Nice job on the assembly and the video. I think the extra detail on how it comes from the store, and all the extra accessories to complete the job was a nice touch. As a mechanical kind of guy who also ran trucks and equipment for many years, it’s easy to forget that something which seems elementary to me or someone familiar with this type of operation can be very daunting to someone who is not. Also I like that you spent time explaining some of the factors which relate to the use and operation of the trailer. Again, great job on covering routine maintenance procedures. You thought this video out very well, and your information and recommendations are spot on for a novice trailerer. I give you an A+ on this one
A thorough and well produced video. Having built one of these and added some of my own modifications, I have a few tips for those considering a Harbor Freight trailer: I recommend purchasing the 1720 lb capacity trailer rather than the 1195 lb capacity trailer. It's only $30 more but comes with Box channel tow bars and cross-members rather than C channel, and the Tow Bar attachments provide more reinforcement. They also come with 5.30-12 5-lug wheels rather than 4.80-12 4-Lug. The axle is also heavier duty. I used cinder blocks standing on end from the beginning, with cheap wash/cleaning cloths on them to prevent scratching. I built the trailer entirely upside-down on the blocks including installing the fender brackets, but minus the fenders to prevent damage during flipping. Only then did I flip the trailer right side up and finish the detail work including the coupler, light brackets, and lighting. If you have any power tools that use a 5/8" /16mm flat wrench for blade or bit changes, they work perfectly to hold the fixed nut on the casters while installing the stud nuts. When installing the axle and spring assemblies, install the fixed spring bolts at the front, but not the rear bolts that retain the slipper tails. After installing the axle and hand tightening the U bolt nuts, rotate the entire assembly forward for easy access to the U bolt nuts. This is important because those nuts requite being tightened to a specific torque and it's mush easier to do while rotated. It is not "shipping grease" in the hubs. The supplied grease is perfectly adequate, as long as the bearings are fully packed with it. If not, purchase some equivalent wheel bearing grease and pack them more fully. There are three reasons you'd need to replace the grease: If you contaminate the original grease with dirt and muck during assembly, if you will be hauling heavy loads for long distance highway travel, or if you intend to use it as a boat trailer that will be submerged. For the first, replace with the same type. For the second, replace with grease rated for higher prolonged speeds. For the third, use a waterproof boat trailer grease. Run a ground wire to every light. These trailers are kits and designed to fold. Since the pieces are pre-painted and the pivot points are the only connection between the tongue and trailer, and the two halves of the trailer, they have very poor electrical continuity. You will avoid a lot of headaches later by running full grounds. A hair dryer will work on most heat shrink, and avoid damaging painted surfaces. If you use the self-soldering waterproof connectors, a hair dryer might not provided enough heat. Test first. Do not use electrical tape for any sealing or bundling. It's intended for temporary holding and protection of wires and will not last, especially exposed to the elements. Use rubber tape instead. I also recommend not using the automotive wire taps. They are fine for low power tapping inside a car, but also not designed for the elements and will corrode or come loose. Cut and strip the wires and use the butt connectors. IMPORTANT NOTICE: I have seen far too many people claim these trailers are not strong enough from being bolted together and recommend welding them. That is complete nonsense. They will flex a bit like all trailers, but are very strong when assembled as designed. Aside from a lot of stripping and repainting, welding them will result in a weaker trailer prone to structural failure because the geometry is very different between parts that bolt together and those designed to be welded. Not only would the welds be subject to additional stress due to incomplete fusion between parts, but you'd lose the friction between them that is provided by the clamping force of the bolts. To mark the trailer bolt head locations, put pieces of duck or metal foil tape in each spot on the underside of the plywood, place it on the trailer and align it, then tap each spot with a mallet to create an impression of the bolt head in the tape. Do not over tighten the carriage bolts. The square shoulders need to seat, but you don't want the head to crush the plywood. It's not really necessary to bolt the deck to the cross-members in the middle. The four side rail holes and the middle holes in the front and rear cross-members are enough. Make sure to shim the areas over the cross-members, especially where you install bolts. If you force the plywood to flex you can create micro-fractures in the glue that