Harbor Freight Trailer

[Chris near Kansas City]

I ran the 8" wheeled version for between 8,000 and 10,000 miles with no issues. I narrowed the trailer so that the Sears car topper just fit between the fenders and I also lengthened the tongue about 2 feet. Aluminum diamond plate for the deck. The trailer worked well for the money I had invested. A bit on the heavy side, due to me overbuilding it some, but it was solid.

[ghostler]

I'm now building my trailer, Harbor Freight (HF) 90153 trailer chassis and Sears X-Cargo box. Box is just loosely placed to get an idea of how it will look. Next step is to procure a sheet of 3/4" thick plywood for the deck to mount the box on.

I'm using my Harbor Freight tire balancer. Supplied tires and wheels were not balanced. One required 1.5 ounces weight, the other 3 ounces. I'm using 1/4 ounce weights from HF, that was 12 pieces to make up 3 ounces. I checked into getting 1 or 2 ounce stick ons, but the costs are too high at the local auto parts stores. I don't do enough wheels to purchase in bulk quantities.

[Scott-(Altoona, PA)]

Just like pressing the Staples button, well that was easy! I barely broke a sweat viewing your pics.
You may want to swap your S hooks on the chains for D rings, they stay in place and you can move them to different links if necessary depending on the tow vehicle. Remember to always cross you chains and twist if needed to keep them from dragging.

[ghostler]

Thanks for the tip on using D-rings instead of the factory S-hooks, Scott. One thing I did prior to mounting the wheels on the axles was to remove the grease seal for access to the inner bearing, thoroughly pack both inner and outer roller bearings with axle grease. Then I filled the back side of the grease seals with grease, reseated them both. The factory did a hasty grease seal pack, which is insufficient for road use.

One thing I noticed is that the grease nipple would fill the inner core of the bearing chamber with grease. I'm not sure if that really works. I never filled the core of my vehicle front wheel bearings full of grease. It's just wasted. Grease is of sufficient density, I doubt if it would migrate to the bearing surfaces. A better plan IMO is to remove the wheels and hand repack the bearings periodically.

Also, I slightly preloaded the bearings, which removed any play in the assembly. A loose wheel will vibrate during high speed roll and will beat the bearings to junk. I don't know if it is worthwhile to replace these Chinese bearings with Timken bearings. Thoughts?

The slipper leaf springs are rated for 1,000 lbs. maximum load. I'm thinking of replacing these with 425 lbs. rated leafs. There is no way I'm going to get anywhere near 1,000 lbs., even sitting on the trailer does not budge the springs.

I looked into independent suspensions, but the amount of modification to make it work would be down the road, at least for now, due to having to rework the fenders to clear the lower ride or raise to clear fenders.

[ghostler]

Actually, after relooking the specs, the 90153 12" tire model and 8" tire model have the same platform space (40.5"Wx48"L), the specs on the 90153 include fender spacing. I got it titled and licensed at the New Mexico Motor Vehicle Department Friday, cost me all of $46 including a permanent plate. Plate is the standard trailer plate, much larger than my motorcycle plate.

Since, I'm adding a 3/4" plywood deck. To reduce the spring rate to that suitable for the load I will be carrying by motorcycle, I will remove two of the leaf helper springs, leaving the base spring. I found this trick on one of the Goldwing forums. I also bought a 4'x8' sheet of 7/16" oriented-strand board (OSB) sheathing. This will be used to shim under the X-Cargo box to provide a structural flooring base so any heavy objects are supported by the board and not the box's molded feet pads. Over time, I could see the plastic continually flexing to the point of cyclic fatigue if I didn't do this.

For tie down brackets, I have two 3' long 1.5"x1.5" L channel steel brackets with holes every inch or so, that will run along lengthwise along the inside left and right edges.

Since OSB does not do well absorbing water, I will prime and seal both it and the plywood with oil based primer and paint a coat or two of Rustoleum enamel on both, sealing all hole edges as well.

