Harbor Freight Folding Utility Trailer

My trailer build. Make sure to watch with Annotations turned on for all the corrections and extra info.
Get the corner stake brackets here: amzn.to/2W9FQWj
Also, check out my followup on the unfolding process: • Harbor Freight Folding...
See also: • Harbor Freight Folding...
www.harborfreig...
www.harborfreig...
www.harborfreig...

[@DuffCon]

Thank you, this is the most comprehensive and easy to understand video about this trailer build.

[@craigmonteforte6111]

I 60years old and ever vehicle I’ve owned I’ve had trailer Towing Capacity I think I’ve owned nearly 30 Trailers from oat, Campers, Car carriers ,and you name it your build came out nice and you put on one of te most important items that being a Spare tire that stays with the Trailer I also always carry spare hubs and bearings as cheap Insurance if it’s a enclosed Trailer I stash that stuff inside. The trailer with grease and some tools not only has that gotten me of of many jams but I’ve been able to be a Good Samaritan and help others broken down on the side of a highway I usually carry a 12 volt air compressor to. Fill up tires And I stash that with my Jack and tire tools in the backseat of my Truck

[@cometcal2]

Great job on building the walls. Gives a quality appearance to the trailer. Most closed wood trailer walls look like a POC.

[@mikemaryland]

This is the first video I watched that the registration issue was explained. Thank you for that Xtra bit of necessary information.

[@imaniguana]

Great video. I built my HF folding trailer last winter. One thing I read a lot of places is that the bearings are not pre-greased, but have a preservative on them, that leads people to think they're greased. I pulled my inners and outers, soaked them in gas to break down the preservative, made sure they were thoroughly dried, then greased them and reinstalled them. I built mine as a bike hauling trailer. I'm still putting the finishing touches on it. Hopefully, I'll get the rest done soon and post a vid.

[@brainrecall]

Yeah that was my concern as well. I know of that waxy grease they use as a rust preventive. In my case they did use honest axle grease though, so I left them alone.

[@nicholasjohnparry]

The grease most harbor freight trailers come with (blue colored) is an axle grease, however it has no high temperature tolerance and is not suitable for long trips. If your just going around town your probably fine. It’s good practice to remove as much of the old grease and repack new grease. Also very important to grease the inside of your hub on these trailers.

[@nicholasjohnparry]

imaniguana good practice on the bearings to repack with high temp grease on hf trailers! These things love grease

[@mikehurtuk2848]

Great Job on this trailer, I have two enclosed 16 ft trailers, but wanted something smaller so I can go to home depot or drop my small jon boat into the water. I bought this trailer, and got alot of ideas from your video, thank you!

[@thinkingimpaired5663]

another KZbin hft tool trailer builder used a threaded insert in his stake which gets rid of the necessity to have a butterfly nut. I take the sides off on every load so I'm going to try the threaded insert. as for your trailer I really respect your design and finish. you really did a fantastic job.

[@lmd6204]

Very professional job on the electrical!! I have had so many problems with the ground because of the painted frame. I am rewiring the electrical and am wiring all the way to the front of the trailer as you had done. Great video!!

[@brainrecall]

Thanks! Be sure to solder the wire connections, don't use butt-joints like I did, you'll end up redoing them in a year...

[@thinkingimpaired5663]

on the trailer the extra length wires can possibly placed under tension with a perpendicular placed light spring looped across the right and left excess wire. we used to have a light spring keeping tension on trailer brake air hoses on our trailers. That gave piece us of mind while pulling trailers over tomato vines out in the field.

[@WaveAction777]

Nice trailer build. Noticed you had the Innova Ultra Runner Tires on it. Harbor Freight had a recall on those tires where they replace them and rims for free. Also they had a recall on the Taillights. They actually give you a set of new lights front and back with wiring. Might want to check this out. If you complain hard enough they will replace your spare tire as well even though it was bought separately.

[@brainrecall]

Yup, I had a recall on the taillights which I did a few videos on. Check them out. I also had a recall on the tires which was no trouble. The new rims have a nice pinstripe. The spare was a different manufacturer so no recall. Glad you liked it!

[@borogomsho]

Great video, clearly and efficiently presented, and still useful in 2020. You covered all advice points I've seen for these trailers, and more. The only two things I still need to solve are to protect against sun damage (wire covering and paint are points of failure) and compensate for height difference between frame edge and cross supports (plywood bed will bow down in the middle).