will wick moisture and cause the plywood to prematurely fail. I cut 1/8" tempered hardboard into 1-1/2" strips and glued them to the underside of the plywood in line with the cross-members to fully support the plywood all the way across. REGISTRATION Check your state requirements. Some don't require these to be registered at all, while others have a one or two year registration. Here in Arizona it's a lifetime registration as long as it's not used commercially. Many states will also require an inspection before the tags are issued, so make sure you assemble the trailer as designed. MODIFICATIONS Because our car is small and the receiver is quite low, I didn't want nor could find a ball mount with an extended rise. To compensate I installed the coupler onto the coupler plate and then attached it to the underside of the tow bars rather than the top, lowering the coupler by 2-5/8". I installed the flat T plate on top which also helps strengthen the coupler and makes it far more difficult for thieves to remove the coupler or chains. Instead of using the clamp that comes with the trailer jack, I cute two pieces of 1-1/2 steel tubing, painted them to match the trailer, and bolted them to the right hand tow bar on top and bottom. I bolted the mounting plate of the jack to the tubes but on the inside so the jack is more centered and out of the way. It required modifying the plate, and drilling into the top and bottom of the tow bar (never drill into the side of the tow bars), but it's a lot cleaner and makes the jack harder to steal (including some extra security measures I designed into the mount). I didn't build the trailer to fold since we didn't need that option. I still installed the caster brackets but without the casters. I also cut off the ends that have the flat shoes welded to them. This provides a perfect jacking point for the car's factory pinch-weld scissor jack should we need to change a flat tire. To avoid paint wear I placed large, thick nylon washers between the tow bars and the brackets. These trailers will bounce on the tires when unladen or only carrying light loads. Since ours will only carry fairly light material loads and sporting equipment like bikes and kayaks, I removed the auxiliary leaves from the springs to soften the ride. Doing so reduced the load capacity from 1720 lbs to around 600 to 800 lbs, so do not remove them if you ever plan to haul heavier loads with the trailer. There are after-market kits available that will soften the ride while maintaining the load capacity, but you need to be handy with drilling and welding to install them. I didn't buy a traditional clamp-on spare tire bracket because they are awkward, unsightly, and unsecure. Instead I designed, engineered, and fabricated an automotive style winch that holds the tire under the rear section of the trailer. It uses the same wrench as the car jack and the same socket as the trailer lug nuts. It's too complex and used a lot of scrap materials I had on hand so I can't go into detail, but perhaps it will inspire others to design their own, or give them another idea how to include a spare tire.
You & your mom are awesome! Good job, thank you for the detailed instructions. I was having issues putting mine together! I'm a 76 & retired electronic & and mechanical engineer. The supplied manual assembly instructions were horrible. You saved me from taking having to return this trailer to Harbor Freight...! Cheers, and thanks again!
very nice, very nice. I was gonna say this is very basic but then I realized that not everyone had my experience. Based on your video you are willing to learn, followed instructions closely and did a superb job on building and maintaining the trailer. very good job!
Really excellent video. I was looking at the same trailer a few years ago and have been still contemplating getting it, but don't have a car with a hitch anymore. Watching this has made me reconsider getting this trailer so I can get lumber/small power equipment. Thanks!
Just so you know many people who own the same trailer have a slightly different folding/storing technique that allows them to store with one person and should allow you and your mom to store it upright by yourselves. Instead of fully folding the back half up they attach some kind of strap or bracket that holds it up at about (but slightly less than) a 90 degree angle before they lift it onto the casters, the reason is if you fully fold it up you have to lift all of that weight whereas if you leave it unfolded it acts as a counterweight making it MUCH easier, once its lifted up you then finish folding the back half up and secure it and finish the rest like normal. I hope this helps.
Wow, what an amazing professional video. FYI, in most states it is required that all lights work. Even if side lights are not required, if you have them, they must work. Imagine those big rig semi's with 100 lights, just one light out means a ticket, so keep it simple. Also, make sure your license plate light works too. My brother has the same trailer and lived in Florida. He added PVC pipe to encase all of the wires in, to keep mice from eating the wires. He doesn't fold his up, so he omitted the casters.
