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Posted by: Dragginbutt
No matter what brand you buy, make sure you grease the bearings prior to pulling it any great distance. The factory does not do a very good job lubing them. The HF trailer will work just fine. Speaking of larger trailers, you can look at a snowmobile trailer. I have a monster one, all alluminum from Load right. Deck is 10 ft long, by 8.5 wide. It is a moose to tow. My other trailer is an enclosed Pace V-nose that I use in my business. 19 ft long box, 7 ft wide. Much easier to see around, but I can't put two side by side inside. Have to run them nose to tail. I take that if I am going to be out over night.
Posted by: Dragginbutt
That is a toughie to answer because there are many different designs. You may be blessed with EZ-lube hubs, which have a grease fitting on them, and all you have to do is pop off the outer cover and pump grease into the zerk fitting and wipe off the excess. Do this every few months or so... Being carefull not to blow out the seals by pumping too much grease into them.....
Otherwise, you must pop off the metal cover that is over the hub nut, and cut the cotter key, and remove the large hub nut. Once that is off, just wiggle the hub and the bearing should pop out. At that point, you clean the bearings of all the old grease.. and then it becomes a skill to work grease back into teh bearing races and cover with more grease and re- assemble using a new cotter key after tightening your bearing nut... JUST SNUG. This should be accomplished while you spin the tire and just keep snugging, letting off, snugging let off etc, until you take up the play in the hub. DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN, or you will freeze the bearings.
This is something best left to the pro's, and if you are lucky, they will let you watch so you can do it yourself the next time...
Posted by: Dragginbutt
A couple observations. Use one of these bolt together trailers only if you occasionally will be hauling something like a few sheets of plywood etc.. and need to fold it up to get it out of the way when you are not using it. If you are repeatedly going to be hauling anything that weighs more than a couple hundred pounds, then I'd recommend going with a welded frame setup.
With decent trailers being available at lowes, home depot etc for just a little more money.. it is questionable as to which is the better "BUY".
The Harbor Frieght trailers are cheap.. and use sub-standard generic parts on them that were produced by a low bidder in some third world country.
Now in my way of thinking, am I willing to trust my $7500 quad to a $250 trailer that some guy working in a sweat shop hel! hole somewhere put together?.. Hmmm, you be the judge on that one...
Flimsey frame material, fenders that tear like paper.... Sounds like a no go to me...
Posted by: Dragginbutt
Let me qualify that ... I am talking about the Pace trailers... Not the el-cheapo's they also have on hand... I do admit that there is very little customer service when buying from them however, and getting PACE's attention is like talking to a brick. I just went through a huge mess with Pace. (See my webpage for pictures) The trailer was a special order, and has several things built into it that I will use in a business venture I am starting. The factory screwed up several things. Even when I provided measurements, diagrams, pictures etc.. they just could not grasp several things, and messed it up. Their sales people, do not talk to the draftting department, who in turn cannot convey anything technical to the production crew. When faced with several quality control/design issues, all I get is BS hand washing. Bottom line, I spent nearly 14K on a trailer that has sat at my dealer's lot to get me a new door ever since I had to drive to GA to get it waiting for PACE to respond . You would think they would be doing a better job of it.. In my experience so far with PACE, I could not honestly recommend them. Funny thing is, the Haulmark factory is right next door.
I will say though, I would be sucking wind if I didn't have a dealer in there fighting for me. That is something you would not get from Home depot or Lowes if you had a warranty issue.
Little Bill, you are right, my opinion was swayed by comments from other persons on this thread. I stand corrected.
Bottom line though, and I will stand by my comment.. is you get what you pay for in the end. When considering the value of what the trailers have to haul, I'd opt for what I consider a better constructed trailer (Welded tube versus channel)... one with brakes on it too. When you start hauling around a thousand or more pounds of extra weight, you can quickly overload your ability to stop the thing safely. Something to keep in the back of your mind.
This is just my opinion... and yours may differ from that.. and that is perfectly acceptable... It is a big world out there, and I think we can coexist and still be friends.
That is what I think the person who started the thread was looking for.. Opinions from others, and reasons why they support a position...
I like the idea of having regular vehicle sized tires on it so they are interchangable with the tow vehicle. Makes a lot of sense. Something you can only get when having it made to your specifications.
Posted by: BlackandRedWarrior
You can search the forums (specifically this area) as they have been talked about before.
