Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Hi all...first off for better or worse I'm in! I just love these thangs and had to have one. Got my plans, been picking up stuff here and there, enlisted the help of my waaay more builder savy friends ( I can barely use a screwdriver! LOL) to GC this adventure and ordered a Harbor Freight trailer...the 1800 lb one. Anyway, HF is telling me its back ordered with no known delivery date. Does anyone know if this happens routinely with them and if so how long approximately it took to get your backordered one? Its been two plus weeks and I'm just wondering whether or not to check out some other options....Can you tell Im anxious to get going? LOL

Yeah, mine was on backorder for over a month when someone on this site suggested that I check out the harbor freight "brick and mortar" retail stores.

Sure enough - the sales employee at the store explained that the retail stores are actually under different ownership than the website - they had TONS of them in stock. It was an hour and a half drive but I ran out that day and picked it up. I would probably still be waiting if I had kept that internet order in. I drove to Albany, NY - I'm not sure what side of MA that you're on but you might want to check out HF's retail store locator (on the left column of their website).

Oh, and the store price was even $20 cheaper than the website so I saved almost enough to cover the gas money! Just in case though, you might want to bring a printout of the website page for the trailer because the retail stores will match the website price if that one happens to be cheaper. The employee at HF said that because they are independently owned, the price differences can sometimes be huge. The good news though is that the retail store will honor whichever price is cheaper.

Hope that helps ,
Lindsey

lmh222 wrote:Yeah, mine was on backorder for over a month when someone on this site suggested that I check out the harbor freight "brick and mortar" retail stores.

That genius was me.

Glad to do it, Lindsey.

And Dandy, it really can take forever when it's on back order. HF orders them from China in 1,000 quantities.

So ever hear the expression "slow boat to China?"

As I recall, this frame was pretty heavy and came in two boxes. If your going to pick it up you might want to make sure your vehicle has room and someone to help lift it. George.

Georgeandpat wrote:As I recall, this frame was pretty heavy and came in two boxes. If your going to pick it up you might want to make sure your vehicle has room and someone to help lift it. George.

Yep--defintiely hernia time. Even my LIGHTER one.

Have 5 bucks handy to give the guy at the store for getting it into your vehicle. (The boxes aren't that huge, so I think you'll be able to get them into a "norma" car with "something" sticking out.

Just OPEN those boxes when you get home and carry them in piece by piece.

Still a hernia, but a smaller one.

IraRat wrote:Yep--defintiely hernia time. Even my LIGHTER one.

(The boxes aren't that huge, so I think you'll be able to get them into a "norma" car with "something" sticking out.

Just a second opinion to the one above - I agree that they are heavy, but there is no way that I could have fit the larger of the two boxes in any "car" that I have owned.

the bigger box is crated in wood and is approximately 14" x 12" x 6.5' long and approx 150-200lbs. I think the car could handle the weight, but if it was "sticking out", the pressure of the "out" part would probably have to rest on a trunk seal - definitely not good

just my $0.02

you can usually rent a pickup at most places like National, Enterprise, or even HomeDepot and U-Haul for about $20.00.

Kerry

exminnesotaboy wrote:

IraRat wrote:Yep--defintiely hernia time. Even my LIGHTER one.

(The boxes aren't that huge, so I think you'll be able to get them into a "norma" car with "something" sticking out.

Just a second opinion to the one above - I agree that they are heavy, but there is no way that I could have fit the larger of the two boxes in any "car" that I have owned.

the bigger box is crated in wood and is approximately 14" x 12" x 6.5' long and approx 150-200lbs. I think the car could handle the weight, but if it was "sticking out", the pressure of the "out" part would probably have to rest on a trunk seal - definitely not good

just my $0.02

I stand corrected.

I got the lighter HF model, which not only isn't crated in wood which makes it lighter, but the trailer itself is, well, LIGHTER AS WELL!

I think the length of the box for mine though was like 6 feet, which theoretically, so I thought, could be crammed into a trunk with the lid open.

The box with the tires get to sit in the passneger seat right next to ME!

toypusher wrote:you can usually rent a pickup at most places like National, Enterprise, or even HomeDepot and U-Haul for about $20.00.
Kerry

This is exactly what I did - rented a truck from UHaul. It was 20$ + a per mile fee that added up quickly. I only had about 15 miles to go so it worked out reasonably.

Since then, I have rented the small trailers from UHaul for 20$/day and *no* per mile fee.

Also, the Home Depots in my area give you a truck for less than $20 with no per mile fee - however, you only get them for 75 minutes. The extra fees were time based and reasonable if you didn't go over too much. As a bonus, the contract you sign for the truck is seperate than the purchases you make - when I used this truck, they would have never known, or cared, if I used it for thier purchases - I could have driven it to Harbor Freight and picked up my trailer for free

Hey..thanks alot you guys! I'll check out the store locator. Might be time for a road trip!