Very comprehensive summary thank you ! I also have a Harbor freight trailer but it’s the 1,980# version with many similarities. 1. I trapped all my wire in that plastic corrugated wire tubing; you might consider tying down that little loop on the passenger side of your trailer so it doesn’t catch anything while traveling. 2. I bought extra trailer wire and ran everything on the driver side instead of both sides. Smart for you to add the ground to each section of the trailer, which is what I did too! I added a larger loop at the hinge and used an old long screen door spring to keep it pulled when everything’s flat and to allow to be looser to go around the hinge area when folded. I know about those finicky blue connectors, so I soldered & heat shrink sealed every electrical connection. 3. The hinge is just to allow folding to occur it’s not load structural, so I reversed the hinge bolt/nut and added a number of large flat fender washers that push the whole hinge away from the frame about a quarter inch allowing a full 4+ x 8 area to be used. 4. I bolted on the thickness of 2- 2x4s under the back end of the frame. I then lift the V upright while the back end (wood) gently drags on the floor (to help keep the trailer from sliding) until the front is up on the little wheels, remove the pins and slowly drop the V. It’s then easier to simply lift the back half of the trailer up separately and secure it. 5. I modified 2 square 4”x5” long U-bolts (w/ 2 nuts each) to slip into the top holes on each corner as it stands. 6. Consider a bolt with a whole drill through the end (and two washers) inserted from the inside, pointing out and then use a pin to hold it in place for your vertical 2x4 on the back wall. 7. After dealing with that structural but removable bolt near the springs, I made a modification to make it much much easier to bolt. Let me know if you want pics. Some of these ideas I got from other sites 😉 Hope this helps!
so glad to know someone that drives in tallahassee actually has a brain. especially when towing. and i agree with another you should cross your chains. and one other thing i did notice was maybe some blue locktite on them bolts would help keep them nice and tight. i built one of these to tow my can am ryker to motorcycle shows. works great.! all in all a very informative video. also a set of bearing buddies we use on boat trailers come in handy
Nice build. I am surprised it has held up as well as it has with it being so cheap! I may have to look into one as the fully built ones around here (south central PA) are $2200+. Keep the great videos coming :)
Im probably late to say this but. 1.) Make sure you lock the tongue in place when you move the trailer with that trailer dolly. If its unlatched it can fall on your foot. 2.) Your side marker lights only work with the headlights on, when you were testing the rear lights I noticed you didnt have the headlights on, you just tested the brake and turn signals. your wiring is most likely fine just make sure you turn your headlights on next time you do a trailer light check! Great video, I had one of these trailers before and although I didnt need to see any of this I watched it anyways because it was good, thanks!
I built the same last winter. A few tips for anyone with that same: 1) Upgrade the casters. 2) Get (or make) a folding license plate bracket. 3) Put 2 of the old caster on the back of the trailer. Now, when you want to fold it, leave the back unfolded and tip the front up letting the back half rest of the casters and the plate fold on its hinge. This will be just a bit over half the weight. Then you can just flip the back up. I'm not particularly strong, and I can do it all by myself (barely).
Friendly tip that's worked for me on lifting and lowering the trailer... I like to keep the back half of the trailer unfolded while lifting or lowering. That makes the total weight you have to lift much lighter. The back half will skate along the ground on those galvanized brackets.
Instead of making indentations for the bolt heads to fit inside, you can use longer bolts that go thru the plywood and frame. And instead of using carriage bolts you can use regular bolts. Carriage bolts work best when the square part is inside a material that won't loosen up, such as metal. Though the head of a carriage bolt does provide a rounded and smooth surface for when you load stuff on top. Another issue with carriage bolts is there's little surface sticking up that you can "grab" with a tool to keep it from turning while you tighten up the nut end. Again, if in wood it'll eventually just gouge a bigger hole in the wood. That's why a regular bolt is fine and maybe preferable. Another thing about carriage bolts is that when they corrode or rust it's very difficult to loosen them up if you want to change things on your trailer. Just something to think about. And all the extra bolts and wiring and stuff can be found at any good hardware store, and some of the stuff at an auto parts store. And Walmart has a lot of extra stuff for trailers. So if you don't live near a Harbor Freight or Home Depot you can still find stuff for your trailer. Overall you did a great job with this video. And even us DIY type people may find it interesting, mainly to see how someone figured it all out.
Nice job and I bet you do more maintenance than 99% of the guys out there. I paid $300 each to have my 5th Wheel RV and dual axle dump trailer bearings repacked this fall. Many people cross the safety chains. I believe the reason is if the trailer comes off the hitch, the crossed chains keep the trailer straight behind the vehicle. My Son in law borrowed my 7x12 flatbed and it came lose. I think he didn't latch it properly. The chains broke and the trailer hit the medium barrier and then his SUV. It could have been worse. Also, many trailers are stolen every year throughout the country. I suggest using a hitch lock. On my 7x14 dump trailer, I have a wheel lock, hitch lock and a Trak-4 tracker. One guy online paints the top of his axle pink so the cops can recognize it easily and you can also punch in a serial numbers on the frame and/or axle. Many use their driver's license number for this or other identifying number. Cheers
If you are still wondering about the splice connectors for side lights: replace them with the same shrink tubes with solder as you used with rear lights. Cut the long wire, and insert one wire from other and two from other side to get a split in the wire. If you would do this before installing the wire, you can just slip the tube over the wire and only cut the insulation in the middle of the long wire (easiest to do with compound wire strippers). This is from a DIY perspective, so I'm interested to know if somebody has a better idea. I avoid the splice connectors at all costs, as they have rather open design and thus collects moisture, which causes corrosion in the wires (we have road salt on winter which makes the problem even more obvious). In addition they may become loose or cut more strands from the wires due to vibrations, causing bad connection. Thanks for the video.