One trick I read was to build the deck "upside down" so it can't fold so it's more rigid. Just torque the wheel hubs down to the proper spec. Someone torqued them to about 90lb (lug nuts!) and tore through his tires on the way to the DMV. THey just need to be snug.
Posted by: Nicname
I have seen some of the HF trailers at the local ride spot. I even checked into getting one, but found that by spending only a little more I could get a much better setup. Now, after having a custom trailer built, I have seen numerous 5x8 trailers in yards for around $200 or less. With the HF option, I was looking at: $399 for the larger trailer kit, plus shipping, then $30 for flooring, $39 for a spare tire, then having to make something for sideboards, and still having a trailer that is really too small to take on long trips and can only haul one machine.
I ended up getting a 6.5x12, trailer with a single 3500lb axle, 15" wheels with my pickup's bolt pattern and tire size (no extra spare necessary), for $650. It is perfect our two 250R's end to end or three turned sideways.
Just look around, by buying used you may be able to find a much nicer and stronger rig for the same money if not less.
Posted by: tta583
As mentioned the HF trailer has been debated a lot of times. There has always been negatives brought up but never from anyone that said they dumped a quad becasue it blew apart on them (Atleast as I have seen). Most of the negatives are observational.. why put a 6K machine on a $200 trailer, "it looks flimsy", etc. I do recall the bearing post, again that issue was discovered as self-caused and sort of discussed as "well guess what I did!!!" When I was researcing them last year I only found good comments from those with them save for 2 things. One was mentioned, the width. Second was a mention in the manual about top speed. Something like 45Mph??? The manual is actually on the HF web site, I looked at it when I read the post. The general opinion was that it was a cover my back side statement from HF in the event of an accident.
A couple suggestions from my research.
If you get the HF model get the 12" tire version. A little less heat in the bearings, more capacity, price not that much more. I want to say the springs are heavier as well???
As mentioned, build it so that it does not fold for more strenght.
Get a spare tire no matter what you buy. As to the HF you can get on right there in the store. Dont forget a tire tool!!
Look at local trailer suppliers or manufactureres for comparable trailers. Around here you can get tilt 5x8's around $430. They are on 15' tires and made of heavier steel. my one complaint looking at the HF is that it "looks" to be made of stamped C channel. I like to tie down tight, may bend the channel. Then again, if you do as mentioned and replace the deck bolts with eye bolts then you don't endup hooking around the side with a strap and sort of levering on lip of the frame.
The lowes and home depot trailers (at least here) were high compared to the local trailer shops.
If you have a Tractor supply check them out. Their prices were much lower for just a nice of a trailer the last time i looked.
Posted by: tta583
Here is a great write up on how to pack a bearing.
http://www.timken.com/industries/automotive/autoaftermarket/techtips/TechTipsVol2Issue3.pdf
Posted by: LittleBill
if u have issues simply packing bearings, are you going to be able to build the kit? it doesn't come assembled
on the other hand i have over 6k on mine, packed bearings 3 times, bearings are starting to flake a tad, will replace next cleaning.
i drive 72mph non stop, and have 0 issues
trailer has seen 80 85, and 100mph(don't even ask)
the paint on mine is shot, it needs to be painted, other then that it has done quite well
loaded around 800-1000 pounds every single time
Posted by: LittleBill
Quote
Originally posted by: Dragginbutt
A couple observations. Use one of these bolt together trailers only if you occasionally will be hauling something like a few sheets of plywood etc.. and need to fold it up to get it out of the way when you are not using it. If you are repeatedly going to be hauling anything that weighs more than a couple hundred pounds, then I'd recommend going with a welded frame setup.
With decent trailers being available at lowes, home depot etc for just a little more money.. it is questionable as to which is the better "BUY".
The Harbor Frieght trailers are cheap.. and use sub-standard generic parts on them that were produced by a low bidder in some third world country.
Now in my way of thinking, am I willing to trust my $7500 quad to a $250 trailer that some guy working in a sweat shop hel! hole somewhere put together?.. Hmmm, you be the judge on that one...