How do you folks connect the chains? My trailer hitch doesn't have rings for the chains. The 1-1/4" receiver doesn't have rings welded to it like some of the other bikes. Is there a 1-1/4" hitch tube that comes with the rings?

[ghostler]

My previous arrangement, mimicking a car rooftop mount didn't leave much support for the X-Cargo bottom. I added a 3/4" thick ply deck, an improvement, but this X-Cargo shell is thin supported by molded feet in the bottom, and would easily crack from vibration over time if I loaded something heavier in it. So, I added a 7/16" thick OSB ply support adapter to the top of the deck, with cutouts to clear the feet.

One HF wheel hub bearing cap was slightly oversized, I could not install it. I bought another from HF for a couple bucks. It was a bugger to get on, but I made a special tool using a Schedule 40 steel 2"x1-1/2" bushing, 1-1/2" nipple and 1-1/2" cap. It fit the bearing cap perfectly. A couple whacks with a hammer and it was seated squarely in place.

[Turbo4x4]

I've been using the HF trailer with 8" wheels for 3 years now, at highway speeds as high as 80 mph, and over 6000 miles with 1 tire change, and have never once experienced any stability or reliability issues. The clamshell latches are pretty cheap and require careful latching & unlatching, but after properly lubing the axles after my initial purchase, this trailer has performed flawlessly.

[Chris near Kansas City]

I too, had removed one of the leafs on my HF. Don't know if they've changed them, but my HF trailer had odd sized bearings. The standard Wallyworld/auto parts house trailer bearing kits wouldn't work. I had found numbers on the trailer towing forum. Not sure I have that list anymore. May have sent it with the trailer when I sold it.

[ghostler]

I too, had removed one of the leafs on my HF. Don't know if they've changed them, but my HF trailer had odd sized bearings. The standard Wallyworld/auto parts house trailer bearing kits wouldn't work. I had found numbers on the trailer towing forum. Not sure I have that list anymore. May have sent it with the trailer when I sold it.

Thanks for the tip, Chris. I'm going to give the stock bearings a try, just keep them well lubricated and bearing preload proper so there is no slop and ensuing hammer.

My use of ply decking adding 60 lbs. may seem a little overkill but I plan to carry a 44 lbs. 180 Watt musical instrument amplifier/PA system in mine, plus support equipment. That much weight requires floor support and an internal tie down system.

[debron]

Maybe try some Dyna Beads (or the like) int the tires to keep them running smooth since the tires are not likely to be balanced...... Less wear and tear on the bearings????? Just a thought......

[ghostler]

Maybe try some Dyna Beads (or the like) int the tires to keep them running smooth since the tires are not likely to be balanced...... Less wear and tear on the bearings????? Just a thought......

If you notice in a post above:

http://www.amervoyassoc.org/forum/viewt ... 881#p58784

I have a Harbor Freight motorcycle tire balancer that I am using in the upper left of the photo. Weights added were 1.5 oz on one tire and 3.0 oz on the other. That would be the other option. With 3 oz off, that would produce some noticeable shake at speeds, I imagine.

[debron]

If you notice in a post above:

http://www.amervoyassoc.org/forum/viewt ... 881#p58784

I have a Harbor Freight motorcycle tire balancer that I am using in the upper left of the photo.

Oops, missed that. But you did notice that the tires come unbalanced from HF.

[ghostler]

Oops, missed that. But you did notice that the tires come unbalanced from HF.

It's not a defect, that's a factory feature.