Get a small boat winch hand crank wench. Round bolt into the roof Eve trus. that way you guys can crank it up instead of lifting it. Or I think it's called the block and tackle if you get enough of them you can do it by yourself.
I have that same torque wrench and I didn't hear it click when I was torquing the oil plug bolt. It snapped off!! Luckily I was able to get it out. I've used that torque wrench half a dozen times so I thought I would be able to hear it click. oops. Made for a stressful oil change to be sure.
I don't have the exact model, but especially with low-torque oil plug bolts I have had difficulties to hear or feel the click as it's very faint on low end of the scale. It gets easier with routine as you have an idea on how much a certain torque should feel and hopefully notice something is off before snapping anything. I have had a cheap torque wrench having the spring inside snap off, which removes the limitation (clicking), so it's now just a large ratchet. Thankfully it was very noticeable, so I didn't break anything.
Wires won't ground through paint. The screw you tapped into the trailer touched raw metal and that's what made it ground. The other holes would have worked if you would have stripped the paint from them.
I would suggest using 4 bolts instead of the two securing the hitch ! Mother Daughter projects are wonderful ! Throw away those Scotchlock blue connectors ! Cross the safety chains ! Cut Cotter pins carefully, the cut piece will fly , hold with pliers or throw a rag over it .
The back half fell back into place I tried to stop it with my hand and my whole hand was scissored and caught between the frame and the leaf spring bracket area I though for sure I lost fingers or severed my wrist I had to pull my hand out with all my might be careful
Splice connectors are fine. The lights don't work because they designed the ground to go through the frame. The tongue is not electrically the same as the frame. Just add a ground wire to each of the lights. As I recall it is a white wire. I used treated wood for the deck and alumium sheet on top of that. I put a tarp on the hitch but that is it. I have had it for a few years. I stopped folding it and just made it ridged. I just about had the tongue come down and hit me in the head. It is just too heavy and not very safe. Since it is ridged, I bolted sides on it with 2X4s about 2 ft tall and made the back gate removable with pull pins. Harbor freight also sells ramps for loading things like lawnmowers and the such.
Isn't it a shame you can't read the comments before you begin assembly. I placed your video in my TH-cam Save folder. My car came with a pre-installed trailer hitch and 360 degree overhead view option. My owner's manual informed me to compute the GVW when towing a trailer. The formula is Weight of vehicle+weight of driver and passenger(s)+weight of the trailer+weight of cargo being hauled. Make sure you don't exceed that weight.
You can fold this by yourself using leverage. Have the trailer out flat.unhook the front locks, lift the rear end up so the tail lights are facing up. Hook a rope or strap to the rear end and the front end, then go lift the front end. As it tips back, the weight of the rear side will help you life the front end up.
also be very careful with the wires on this thing. they love to come loose and then find tires to be ripped out by... i eventually just bought wireless magnet lights...
This is the most comprehensive tutorials I've ever seen regarding trailers. You touched on everything. Great work.
Thank you! That was our goal 👍
Nice job on the assembly and the video. I think the extra detail on how it comes from the store, and all the extra accessories to complete the job was a nice touch. As a mechanical kind of guy who also ran trucks and equipment for many years, it’s easy to forget that something which seems elementary to me or someone familiar with this type of operation can be very daunting to someone who is not. Also I like that you spent time explaining some of the factors which relate to the use and operation of the trailer. Again, great job on covering routine maintenance procedures. You thought this video out very well, and your information and recommendations are spot on for a novice trailerer. I give you an A+ on this one
A thorough and well produced video.
Having built one of these and added some of my own modifications, I have a few tips for those considering a Harbor Freight trailer:
I recommend purchasing the 1720 lb capacity trailer rather than the 1195 lb capacity trailer. It's only $30 more but comes with Box channel tow bars and cross-members rather than C channel, and the Tow Bar attachments provide more reinforcement. They also come with 5.30-12 5-lug wheels rather than 4.80-12 4-Lug. The axle is also heavier duty.