[@brainrecall]

Thanks! the wire and pain are definitely not UV protected, they will both fade even in indirect sunlight. The wiring you can mostly protect with the split loom, which seems to hold up fine.

[@quantumfixits7574]

Thanks for the tips Joseph (especially the bolt issue)...good vid...

[@kammhron]

Great video. Nice & detailed, and informative Nice work on the wood. Love those locking hinges in the back!. Thanks.

[@craigmonteforte1478]

Goo video Joe , nice job on the build of the sides and the add ons Since you added grease to the bearings you should keep a close eye on the hub caps when towing thr trailer ive seen guys that put too much in them and it expands and. Blows the caps off and makes a mess of grease. All over the trailer My Brother in law used to lose his Buddy Bearings all the time because he would add. Grease too often one time i was riding shotgun in his car and they were passing us on the highway after they came off luckily they missed other cars and wound up in the woods on the side of the roadway ! Another tip that may work for you is to mount a used Ammo box to keep all your bungee cords and straps and BTW all the States ive lived in required fenders on trailers Northern Tools used to sell plastic ones pretty cheap and when i lie in Florida we always used those to replace broken ones on our boat trailers the factory fenders used to break real easy after being exposed to the Floria Sun and local law enforcement would ticket. You. On that all the time one time i even made fenders out of 2x6s to pull my boat to go fishing yep they looked like crap but it was legal and worked ?

[@brainrecall]

Good point on the fenders, they remained on without modifications and work good. And for the grease, yes, I pull the caps off when I add more grease, if just to check I'm getting new grease through the bearing.

[@dannyrusso8279]

Very nice project, and a great video too. I'm almost finished putting the frame together, and I'm getting small helpful hints from each video I've watched on KZbin. I like your eye bolts, holding the sides on. I'll probably weld a nut to the back side, making screwing the bolts in very easy. I'll probably dispense with adding that top trim piece along the top of the sides, only using the 2x4 and 1/2" plywood. It looks nice, but I'm too lazy! I also just ordered 4 corner stake brackets on eBay for less than $19.00! I never knew what they were called until I saw your video. BTW, I'm from NY also. Nice to hear the yearly reg fee is only $10.00. I'm sure they hit you up for at least $50.00 for the ugly license plate though!

[@oldarkie3880]

I have this trailer. I added a worm gear winch driven by my cordless drill. works great. I could mount a spare to the tongue but I'm afraid it will start getting too heavy to fold.

[@billlink7116]

Great job explaining everything. Thanks

[@garydodd3671]

Love it!!!! You did a GREAT job on the sideboards!!

[@lukehunter3902]

great video! really love what u did with the trailer.

[@rlmoor]

Great job on the trailer and video.

[@mikegordon9737]

Nice job. Good detail.

[@benwaballs8800]

Great job, that's a New York issue with registering a trailer, that's a state by state rule...

[@pupdaddymail]

I think that you did a wonderful job. :)

[@Duken4evr1]

Nice job! Very thorough. I have had this same trailer for quite awhile now, finally got to the point where the original bias ply tires were getting a bit scary looking, so I changed them out in favor of a pair of Yokahama radial car tires, 145/80 SR12. The tires are about 1" taller than stock and just clear the fenders if you flip the bolts so the head faces down and threads up. Took the opportunity to balance the wheels also with the new tires. The trailer rides so much smoother on the radials, especially on dirt roads, and the tires are giving every indication of lasting a very long time. I use the trailer to haul my dirt bike. Here is a link to the tires. www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?width=145%2F&ratio=80&diameter=12&rearWidth=255%2F&rearRatio=40&rearDiameter=17&zip-code=

[@necrom66]

just curious how the durability on these ? im looking to buy one AWESOME VIDEO man very informative thanks for putting it together

[@marcster13]