Flimsey frame material, fenders that tear like paper.... Sounds like a no go to me...
lol i was hoping someone would say the lowes trailers are of such better quality, sorry to tell ya , the axle, wheel combo is identical to the hf 1800 trailer, the parts are interchangable, so please don't say they are of better quality, and i was done out the door at 325, with all my wood including siding and ramps, lowest trailer price at lowes is like 549, +tx reg, thats a heck of alot more, not to mention my buddy's 05 is rusting faster then he can paint it.
don't reccommend not to use a trailer you don't own, or even use. i have over 6k with little to no maintaince, and carrys more then a couple sheets of plywood, more like 800-900 pounds daily
Posted by: Sluggo312
Hey,
I have a Harbor Freight trailer. It has certainly been strong enough for my Grizzly - which is at least 650 lbs all gassed up plus bigger/heavier tires. I use 3/4" plywood as the flooring - that is what they suggest and it's been fine. I've only had it since spring and it only has about 2500 miles on it so I can't speak to longevity but so far I've had no problems.
My only complaint is that I didn't get a bigger trailer - my new tires are only 1" wider than stock and the grizzly is all but 4' across - barely fits on the trailer.
I don't have a gate around the trailer but I'm also very anal about strapping it down. In all 4 corners plus the front center and back center I used big eye bolts rather than regular bolts to attach the plywood. I use 5 straps and the winch to hold the quad on the trailer. I know it's overkill but it makes me feel better so it's worth it.
As for Home Depot and Lowe's - around me, they didn't start selling trailers until about 2 weeks after I bought the harbor freight trailer. Had they been available sooner I probably would have gotten one just to avoid having to assemble the harbor freight trailer.
good luck
Posted by: Sluggo312
so, for someone with no mechanical ability what-so-ever, how does one go about greasing the bearings?
Posted by: Sluggo312
thanks for the good info and the speedy reply
Posted by: cgc
I want a single trailer for my quad and was looking at the harbor freight 4X8 trailers. Are these trailers strong enough for a quad that weighs 500-600lbs? I noticed that they do not have any flooring. Does anyone use these or have any experiences with these trailers? If so what kind of flooring do guys like to put on these trailers? Would you need some kind of gate around the trailer? How about the trailers from home depot or lowes? Are these any better, or are the about the same? What would you recommend?
Posted by: forrest39
I bought a HF trailer and have been reasonably happy with it. I have taken three trips of 300 miles each way at a cruise speed of 65MPH with the occaisional burst up to 75MPH. One of the hubs is not propperly machined to accept the bearing dust cap and wouldn't you know it's some off the wall size not available at the 12 or so places that I stopped to find one (more on that later).
Assembly was much more involved than I thought, but not impossible. A few do's and don't I would suggest:
* Don't use a plywood that is thicher than the design if you plan of folding the trailer; the hinges in the middle are designed for a partiular thickness of wood.
* Paint the wood decking especially the ends so as to prevent delamination from moisture absorbtion.
* For the bolts to hold down the decking, use the carriage type bolts as suggested (at least for the rows in the middle next to the parting edges) because hex head bolts will crash if you try to fold the trailer.
* Consider upgrading to a 2" hitch receiver as the 1 7/8" is not as common - purely preference. A new receiver is about $20 at wal mart.
* I pitched the little wiring clips in favor of adhesive mounting pads and ty-wraps. The clips looked like they would cut into the wires over time.
Two bad things that happened were that I bent the a frame after the first time I rolled up on the hinged part, and also one of the fender brackets cracked after a long slow drive down a very pot-holed road.
The frame parts that bent will be replaced with real 2-1/2" u-channel at some point. It didn't bend badly, but bent c-channel is just not what I would consider 'durable' for that particular part.
The fender brackets are fairly flimsy and because the fenders themselves flail around unsupported, this is not a big surprise. I purchased 2 repalcement brackets and welded them to the existing one as a doubler and that solved the issue.
So about ordering parts... I finally decided to go to the source for the bearing dust cap. I think I was talking to Calcutta as the voice on the other end was somewhat difficult to understand, but very helpful none the less. The replacement parts I ordered were very well priced; the cap was 99 cents, and fender brackets were arround $2 each. the shipping was about $8. the parts showed up a week later. I was pretty pleased with their support.
The only other issue is with the license plate if you want to tilt the trailer. You need to remove the plate before kneeling the trailer or you will bend the plate. Not too big a deal.
I bought a pair of motorcycle ramps and mounted 2x4 verticals to them to they mount in the brackets for the side fences. Sometimes I unbolt the ramps from the sides and use the ramps, or sometimes I just carefully tilt the trailer being very careful not to let it slam down again.
At any rate if you have any specific question, feel free to ask!
-Kevin