I used cinder blocks standing on end from the beginning, with cheap wash/cleaning cloths on them to prevent scratching. I built the trailer entirely upside-down on the blocks including installing the fender brackets, but minus the fenders to prevent damage during flipping. Only then did I flip the trailer right side up and finish the detail work including the coupler, light brackets, and lighting.
If you have any power tools that use a 5/8" /16mm flat wrench for blade or bit changes, they work perfectly to hold the fixed nut on the casters while installing the stud nuts.
When installing the axle and spring assemblies, install the fixed spring bolts at the front, but not the rear bolts that retain the slipper tails. After installing the axle and hand tightening the U bolt nuts, rotate the entire assembly forward for easy access to the U bolt nuts. This is important because those nuts requite being tightened to a specific torque and it's mush easier to do while rotated.
It is not "shipping grease" in the hubs. The supplied grease is perfectly adequate, as long as the bearings are fully packed with it. If not, purchase some equivalent wheel bearing grease and pack them more fully.
There are three reasons you'd need to replace the grease: If you contaminate the original grease with dirt and muck during assembly, if you will be hauling heavy loads for long distance highway travel, or if you intend to use it as a boat trailer that will be submerged. For the first, replace with the same type. For the second, replace with grease rated for higher prolonged speeds. For the third, use a waterproof boat trailer grease.
Run a ground wire to every light. These trailers are kits and designed to fold. Since the pieces are pre-painted and the pivot points are the only connection between the tongue and trailer, and the two halves of the trailer, they have very poor electrical continuity. You will avoid a lot of headaches later by running full grounds. A hair dryer will work on most heat shrink, and avoid damaging painted surfaces. If you use the self-soldering waterproof connectors, a hair dryer might not provided enough heat. Test first.
Do not use electrical tape for any sealing or bundling. It's intended for temporary holding and protection of wires and will not last, especially exposed to the elements. Use rubber tape instead.
I also recommend not using the automotive wire taps. They are fine for low power tapping inside a car, but also not designed for the elements and will corrode or come loose. Cut and strip the wires and use the butt connectors.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: I have seen far too many people claim these trailers are not strong enough from being bolted together and recommend welding them. That is complete nonsense. They will flex a bit like all trailers, but are very strong when assembled as designed.
Aside from a lot of stripping and repainting, welding them will result in a weaker trailer prone to structural failure because the geometry is very different between parts that bolt together and those designed to be welded. Not only would the welds be subject to additional stress due to incomplete fusion between parts, but you'd lose the friction between them that is provided by the clamping force of the bolts.
To mark the trailer bolt head locations, put pieces of duck or metal foil tape in each spot on the underside of the plywood, place it on the trailer and align it, then tap each spot with a mallet to create an impression of the bolt head in the tape.
Do not over tighten the carriage bolts. The square shoulders need to seat, but you don't want the head to crush the plywood.
It's not really necessary to bolt the deck to the cross-members in the middle. The four side rail holes and the middle holes in the front and rear cross-members are enough.
Make sure to shim the areas over the cross-members, especially where you install bolts. If you force the plywood to flex you can create micro-fractures in the glue that will wick moisture and cause the plywood to prematurely fail.
I cut 1/8" tempered hardboard into 1-1/2" strips and glued them to the underside of the plywood in line with the cross-members to fully support the plywood all the way across.
REGISTRATION
Check your state requirements. Some don't require these to be registered at all, while others have a one or two year registration. Here in Arizona it's a lifetime registration as long as it's not used commercially. Many states will also require an inspection before the tags are issued, so make sure you assemble the trailer as designed.
MODIFICATIONS
Because our car is small and the receiver is quite low, I didn't want nor could find a ball mount with an extended rise. To compensate I installed the coupler onto the coupler plate and then attached it to the underside of the tow bars rather than the top, lowering the coupler by 2-5/8". I installed the flat T plate on top which also helps strengthen the coupler and makes it far more difficult for thieves to remove the coupler or chains.
Instead of using the clamp that comes with the trailer jack, I cute two pieces of 1-1/2 steel tubing, painted them to match the trailer, and bolted them to the right hand tow bar on top and bottom. I bolted the mounting plate of the jack to the tubes but on the inside so the jack is more centered and out of the way. It required modifying the plate, and drilling into the top and bottom of the tow bar (never drill into the side of the tow bars), but it's a lot cleaner and makes the jack harder to steal (including some extra security measures I designed into the mount).
