Harbor Freight Trailer 1000 Mile Stress Test!

Back in July 2021 I hitched up the Harbor Freight trailer to put it to its toughest test to date. I made a 900+ mile round trip to Ohio on a run to pick up parts for my hot rod project.
On the way back the trailer was overloaded and subjected to speeds above the manufacturer's recommendations!
Did I discover the first problem with this valiant little trailer? Follow along and find out and see how well the trailer did (or didn't) hold up!
And don't forget to check out my other videos on the Harbor Freight Trailer and Hot Rod project:
Harbor Freight Trailer and Hot Rod Update Part 2: • Harbor Freight Trailer...
Harbor Freight Trailer and Hot Rod Update: • Harbor Freight Trailer...
Buying a Harbor Freight Trailer: • Buying A Harbor Freigh...
Harbor Freight 1720# Trailer
www.harborfrei...
All music used in this video is licensed for use per section 2.M. Of my Apple iMovie software license agreement viewable at; images.apple.co...

[@erikbardelas]

Dude you rock for not only continuing on making trailer follow up content, but also over all good videos! I caught myself watching / skimming thru a couple others. Rock on dude good luck on your hot rod project! I placed an order for a 1720 harbor freight trailer early December, still waiting for it to come in. Mainly to move around a 14ft Mercury Raft already setup, canoe/camping gear, and in a year or so do a cross country move from Miami Fl to Tulsa OK with just the essentials. One mod I will have to do besides flooring is for the raft is to extend the connection to the tailer hitch by a couple feet 2-3 already have an idea for that, and a shelf when for the camping setup. Cheers bud!

[@AJStarch]

Hey thanks for the kind words! Sounds like your going to have a fun project of your own and a good trip! I’ve done a few bare bones solo cross country trips on my motorcycle tent camping along the way so I can definitely relate.

[@ridebikesdrinkcoffee42]

love the surf Ohio tire cover!

[@AJStarch]

I’ve got an old Surf Ohio T-shirt still too!

[@andrewsbbq]

How’s this trailer holding up for you? Bearing still going strong? I’ve read the fender brackets snap from vibrations. Going to pick one of these up in a couple weeks

[@AJStarch]

All seems to be holding up well so far. Just went out and checked and my fender brackets look fine so far, no cracks. Definitely don’t sit or step on the fenders though as I would bet they’d bend instantly. Thanks for watching!

[@andrewsbbq]

@@AJStarch thanks for the quick reply! Cheers

[@jimlovelace1173]

they are great trailers. i have 2 of um. mine are 4 lug where yours is 5 lug. thats the only main difference between the 2. the only main flaw i found out is where the wires are mounted. other then that theyre great for the money.

[@AJStarch]

I agree, it’s a nice little trailer with some fixable flaws. I modified my wiring routes, protected it with plastic wiring loom and ran a dedicated ground wire to try to avoid electrical issues. The biggest flaw in my opinion is how poorly the bearings are greased from the factory. Thanks for watching and the comment!

[@jimlovelace1173]

@@AJStarch just put grease fittings in the baring caps like they did on the old ones n yer done.

[@erikbardelas]

Hey! So just a heads up I found in other videos that people are not just replacing the grease, they are also replacing the entire bearings as well. Apparently just taking the bearings to an auto parts store they will cross reference the part number and give you a "better quality" set.

[@AJStarch]

I saw where others replaced the bearings too and did consider it. But I also wanted to give the stock ones a fair shot. Once I pulled them out to check them, they really did seem to be a decently made bearing so I chose to pack them well with good grease and give them a shot. Once I get about 5000 miles on the trailer I will pull them and see how they are wearing.

[@seancervantes1]

I have a dashcam from Amazon that hooks onto my rearview and gives me a front cam and then another for the rear. Shows 1080p and can watch the trailer and load on the rearview a lot better to make sure nothing goes bad.

[@vinhha6073]

Oh that a good idea , never throughs about it... it's gonna be mine next buy for my little boat 👍

[@AJStarch]

Not a bad idea at all… I’d have trouble making it work on my Jeep because my rear view mirror is pretty worthless when the top is on.

[@philos212]

Great video! How is the trailer holding up? How many miles on it now?

[@AJStarch]

Thanks and thanks for watching! The trailer is still holding up very well but I don’t use it an extreme amount. It probably only has 3-4000 miles on it. I keep it stored inside so it is still in near mint condition.

[@philos212]

@@AJStarch that’s good to know. Thanks.

[@DolittleMccoy]

How much weight have you hauled in your harbor freight trailer? I have a small kubota tractor and needing a small trailer to haul it on. My tractor weights 985lbs. But seems like it should be heavier than that... Would you trust putting 1000lbs in the harbor freight trailer and hauling with it?

[@AJStarch]

Everyone is responsible for their own actions and limitations… that said, I have overloaded my trailer. I’ve had a bit over 2000lbs on it and it did fine but I also kept the center of gravity very low. Your tractor on the trailer may have a higher COG and result in different handling.

[@Nessal83]

How tight do you turn the bolts? There are no torque specs anywhere except for the wheel itself...some of sheet metal bends with no force at all like the two 19mm that holds the leaf springs on....also the u-bolt spring plate bends quite easily when torquing down....any advice?

[@AJStarch]

The only bolts I torqued to spec were the lug nuts. Every thing else I just used my experience and went by feel. Using standard box wrenches and a 3/8 drive ratchet it would take a real strain to over tighten. For the u-bolts I moved from bolt to bolt in a cross pattern to make sure they were all tightened evenly and then stopped when the plate started to deflect. They were pretty tight already at that point.

[@TheRoadTaken]

Any idea how many inches the bottom of coupler is from the ground in order to be level? I'm ordering a drawbar and hoping I got one with the right amount of rise.

[@AJStarch]

My trailer is currently folded up so I couldn’t get an exact measurement but I went out and measured and have a pretty good estimate of about 14.5”. Remember you want the trailer level when fully loaded on the tow vehicle so you have to account for tongue weight and suspension droop on the tow vehicle. Unloaded from the ground to the bottom of where the coupler would be is about 19” on my Jeep. Fully to overloaded the trailer is level. Thanks for watching!

[@TheRoadTaken]

@@AJStarch thanks for the follow up and measurements. Maybe I just need to sell my car and buy a Wrangler. 😘

[@keldonator]

What speeds were you traveling? Any sway?

[@AJStarch]

On the way up to Ohio with the trailer empty I was taking it pretty easy staying between 60-65mph most of the time. On the way back (probably a bit overloaded) I was between 65-70 most of the way (and higher a few times). And even though my Jeep is a lighter, short wheelbase vehicle, I didn’t experience any sway from the trailer at all. In fact it was really easy to forget it was even back there. Thanks for watching!

[@mtnguyen1696]

@@AJStarch just curious about the 45mph max speed from the manual, when does that apply (empty trailer or that's just max recommendation when pulling)?

[@AJStarch]

@@mtnguyen1696 The manual says not to exceed 45 mph when towing the trailer so I assume they mean empty or loaded. Thanks for watching!

[@mtnguyen1696]

@@AJStarch were you using the tires that came with the trailer?

[@AJStarch]

@@mtnguyen1696 Yes, I’m using the original tires. I did buy an extra wheel & tire to take along as a spare though. Thankfully I haven’t had to use it though.