For anyone considering buying a trailer. I just went through a nightmare and not sure it's finished. It took a total of 3 stores. I went online to look for the closet store that had heavier duty one in stock. The store closet to me had none, so I went to the second closet. They told me they do not have any. They had one sitting up front on display. It turns out the one on display they are counting as inventory. I told them I'd take it and they told me no. They know these trailers are often hard to find so they trick people into coming into that store location for the trailer, only to be told they actually do not have any, even though it's sitting right in front of everyone as a display. Very crooked or at least dishonest. Anyhow, they at least call another store but it's pretty far. They confirmed they had the trailer I wanted in stock. What was interesting is the guy was clear to me that they had both matching boxes. At the time this seemed odd to say but I didn't pay much attention to it. I get to the store and pick up a couple of items and tell them I'm there to pick up the trailer. They bring it out in two boxes. The guy gets nervous because he has to fill out the title stuff. Had a 'how to' binder, I assume the store created so the paperwork gets completed correctly. It was a disaster. He was coming things out and stamping in the wrong place. I was like hey man are you sure you know what you are doing. He asked a couple of people for help. They assured me all is good with the paperwork. I ended up going to the store next to me to have a manager review because it looked off to me still. She made a correction but no stamp in front of the title. I went to get the title and registration a few days later. They basically laughed at me. Told me to get an affidavit and correct the stamp location. I went to the store closest to me again for this. She was very helpful but had to call the store manager in the place I bought it from originally. I went back to get it registered and after a lot of people reviewed the paperwork they decided to do it but advised it could come back later as not valid. So it was a nightmare going through all this. Lots of my time wasted. I hadn't even put it together yet. Now get this. I open the large box with all the parts because I wanted to paint it with a paint that would not fade like the factory paint does. What's odd is i unpack a front cross member. In my head I'm like oh wow, I thought this only came with the light weight version of the trailer. I'm like sweet, they upgraded. I take all the red parts out and paint them. Looks great. Lots of time spent on it. I planned on putting it together this weekend. Even though I've watched at least ten videos on how to put it together I decided to read the manual. I almost crapped myself. The manual is for the smaller trailer!!!! They gave me the wrong trailer!!!!! I paid for the heavy duty version and they gave me the lighter version. Wth!!! It turns out this goes back to the comment about two matching boxes. They gave me the small box of the heavy trailer which has the wheels and springs. The large box is all the framing and axle of the lighter trailer. What a joke! I've put so much time ahead work into this already without even assembling it, even have a wood deck purchased and cut. I can't return it at this point with all the registration fees paid, the frame painted and the store being an hour away. I will put it together and see how it turns out. Not happy about it at all. This also means the next person will get mixed boxes, or maybe it happened before me and I got the mixed boxes. This is just a warning for anyone thinking of getting a trailer. First, call the store to see if they are trying to be crooked by showing a display as available inventory online. Two, when they bring out two boxes make sure they match! If you make it to three, demand a manager completes the paperwork and that the manager goes slow. Any corrections or scribbles will require you to go back and get an affidavit later. If someone from Harbor Freight contacts me and makes this right I will let everyone know. I will be sharing this in many places to get the word out.

[@thinkingimpaired5663]

one other thing any suggestions on a ramp design? I realize my trailer tilts but that's such a pain when loading various items by myself.

[@rekcednayr]

Super helpful, thank you. Do you remember the size of the wire conduit you used? It comes in 1/4 inch, 3/8, 1/2 etc.

[@brainrecall]

I think I used 3/8 for most of it, some sections were 1/2.

[@MostlyInteresting]

Actually have a grease fitting on the hub is a little bit silly. It's just an invitation to put a grease gun on there and blow the seal out. Far better just to slip the hub off and cleaning grease it. Enclosed bearings like that that do have grease fittings or supposed to have a plug on the opposite side that you take out so when you pump in Grease the old grease comes out the other side, and pressure never has a chance to build up.

[@jaket6007]

What I set mine up I'm going to do a metal front so I can attach a harbor freight 2500# winch for loading lawn mowers easily

[@ouchman4212]

Thanks for the review video

[@mrgearbox]

lap joint is the name you were looking for.

[@RenderingsToTheMAX]

just search for "Bed Rail Brackets" on Amazon for anyone wondering how to get brackets like the ones shown in the video...as well as other styles too. Posting as there were no links in the video description and I went searching...

[@dondale68]

''Did the staining in a hurry'',,, So what it looks great, a lot better than some of the 'POSs' you'd see around here! Do you have to put liability insurance on your trailer, or does the tow vehicle's coverage cover the trailer??

[@brainrecall]

Good question, I never checked on insurance. The trailer itself is not worth insuring, I assume the car liability will cover any other issue.

[@john21031]

Looks good. What is the tongue height?