I didn't build the trailer to fold since we didn't need that option. I still installed the caster brackets but without the casters. I also cut off the ends that have the flat shoes welded to them. This provides a perfect jacking point for the car's factory pinch-weld scissor jack should we need to change a flat tire.
To avoid paint wear I placed large, thick nylon washers between the tow bars and the brackets.
These trailers will bounce on the tires when unladen or only carrying light loads. Since ours will only carry fairly light material loads and sporting equipment like bikes and kayaks, I removed the auxiliary leaves from the springs to soften the ride. Doing so reduced the load capacity from 1720 lbs to around 600 to 800 lbs, so do not remove them if you ever plan to haul heavier loads with the trailer. There are after-market kits available that will soften the ride while maintaining the load capacity, but you need to be handy with drilling and welding to install them.
I didn't buy a traditional clamp-on spare tire bracket because they are awkward, unsightly, and unsecure. Instead I designed, engineered, and fabricated an automotive style winch that holds the tire under the rear section of the trailer. It uses the same wrench as the car jack and the same socket as the trailer lug nuts. It's too complex and used a lot of scrap materials I had on hand so I can't go into detail, but perhaps it will inspire others to design their own, or give them another idea how to include a spare tire.
You & your mom are awesome! Good job, thank you for the detailed instructions. I was having issues putting mine together! I'm a 76 & retired electronic & and mechanical engineer. The supplied manual assembly instructions were horrible. You saved me from taking having to return this trailer to Harbor Freight...! Cheers, and thanks again!
very nice, very nice. I was gonna say this is very basic but then I realized that not everyone had my experience. Based on your video you are willing to learn, followed instructions closely and did a superb job on building and maintaining the trailer. very good job!
Excellent video, thank you for providing so much detail overall
Really excellent video. I was looking at the same trailer a few years ago and have been still contemplating getting it, but don't have a car with a hitch anymore. Watching this has made me reconsider getting this trailer so I can get lumber/small power equipment. Thanks!
Just so you know many people who own the same trailer have a slightly different folding/storing technique that allows them to store with one person and should allow you and your mom to store it upright by yourselves.
Instead of fully folding the back half up they attach some kind of strap or bracket that holds it up at about (but slightly less than) a 90 degree angle before they lift it onto the casters, the reason is if you fully fold it up you have to lift all of that weight whereas if you leave it unfolded it acts as a counterweight making it MUCH easier, once its lifted up you then finish folding the back half up and secure it and finish the rest like normal. I hope this helps.
Very informative video, thank you. You and your mom did a GREAT job!!
Wow, what an amazing professional video. FYI, in most states it is required that all lights work. Even if side lights are not required, if you have them, they must work. Imagine those big rig semi's with 100 lights, just one light out means a ticket, so keep it simple. Also, make sure your license plate light works too.
My brother has the same trailer and lived in Florida. He added PVC pipe to encase all of the wires in, to keep mice from eating the wires. He doesn't fold his up, so he omitted the casters.
Very comprehensive summary thank you !
I also have a Harbor freight trailer but it’s the 1,980# version with many similarities. 1. I trapped all my wire in that plastic corrugated wire tubing; you might consider tying down that little loop on the passenger side of your trailer so it doesn’t catch anything while traveling.
2. I bought extra trailer wire and ran everything on the driver side instead of both sides. Smart for you to add the ground to each section of the trailer, which is what I did too! I added a larger loop at the hinge and used an old long screen door spring to keep it pulled when everything’s flat and to allow to be looser to go around the hinge area when folded. I know about those finicky blue connectors, so I soldered & heat shrink sealed every electrical connection.
3. The hinge is just to allow folding to occur it’s not load structural, so I reversed the hinge bolt/nut and added a number of large flat fender washers that push the whole hinge away from the frame about a quarter inch allowing a full 4+ x 8 area to be used.
4. I bolted on the thickness of 2- 2x4s under the back end of the frame. I then lift the V upright while the back end (wood) gently drags on the floor (to help keep the trailer from sliding) until the front is up on the little wheels, remove the pins and slowly drop the V. It’s then easier to simply lift the back half of the trailer up separately and secure it.
5. I modified 2 square 4”x5” long U-bolts (w/ 2 nuts each) to slip into the top holes on each corner as it stands.
6. Consider a bolt with a whole drill through the end (and two washers) inserted from the inside, pointing out and then use a pin to hold it in place for your vertical 2x4 on the back wall.
7. After dealing with that structural but removable bolt near the springs, I made a modification to make it much much easier to bolt.
