Woody
Woody GRM+ Memberand Dork
4/22/09 7:04 a.m.

A friend just got back from Iraq and needs a trailer for moving his motorcycle. Has anybody used one of these Harbor Freight folding trailers?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=90154

Ian F
Ian F Reader
4/22/09 7:26 a.m.

A friend of mine has one and loves it for occasional crap-hauling duties.

One caveate, though... the trailers are sold without tags or registration... so depending on where you live, you'll have to go through a procedure to get it registered and tagged... this varies from state to state. In PA (where I live) this process can apparently take a month or so do... and involves getting the trailer inspected by a shop and having them fill out a PENNDOT form... If time is an issue, it may be worth it to spend a little more to buy a new or used trailer that's already registered and can simply be transfered.

Woody
Woody GRM+ Memberand Dork
4/22/09 7:35 a.m.

Damn. He's from PA and his car and bike are in CT.

Ian F
Ian F Reader
4/22/09 7:37 a.m.

Does he have anything else he needs to move? May be easier to just rent a U-haul and a car dolly...

Per Schroeder
Per Schroeder Technical Editor/Advertising Director
4/22/09 7:50 a.m.

When you buy a HF, it comes with a title/mso and a bill of sale (your receipt) In FL, you just take that to the tag office and register and tag it like anything else.

I have one for tire hauling duties. Works great.

Per

Ian F
Ian F Reader
4/22/09 7:54 a.m.
Per Schroeder wrote: When you buy a HF, it comes with a title/mso and a bill of sale (your receipt) In FL, you just take that to the tag office and register and tag it like anything else.

Unfortunately, in PA it ain't that easy... The info I posted was spelled out fairly specifically on a displayed paper taped to the trailer sitting in the H-F store (near me in PA).

Xceler8x
Xceler8x GRM+ Memberand Dork
4/22/09 8:01 a.m.

I've got one I bought from a Miata racer. It hauls my tires and a lockbox full of crap. I treat it like a purse for my Miata. If I might need it it goes in there.

The trailer does great. Tracks straight. Solid up to and above 55 mph. Lightweight as well. I move it around by pushing it with my 110lb body and associated tiny muscles.

Dr. Hess
Dr. Hess SuperDork
4/22/09 8:10 a.m.

I bought this one: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=90153 I paid $145 for it out the door on sale and with a 15% off coupon. In Arkansas, just bring the MSO/receipt down and you can have a plate the same day, same as buying anything else.

I cut mine down. It's 16" narrower now, and about that much shorter, and I moved the axle over the spring to lower it. I'm mounting a car top box on it to pull behind my bike. It's my current project. I'm welding it all up and not using the bolts, which are very high quality BTW, not cheap crap.

Rusty_Rabbit84
Rusty_Rabbit84 Reader
4/22/09 8:15 a.m.

think my dad had one to tow my little bro's quarter midget around. Couldnt afford the rigs like the high end families... But it did the task well as far as i remember...

pete240z
pete240z Dork
4/22/09 8:17 a.m.

I too bought the one above and it works well for me. I would buy the larger 4'x8' size rather than this little one.

In Illinois you get a title that transfers through your state. No problem. I might turn it into a mini one-person tear drop trailer.

Dr. Hess
Dr. Hess SuperDork
4/22/09 9:24 a.m.

Oh, my friend bought one just like in your link, Woody. He built it and added a diamond plate deck with mil-spec tie downs (he was a tank commander and master gunner) and a bike tire grabber. I used it to tow my bike up here when we moved. My bike weighs about 900 lbs by itself. It worked great.

mistanfo
mistanfo Dork
4/22/09 9:37 a.m.

I'm looking into buying some extra metal to carry my bike on mine, which is just like Pete240Zs. I'm thinking that a nice metal U bolted down will carry it nicely. Just need to figure out the balance, and therefore how long the metal will need to protrude out the back. Thankfully, my bike is less than half of what the good Doctor's is, so it won't be much of an issue with the lesser trailer.

carzan
carzan New Reader
4/22/09 9:40 a.m.

Mine's been great...but the price has gone up about $100 since I bought it about 7 years ago. Shipping was free at the time, too.

Hasbro
Hasbro HalfDork
4/22/09 10:26 a.m.

On my second one. No complaints.

foxtrapper
foxtrapper SuperDork
4/22/09 12:42 p.m.

I've got one as well, years old, works fine.

We did bolt the side rails and run a solid deck, eliminating the folding function. You load that trailer down and it's very clear that the fold joints are being badly strained.

But since I've got some heavier trailers now-a-days, I may reverse that and go back to being able to fold it up. Not that it's very conveniently done, mind you.

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