.
For connecting the square tube to the front of the trailer's frame, drill holes in the top surface of the square tube to match those you see in the top of the original "C" channel, then drill matching holes in the bottom surface of the tube, but make them larger so you can insert a socket wrench to get at the bolt heads. This will be a little tricky, but not too bad.
For connecting the square tube to the hitch, drill the same pattern of holes through the sides of the square tube as are present on the sides of the original "C" channel. Again, it's probably easiest to put the bolt heads inside and the nuts outside. You probably can't get a wrench onto the bolt heads via the front opening of the tube on account of the hitch being there. Instead, you can drill a set of large holes on the bottom surface of the square tube, through which you can insert a box or open-end wrench. Another option would be to use bolts that are a bit longer than need be, and once you get the nuts on far enough, grab the free end of the bolt with a really big pair of vice-grips, and use the vice-grips on the excess bolt shaft instead of the usual wrench on the bolt head. It's not that the vice-grips will have as much grip as you need, but between them and the friction of the bolt head against the inside of the square tube, there's likely to be enough torque to counteract your tightening of the nut (flattening the free end of the bolt for a better grip helps too. Two big hammers will do that, a sledge hammer held firmly against the bolt as an anvil, and a two-pound hammer for striking the opposite side). If all that fails, you can still drill the necessary wrench-access holes and do it "the right way".
Drilling big access holes in the steel tubing with a hand-held drill will be a little difficult, but less so if you gradually work your way up with larger and larger bit sizes.
Bolting a square tube
To bolt on a square tube I drilled a hole all the way through the tube, so the bolt would stick out the bottom. Of course you’ll have to use longer bolts than what comes in the kit. And again, use nyloc nuts, or lock washers, and Loc-tite(belt and suspenders)
If you do that, …
– Last Updated: Jan-22-15 11:24 AM EST –
... you'll probably need large, thick backing plates under each set of bolt heads. Otherwise applying the torque you need will very likely cause the side of the tubing to buckle inward. I've done the bolt-through method, and it can work fine as long as you do something to prevent tube deformation.
trailer
You might also look around at the places selling bigger enclosed trailers. My trailer I bought like 20 years ago was from one of those places, it’s all welded angle iron, rated at about 1100 lbs. and is 4’x8’ (if I were to buy it again I’d go a bit bigger), but it’s held up just fine. I’ve got an 8’ 2"x 4" tongue added (2’ of that is inside the trailer frame) but it works with up to about an 18’ or so kayak. I’ve put on Yakima cross bars so can use their saddles and have carried 5 boats at one time on it. And…it was cheap. Only downsides are the paint isn’t the greatest, I’ve repainted it twice and it needs it again, and when you’re towing it you have to search the mirrors for it because it’s so smooth and quiet back there you can forget it’s still attached to the car. It’s got 15" wheels btw. I use it for everything from hauling my Harley, to the lawn tractor, garden supplies and the kayaks.
Bill H.
I have been trying to find alt. trailer
Naturally I have my doubts about HB trailers, but that is all I can afford at the moment unfortunately. I looked at the Malone Micro Sport trailer mentioned above and it is far beyond a few hundred bucks more. All were over a grand and while I would love to have that, it just isn’t in the cards for me.
A lot of folks have been having success but that is based on the Internet so I really don’t know. It’s what I call the “Google Effect,” in that you will always find what you want to hear. If you Google, “Are Harbor Freight trailers good,” and then Google, “Do Harbor Freight trailers suck,” then you will get confirming answers for both.
I have a Lowes and a Tractor supply around me, but their trailers are more expensive. I would be willing to buy a used/new trailer off of somebody (preferably already set up for a kayak) but Craigslist and local search engines have yielded nothing. I live in Reidsville, NC so there isn’t much of an offering close-by.