Update 24-Jun-2014: Sarcasm aside, one thing I have noticed about Harbor Freight items is that they for the price go a long way toward meeting a need at a well within budget cost, but lack some refinements that one would take for granted if US made (at least US stuff 40 years ago). Unbalanced tires is one. From descriptions, there is varying consistency in quality control of the axle assembly construction. Mine had noticeable tooling marks on the axle bearing hub rim, where someone at the factory apparently had hub cover fit problems. I had to buy another hub cover that would fit. 900W generator I bought, the nylon-like 2 cycle oil measuring cup and fuel strainer basket are made of a plastic that if left in fuel tank storage compartment just under the filler cap where it soaks in the fuel, the plastic swells and is a bugger to remove. (However, it will shrink back to size if left to air dry and air out. Now I only use as necessary and keep separate.) Workbench I bought is well constructed except for lack of fasteners and mounting holes in the center of the bench, causing shifting sides when closing drawers. I corrected by drilling additional holes through the bench top and installing bolts.

I was able to afford a trailer and I am not complaining. I could have spent another $1,000 for something that was already proven and ready to run. But one needs to anticipate additional minor work to get things to work to full satisfaction.

[Chris near Kansas City]

Cost benefit analysis (meaning, looking into my wallet) confirmed the first trailer I would own would need to be a HF/sears super special edition. It did exactly what I wanted it to do, which was haul stuff.

The thought of balancing the 8" wheels/tires never even entered my mind, which is kinda crazy when I think about it. At the time, the tires that came on the trailer were better quality than what HF was selling in their stores.

I spent $1400 on buying a 1993 Escapade 2 years ago. Just finished spending another $600 to get it travel-ready and I'm still depressed cause the lid is slightly warped and pretty much not worth the effort to fix. Didn't see it in the craigslist ad and had a friend pick it up 1200 miles away for me. $2000 would have bought a really, really nice trailer. Mine is nice, but not $2k nice. In other words, I'm not fully satisfied, LOL. Stick with the HF and it'll do fine. Maybe you'll move on to something else, maybe not.

[ghostler]

Found a caveat. My HF weights are falling off the wheels. Seems they are coated with a type of paint that doesn't allow the HF weights to continue to stick, in spite of me carefully cleaning off the surfaces of any oils and residues prior to installing.

[NSASarge]

I did notice that the PiggyBacker came with a Cooler Basket, Spare Tire, LED Tail Lights, Folding Tongue Stand, Chrome Bumper, Alloy Wheels and a Swivel Coupler. I don't have a trailer ... yet, but I have been looking at the HF rig. I haven't added up the cost of adding all those other items to the HF rig so I'm wondering if all the extras will add up to the cost of a PiggyBacker? I think the most important item is the swivel coupler. Opinions?

[Scott-(Altoona, PA)]

I have a swivel coupler on my Time-Out trailer but not my HF. It was already on the TO otherwise I wouldn't have added it. The coupler on a regular hitch will move quite a range on a ball, think about it how many hundreds of thousands of regular/solid hitches are out there being used with pickup trucks and suv's!
The swivel hitch will save your bike hitch from getting damaged should the kickstand sink while parked and the bike falls. Otherwise if the hitch didn't swivel the trailer would most likely not flip and the hitch may get twisted. Towing you will not see a difference due to the sphere/ball in the coupler!
Just my two cents!

[Chris near Kansas City]

Pros and cons both ways regarding the swivel hitch. I get along just fine without it.

[Turbo4x4]

Pros and cons both ways regarding the swivel hitch. I get along just fine without it.

That's fine, until you drop your bike.
Not a matter of if, but when. Been riding for 50 years. It's just a matter of when. No disrespect, Chris. Just saying how it ultimately is.

[Chris near Kansas City]

Harbor Freight does have their own knock-off of the PiggyBacker.

http://www.harborfreight.com/600-lb-cap ... 66771.html

http://piggybacker.com/Piggybacker/Pigg ... ailer.html

PiggyBacker does try to protect their name and investment and product line as much as possible. Last I had heard, you generally cannot purchase the HF version of the PBacker and then order the cooler rack or other accessories from PBacker. They'll ask for the ID number off the trailer to verify you actually own a PiggyBacker. Can't say that I blame them.