[@glenmccormack3293]

nice trailer

[@k0p7185]

Can you post the links to buy the brackets from Amazon and eBay? I really like your ideas.

[@brainrecall]

These should work. Looks like they sell them in complete sets now: Corner Stake Rack Connector Set, 8 Pc. / 4 Corners amzn.to/2W9FQWj

[@TxDuallyNation]

The nuts are 17mm The grease is shipping grease and is NOT meant for the actual use of the the trailer

[@brainrecall]

Not on mine, 17mm was too large. Differences in manufacturing, I'm sure, so others may not have that issue. And the grease in mine was not cosmoline, it looked and felt like moly axle grease.

[@tmkrick]

What do you estimate is the weight of the trailer after you have this all installed? I'm looking to pull this with a prius. I'm assuming I can pull a total of ~1k lbs, including trailer.

[@brainrecall]

I'd estimate about 250 pounds for the trailer, 20 pounds for the spare, 20 pounds for the jack, and about 180 pounds in wood and hardware, so about 470 pounds. You can cut some weight by using 1/2 plywood or removing the sides.

[@visualkeirockstar]

Do they sell the spare tire too? I don't see it on the website.

[@gregorygould895]

Don't take the fenders off someone did and a rock came around the tire hit and broke out his rear window, best to get like an L bracket to secure the fender better

[@brainrecall]

Agree. The fenders after all these years are fine, and I didn't make any changes to them.

[@Diana-wg1tm]

trayble that was cute !

[@BIGMAN503NYC]

would you recommend this to put a 1000 pound goldwing motorcycle if needed i can do any mods needed myself like welding or any reinforcements ect..i was thinking of buying the heavy duty 1720 lb model i want a trailer i can use for a variety of things from hauling stuff to hauling a snowthrower or a motocycle thanx...

[@brainrecall]

If I had a Goldwing I don't think I would. That's a lot of weight concentrated in a small area. Just walking around on the trailer you can feel it flex, so I wouldn't be confident with a large cruiser on it. Dirt bikes,, quads, yard machines, it would be fine.

[@BIGMAN503NYC]

ok thx ill invest on a heavy duty mtcy one...

[@allentig]

please tell me you later figured out you needed to get that factory grease out? if not, you need to do it asap! you can get a 4 pack of the seals from habor freight customer service , for $5.99. you will end up being one of those guys crying on the side of the road, and you wont even be able to go to parts store, cause those seals are super hard to find

[@bigw1552]

Did the HF store manager sign and stamp the back of the certificate of origin? Also, how did the inspection go?

[@rnranger1132]

Here in AZ, I did not have mine stamped and we have no inspection.

[@FIFTYmil]

Hey I'm from Canada but there's a Harbor freight close to where I live across the border. Do they stock these trailers at the store or do you have to order online?

[@brainrecall]

My store had one in stock, and it was in bad shape (at least the boxes were). Best to call ahead to check.

[@FIFTYmil]

thanks Joe!

[@rnranger1132]

Who makes the front tire mount?

[@billlink7116]

How is it to fold? Easy enough?

[@GeorgiaRidgerunner]

Hey man thanks great video.... Very thorough and infomative....When the harbor freight here in my town opens (New store opening soon) Im gonna by the non folding trailer ... Im buying a Harbor freight trailer because my budget is comparable to a shoestring... Not sure on my size yet...you see im planning on building my trailer to haul a jon boat and my camping gear but i want to be able to use the trailer as a basis for setting up my camp as i do enjoy camping just not roughing it.... Im a bit curious do you think mounting the batterys and inverter in a sealed box (probablywood) would be to much weight on the tongue of the trailer ??? Thanks all ideas will be considered

[@wildbill23c]

Mounting batteries an inverter, and sealed box on the tongue would be fine, the more important limit is your tow vehicle's hitch weight capacity. I'm looking at one of these trailers as well, in the non-foldable type...I could care less if the stupid thing folds up, once the deck is put on, and the sides it won't fold up anyhow LOL.