I’m sure all can turn out well
The ONLY part of the trailer that you seriously need to worry about quality, is the wheel bearings. As others have said, the quality of Chinese-made wheel bearings might not be up to par, though surely they will last long enough if you are doing short trips. Depending on cost, and how much long-distance highway driving you will do, you might decide that keeping a complete spare hub with you is good insurance. You can replace a hub, complete with bearings, with nothing but a wheel-nut wrench and a pair of channel-lock pliers, though a screwdriver to start the process of opening the cotter pin would be nice too. Replacing just the bearings is relatively easy too, but really requires a few more tools and isn’t something you can cheat on, so on the side of the road, replacing the whole hub would be quickest. If you aren’t familiar with such work, it’s easy to learn. The bottom line is that you can be prepared for wheel-bearing failure if you want to be. And it may never happen.
look for a boat trailer
I build mine out of a used boat trailer. It is about 16 ft long and already has the long tongue. I paid $200 for the trailer and another $150 for the floor,sides & rack.
see what I mean.
No small boat trailers around here
I have been looking for small boat trailers on Craigslist and I can’t seem to find any that are not too expensive or already have a boat with them. I looked at the HB boat trailer but I’m undecided on that.
I have heard all the stuff
about HF trailers. Here’s my actual experience with them. I’ve had both their 4x8 and the smaller 40x48 trailers. I’ve hauled them thousands of miles on their original wheel bearings with no problems at all. Now, my 4x8 trailer was the folding one and over a LONG time I had problems with the hinges loosening up. So, I braced it and it didn’t fold anymore.
Sorry, really don’t mean to be contrary, but they’ve worked very well for me. As a matter of fact I sold my 4x8 to a friend of mine who is still using it I believe. He said that he wanted it because it was well known for going everywhere with the local Canoe Club. Little trailer that could. Plus, I gave him a good price!!!
When I extended the tongue
on my 40x48, I took the new box section and put one end of it on top of the trailer C section tongue, overlapping them by about 8". I then put 4 heavy duty bolts down through the box section and out through the top of the C section. Two of the bolts through the end of the box and the other two through the box where it overlaps the trailer tongue. These two bolts go through the end of the tongue. Has worked fine for a couple of years. The hitch was made to be through bolted on the sides so I did that. Pretty solid, especially for kayaks.
Ditto
Had the 4x8 for around 4 years now. I slapped a sheet of plywood on it first thing so I never folded it. A full load would be 2 canoes and 4 kayaks or 8 kayaks, under 500 lbs including the rack, less than half of the capacity I’m not stressing any welds. Now obviously no Chinaman is gonna be able to weld as good as we does here in 'Merica but it does fine hauling boats.
Nicest set up I’ve seen on one of the HF trailers, they built a box about 2 foot high on it and had a set of crossbars on top of the box. The sides were hinged for carrying gear, the boats went in J cradles.
Hey pirateoverforty
Do you have a link to that HB trailer you were talking about?
Biased
Andy–
Warning, I’m biased, hate everything I ever bought from HF but the realities are, if this is all you can afford…
If your vehicle is a Corollover, which should tow something small just fine, I presume you might want to use the trailer for more than boat transport sometimes. That tongue is not triangulated, that worries me but is common on HF trailers and other budget brands. At light enough loads, maybe OK.
If you have the inclination, check out Northern Tool’s trailers, a little more $$ but I got 25 years out of one of theirs, then sold it off to a 2nd owner. The catalog I have in front of me cites free shipping on their trailers.
Mind you, I went to the other extreme: http://www.paddling.net/message/showThread.html?fid=advice&tid=1721645
HB boat trailer
Can anyone attest to it’s capabilities?
1195, not 1125 my bad
http://m.harborfreight.com/1195-lb-capacity-48-inch-x-96-inch-heavy-duty-foldable-utility-trailer-with-12-inch-wheels-90154.html
It’s the middle capacity trailer they sell. You would still be able to put an extender on if you wanted but I don’t think you would need it. Note the stake holders, makes it easy to DIY add a rack or whatever, the “heavy” weight trailer doesn’t have those.
For $ 100.00 more
Dear Andy,
Just buy a used single jet-ski trailer and be done with it. They are available 12 months out of the year on craigslist even up north for $ 250.00 - $ 300.00, and sometimes even less.
One caveat, make sure it is registered and titled if that is a requirement in your State otherwise you might have trouble getting a plate for it.
If you want a few cheap suggestions on how to extend the tongue of that Harbor Freight trailer send me an email.
Regards,
Tim Murphy AKA Goobs