Let me know if you want pics. Some of these ideas I got from other sites 😉
Hope this helps!
so glad to know someone that drives in tallahassee actually has a brain. especially when towing. and i agree with another you should cross your chains. and one other thing i did notice was maybe some blue locktite on them bolts would help keep them nice and tight. i built one of these to tow my can am ryker to motorcycle shows. works great.! all in all a very informative video. also a set of bearing buddies we use on boat trailers come in handy
Excellent video step by step explanation. I am very happy to join your channel.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Nice build. I am surprised it has held up as well as it has with it being so cheap! I may have to look into one as the fully built ones around here (south central PA) are $2200+. Keep the great videos coming :)
You need to grind/sand or file off paint to the bare metal to get a good ground. Use dilectric grease on connections
Im probably late to say this but.
1.) Make sure you lock the tongue in place when you move the trailer with that trailer dolly. If its unlatched it can fall on your foot.
2.) Your side marker lights only work with the headlights on, when you were testing the rear lights I noticed you didnt have the headlights on, you just tested the brake and turn signals. your wiring is most likely fine just make sure you turn your headlights on next time you do a trailer light check!
Great video, I had one of these trailers before and although I didnt need to see any of this I watched it anyways because it was good, thanks!
I built the same last winter. A few tips for anyone with that same: 1) Upgrade the casters. 2) Get (or make) a folding license plate bracket. 3) Put 2 of the old caster on the back of the trailer.
Now, when you want to fold it, leave the back unfolded and tip the front up letting the back half rest of the casters and the plate fold on its hinge. This will be just a bit over half the weight. Then you can just flip the back up. I'm not particularly strong, and I can do it all by myself (barely).
Good information. Thanks for the tip.
Nice video. Suggestion: Move the license plate to the fender- you won't damage it when you drop the trailer or run over stuff
Great job -- great job on the video as well.
Friendly tip that's worked for me on lifting and lowering the trailer... I like to keep the back half of the trailer unfolded while lifting or lowering. That makes the total weight you have to lift much lighter. The back half will skate along the ground on those galvanized brackets.
I like to use wago level snap nut connectors, make sure to get the correct wire gauge
I solved my grounding issues by just running a ground wire from the rear lights to the front wire harness and splicing in the side lights.
Instead of making indentations for the bolt heads to fit inside, you can use longer bolts that go thru the plywood and frame. And instead of using carriage bolts you can use regular bolts. Carriage bolts work best when the square part is inside a material that won't loosen up, such as metal. Though the head of a carriage bolt does provide a rounded and smooth surface for when you load stuff on top. Another issue with carriage bolts is there's little surface sticking up that you can "grab" with a tool to keep it from turning while you tighten up the nut end. Again, if in wood it'll eventually just gouge a bigger hole in the wood. That's why a regular bolt is fine and maybe preferable. Another thing about carriage bolts is that when they corrode or rust it's very difficult to loosen them up if you want to change things on your trailer. Just something to think about. And all the extra bolts and wiring and stuff can be found at any good hardware store, and some of the stuff at an auto parts store. And Walmart has a lot of extra stuff for trailers. So if you don't live near a Harbor Freight or Home Depot you can still find stuff for your trailer. Overall you did a great job with this video. And even us DIY type people may find it interesting, mainly to see how someone figured it all out.
Nice job and I bet you do more maintenance than 99% of the guys out there. I paid $300 each to have my 5th Wheel RV and dual axle dump trailer bearings repacked this fall.
Many people cross the safety chains. I believe the reason is if the trailer comes off the hitch, the crossed chains keep the trailer straight behind the vehicle. My Son in law borrowed my 7x12 flatbed and it came lose. I think he didn't latch it properly. The chains broke and the trailer hit the medium barrier and then his SUV. It could have been worse.
Also, many trailers are stolen every year throughout the country. I suggest using a hitch lock. On my 7x14 dump trailer, I have a wheel lock, hitch lock and a Trak-4 tracker. One guy online paints the top of his axle pink so the cops can recognize it easily and you can also punch in a serial numbers on the frame and/or axle. Many use their driver's license number for this or other identifying number. Cheers
To use the safety chains correctly, they should be crossed in order to form a cradle in case the hitch disattaches
Great job😁
If you are still wondering about the splice connectors for side lights: replace them with the same shrink tubes with solder as you used with rear lights. Cut the long wire, and insert one wire from other and two from other side to get a split in the wire. If you would do this before installing the wire, you can just slip the tube over the wire and only cut the insulation in the middle of the long wire (easiest to do with compound wire strippers). This is from a DIY perspective, so I'm interested to know if somebody has a better idea.