[@GeorgiaRidgerunner]

+William Todd (williamtodd) my truck has just the standard bumper ball 200lbs max tongue weight i think... however after doing research i think batterys in a box might be a substantial safety risk as they release a toxic gas while being charged forgot what they supposedly release

[@wildbill23c]

georgiaridgerunner 79 If you have breathing holes on the bottom of the storage box you'll be fine. Also, you may want to use deep cycle batteries rather than conventional car batteries if you plan on draining the batteries without a constant charging source, deep cycle batteries will handle being ran down over and over again, car batteries typically don't like being ran down like that and won't last very long if you do so...another option are gel-cell batteries as they can be set in any position and not leak like a conventional battery will...and they don't give off any harmful gases while charging either.

[@GeorgiaRidgerunner]

+William Todd (williamtodd) breathing holes damn such a simple solution thanks.. im not familiar with gell cell batts. but i will research them... im building an alternator generator to recharge my batterys and yes deep cycle batts would be better than an automotive batt. but i was thinking of golf cart batts. there deep cycle but theyre bigger than any marine batt. i ever saw.. but the weight and price may rule those ( budget is limited)

[@williamgorski7784]

Dude, the heads are 5/8 and lock nuts are 11/16th. Comon man!

[@brentbradley6711]

wrong

[@markroeder2491]

Can you fit 4x8 material flat on the bottom?

[@BigKenNC]

HF coupons say you can't use for trailers. Did they give you any problem when you purchased yours?

[@brainrecall]

Not at all. Maybe they changed their policy?

[@BigKenNC]

images.harborfreight.com/cpi/emails/1517/b/20off.html

[@nicholasjohnparry]

They have a coupon specific to the trailers In the magazine I just got. Payed 350 for the normally 450$ heavy duty version

[@kuppler14]

hello. Quick question on the Certificate of Origin For a Vehicle paper. Does someone at harbor freight have to sign that? I have all the other papers. but no one signed that. in your video there is a name on it.

[@kuppler14]

I forgot to add. Im from Ny as well

[@brainrecall]

Yeah, I heard of stories of that happening. Go back to the store, they'll have to fill out some of the form, stamp it, and bash in a bunch of info on their computer. Good luck!

[@kuppler14]

Thanks... I went back and got it all taken care of. Thanks for the info. Great video.

[@matthewruchwa1859]

Where did you get the stake holders and were the holes in the trailer for the drilled already or you did it on your own?

[@brainrecall]

They came with the trailer, all the holes were pre-drilled.

[@matthewruchwa1859]

Thanks.

[@soyomofo3162]

Why not add the tire on the underside of the tongue frame so you can put a trailer box on the top side? I wouldn't remove the side wheel fenders less you want a rock to crack your back windshield, tail lights etc...!

[@brainrecall]

I had to remember this, but if the tire was mounted on the underside it would interfere with the folding, it would be in the way preventing the tounge from folding flat. Of course, if you remove it then that isn't a problem. And yes, I agree, don't remove the fenders. They are fine as is, noise was never a problem.

[@ellage121]

at 7:45 you sounded like Jerry Lewis LOL

[@gbam98]

Just drove 30 miles to get mine. Came home started putting frame together and saw that missing 2 brackets that hold the tounge hitch and one Cotter clip ring and who knows what else. Intentional I believe by the non trusting Chinese.

[@brainrecall]

The boxes it is shipped in are woefully inadequate. This much steal should be shipped in a crate, not cardboard.

[@cubey]

5/8 is the same as 16mm

[@garygray7466]

how tall are the sides?

[@brainrecall]

Four foot, I split a sheet of plywood down the middle. For me, I can still reach to the bottom standing outside it, but I wouldn't want anything taller.

[@mitchellmitchell6938]

You sound like Johnny Depp

[@brainrecall]

Ha, certainly don't look like him...

[@mitchellmitchell6938]

@@brainrecall maybe his back end? Lol joking

[@youngfarmerben]

You talked about EVERYTHING except folding......

[@brainrecall]

Yup! Uploading a video on that in a few moments

[@FireOrWater1]

You gave them your certificate of origin! They are the owners now! Ignorance of the real laws is why we smart people are having so much grief! The government will take it all because people choose to stay ignorant!

[@brainrecall]

The government owns the roads. Play by their rules or not at all.

[@nicholasjohnparry]

Lol They usually take he certificate and send you a title in the mail.. and give you registration typically on the spot

[@williamgorski7784]

Wait, you a bunch of bolts backwards ! Carriage bolts go on the outside bro otherwise someone can just take your trailer apart. Plus look at your fenders! Comon MAN!!!!

[@brainrecall]

What in the world are you talking about?