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Aug. 7, 2011 6:39 p.m. fast_eddie_72 Dork

I just bought the Harbor Freight trailer from a friend of mine. He bought it, put it together, but never used it. So it's basically new, except for the red paint turning pink from sitting in his side yard.

He got a really nice box for it too, and I got that as well. I've been googleing to see what folks have done with this thing. Here's what I want to do. I want to figure out how to get eight tires, one set for the E Stock MR2, and one set for the FSP (or is that GSP?) Celica. The Celica will be running the 275 Hoosiers, so they will be a good bit wider than the trailer.

I've found some info that shows how to make the tongue longer - um, you just move the center support to the next set of holes. So I could put in some bracing and move the box out front. I can do some crappy welding, so that's not a problem.

What other ideas do you guys have. I followed one of these on the highway once and it rode pretty well. But there's a good deal of bounce in them. Anyone put shocks on them? I also thought about an arm at an angle on a pivot, then a rod across like a tire tail, then suspend the arm on a motorcycle shock/spring to let the tires bounce on their own weight. All kinds of crazy things I could waste time and money on!

Anyone have pictures of a cool tire trailer for inspiration?

Thanks,

Ed
Aug. 7, 2011 7:15 p.m. jhaas Reader

the bounce will go away with weight on the trailer.
Aug. 7, 2011 10:20 p.m. Hocrest HalfDork

I've seen tire trailers with vertical pipes that the wheels lay down over with the pipe going through the hub. Four post would allow two tires each and still give room for a box for jacks and tools.

Just make sure you secure them so they don't bounce off.

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Aug. 7, 2011 10:38 p.m. White_and_Nerdy HalfDork

Here's a variation on that theme that I used for a while. I noticed that with the cargo box on the back of the trailer, the front would tend to "wheelie" when I removed the wheels from it. Switching the box to the front and the wheels to the back prevented this.

I also found that storing my R-compounds sitting vertically on the trailer was causing flat spots. So I stacked them flat to prevent this.

I used a scrap piece of plywood to slide down both pipes on top of the wheels, and a couple of hose clamps to secure the wood in place. Never had a problem.

I also solved the problem of bounciness by removing one of the two leafs of each spring. This certainly lowers the trailer's cargo capacity, but if all you're using it for is tools and tires you don't need the full 1000lbs anyway. It rides much better and more smoothly with the lower weight this way.
Aug. 8, 2011 2:33 a.m. mad_machine SuperDork

nice idea with storing them on their side
Aug. 8, 2011 7:02 a.m. snipes Reader

Put the Tires at the back so the weight of the tool box keeps the tongue down.
Aug. 8, 2011 2:00 p.m. codrus New Reader

snipes wrote:

Put the Tires at the back so the weight of the tool box keeps the tongue down.

That depends on what kind of car you're driving. Miata tires yes, but for bigger cars with bigger wheels you may have more weight in tires than in tools! :)
Aug. 8, 2011 2:11 p.m. stuart in mn SuperDork

If the trailer has been sitting outside long enough for the paint to start fading, take a close look at the tires mounted on the trailer itself and make sure they're not dry rotted or checked.
Aug. 8, 2011 2:13 p.m. fast_eddie_72 Dork

stuart in mn wrote:

If the trailer has been sitting outside long enough for the paint to start fading, take a close look at the tires mounted on the trailer itself and make sure they're not dry rotted or checked.

I did. The tires look new. That paint is really terrible. I've never seen one that wasn't faded. Seems to happen pretty much immediately.

Thanks for all the ideas!
Aug. 8, 2011 2:27 p.m. joey48442 SuperDork

stuart in mn wrote:

If the trailer has been sitting outside long enough for the paint to start fading, take a close look at the tires mounted on the trailer itself and make sure they're not dry rotted or checked.

Normally I would agree, but my harbor fright trailer was pink buy July when I bought it in January!

Joey
Aug. 8, 2011 8:37 p.m. Fit_Is_Slo Reader

joey48442 wrote:

stuart in mn wrote:

If the trailer has been sitting outside long enough for the paint to start fading, take a close look at the tires mounted on the trailer itself and make sure they're not dry rotted or checked.

Normally I would agree, but my harbor fright trailer was pink buy July when I bought it in January!

Joey

Yea Worst paint ever!
Aug. 8, 2011 10:35 p.m. codrus New Reader

joey48442 wrote:

Normally I would agree, but my harbor fright trailer was pink buy July when I bought it in January!

Mine stayed red the 3 or 4 years I owned it, but then I parked it in the garage, in front of my Miata. No outdoor trailer parking at the condo complex I lived in at the time.
Aug. 8, 2011 11:17 p.m. fast_eddie_72 Dork

I've seen several people paint them without taking them apart. Looks like they turned out nice. I may do that down the road.
Aug. 9, 2011 5:27 a.m. foxtrapper SuperDork

Check your wheel bearings if it sits outside. They don't do a good job of keeping water out.

For bounce, lower the tire pressure. That trailer needs hardly any tire pressure when empty.
Aug. 9, 2011 6:55 a.m. Dr. Hess SuperDork

I built mine as a bike trailer, narrowed, shortened and with an Amazon sourced cargo box that I tubbed:

Since I won't be carrying anywhere near the weight rating on the trailer, I removed the extra leaf out of the springs. I also changed the axle to over the springs to lower it so that the tongue is the same height as my hitch. The whole thing is the same width as my bike, so I figger that if the bike can make it through, the trailer can too.

HF now sells a version of this with the box included.
Aug. 9, 2011 9:30 a.m. mad_machine SuperDork

I am thinking I need some hidden hitches for the Saab just so I can haul stuff that won't fit inside the hatch

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