I avoid the splice connectors at all costs, as they have rather open design and thus collects moisture, which causes corrosion in the wires (we have road salt on winter which makes the problem even more obvious). In addition they may become loose or cut more strands from the wires due to vibrations, causing bad connection.
Thanks for the video.
Future use could be a foamie teardrop camper project.
The trailer ball serves as a ground for the side lights. With the trailer hitched to the vehicle, they should work just fine.
Get a small boat winch hand crank wench. Round bolt into the roof Eve trus.
that way you guys can crank it up instead of lifting it.
Or I think it's called the block and tackle if you get enough of them you can do it by yourself.
47:03 where did you order the grease seals from ?? Good video
Amazon: amzn.to/3vWt9Sq
On your un-removable bolts did you use some sort of thread locker?
Thanks. I see they are out of stock but I will checking.
Bonjour où peut-on se procuré cette jolie remorque sûr qu'elle site interne peut-on acheté je suis de France mers si Bonn vidéo
Why did you not take advantage of the grease fitting (zerk) on the hub?
I had read some reviews saying this would not be sufficient enough and my friend that has one of these trailers said this was the better way.
I see you have plenty of DeWalt Tools. DeWalt also makes great Cordless Ratchets. 😊
I have that same torque wrench and I didn't hear it click when I was torquing the oil plug bolt. It snapped off!! Luckily I was able to get it out. I've used that torque wrench half a dozen times so I thought I would be able to hear it click. oops. Made for a stressful oil change to be sure.
I don't have the exact model, but especially with low-torque oil plug bolts I have had difficulties to hear or feel the click as it's very faint on low end of the scale. It gets easier with routine as you have an idea on how much a certain torque should feel and hopefully notice something is off before snapping anything.
I have had a cheap torque wrench having the spring inside snap off, which removes the limitation (clicking), so it's now just a large ratchet. Thankfully it was very noticeable, so I didn't break anything.
Wires won't ground through paint. The screw you tapped into the trailer touched raw metal and that's what made it ground. The other holes would have worked if you would have stripped the paint from them.
I would suggest using 4 bolts instead of the two securing the hitch ! Mother Daughter projects are wonderful ! Throw away those Scotchlock blue connectors !
Cross the safety chains ! Cut Cotter pins carefully, the cut piece will fly , hold with pliers or throw a rag over it .
absolutely COMPETE!
Where can you mount trailer lights where they will not get smashed?????
What trailer hitch do you have one your CR-V?
It was installed at the Honda dealership so I don't know the specifics. Sorry I can't help.
The back half fell back into place I tried to stop it with my hand and my whole hand was scissored and caught between the frame and the leaf spring bracket area I though for sure I lost fingers or severed my wrist I had to pull my hand out with all my might be careful
Splice connectors are fine. The lights don't work because they designed the ground to go through the frame. The tongue is not electrically the same as the frame. Just add a ground wire to each of the lights. As I recall it is a white wire.
I used treated wood for the deck and alumium sheet on top of that. I put a tarp on the hitch but that is it. I have had it for a few years.
I stopped folding it and just made it ridged. I just about had the tongue come down and hit me in the head. It is just too heavy and not very safe.
Since it is ridged, I bolted sides on it with 2X4s about 2 ft tall and made the back gate removable with pull pins. Harbor freight also sells ramps for loading things like lawnmowers and the such.
May I suggest that you put or spray some wd40 on the galvanised brackets to retardant corrosion. congratulations from the U.K.
Isn't it a shame you can't read the comments before you begin assembly. I placed your video in my TH-cam Save folder. My car came with a pre-installed trailer hitch and 360 degree overhead view option. My owner's manual informed me to compute the GVW when towing a trailer. The formula is Weight of vehicle+weight of driver and passenger(s)+weight of the trailer+weight of cargo being hauled. Make sure you don't exceed that weight.
pull the in for the tongue first next time, so you dont have to lift the tongue up just to drop it down. it alot lighter that way
our problem with tail light because of the paint.
You can fold this by yourself using leverage. Have the trailer out flat.unhook the front locks, lift the rear end up so the tail lights are facing up. Hook a rope or strap to the rear end and the front end, then go lift the front end. As it tips back, the weight of the rear side will help you life the front end up.
You need to crisscross your chains and hook to the vehicle
Not all states require crossed chains
also be very careful with the wires on this thing. they love to come loose and then find tires to be ripped out by... i eventually just bought wireless magnet lights...