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