Red Trailer Driving Me Nuts

[sandman]

hey Guys,

I am trying to assemble my new Red Trailer 5x8 and I keep running into a problem. The main outer frame pieces are not labelled correctly and I it's driving me nuts. I have 1 piece marked RL, RT, 1RR, and another 1RR. I find myself being made a fool of by the chinese guy that put the stickers on. Where do they go? My box was destroyed and the instructions were missing. I looked on the site at the manauls online and my parts are not labelled even close.

Another question, do I have to cut the two metal crossmembers that get placed longitudally in the outer rails? Can I just install them without cutting? Will I have to drill holes or will they line up? I am so flustered I can't even look at the trailer parts on my garage floor after 2 wasted hours trying to figure this thing out.

[sdtripper2]

Sandman:

Yes the Red trailers are miss labeled and Mary K and others have see the same issues.
http://tnttt.com/viewto ... ht=#142013
http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?p=139949

Skip had a wonderful thread you should look at here that may help you
with your trailer assembly decisions.
http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=11635

Hope this helps you in your frustration, until others come along to give you pointers?

[SkipperSue]

I used the Harbor Freight trailer and mine came with instructions but, NOTHING was labeled! It drove me nuts also. I had to lay everything out and go over it many times before it finally came together.

[Mary K]

hey Guys,

I am trying to assemble my new Red Trailer 5x8 and I keep running into a problem. The main outer frame pieces are not labelled correctly and I it's driving me nuts. I have 1 piece marked RL, RT, 1RR, and another 1RR. I find myself being made a fool of by the chinese guy that put the stickers on. Where do they go? My box was destroyed and the instructions were missing. I looked on the site at the manauls online and my parts are not labelled even close.

Another question, do I have to cut the two metal crossmembers that get placed longitudally in the outer rails? Can I just install them without cutting? Will I have to drill holes or will they line up? I am so flustered I can't even look at the trailer parts on my garage floor after 2 wasted hours trying to figure this thing out.

Basically, you have 4 side rail members. 2 in the front and 2 in the back. Although the back rails have the holes for the spring bracket, you will have to redrill them when you move the axle back.

Yes, you will have to cut the 2 center cross members to install in the side rails. They have to fit between 2nd and 4th cross member, and you will notch the added 2x4 cross member that will be installed as the center crossmember.

I cut 2" off my "OTHER" cross members (not the 2 used in the side rails) , 1" off each end to keep the pre-drilled holes centered. I am doing the Generic Benroy build and the trailer has to be 58.5" wide.

BUT, I found I had to drill a lot of holes anyway. Just get you a nice sharp drill bit and some WD40.









Check out my build pic link and you can find lots of pics of the trailer.

Good Luck,

Mk

added pic

[sandman]

Thanks for the reply, MaryK. That helps quite a bit. I appreciate the pics too. I am a very visual person so pics go a long way. Do you remember how much you cut off the 2 rails that get placed into the side rails? I have no clue how much to cut off, which end to cut. There's holes everywhere and not sure which ones to use and which to ignore.

[TomS]

I've got some pix on my site that you might find helpful.

http://www.tomswenson.com/teardrop/trai ... ndex.shtml

[sandman]

Thanks to all the pics, I was able to get the trailer assembly figured out. Just have to cut the braces and drill some holes and the trailer will be all done with...FINALLY.

[elmo]

Time to go for a ride and come home and have a beer!

Got new Eibach Springs today for the XR650R! My weekend project!

Elmer

[Mary K]

Thanks for the reply, MaryK. That helps quite a bit. I appreciate the pics too. I am a very visual person so pics go a long way. Do you remember how much you cut off the 2 rails that get placed into the side rails? I have no clue how much to cut off, which end to cut. There's holes everywhere and not sure which ones to use and which to ignore.

Gosh, sorry I didn't reply sooner....

I am doing the Generic Benroy TD, so I cut 2" off the cross member. I cut 1" off each end to keep all the pre-drilled holes centered, but I still had to drill more holes anyway.

What plans are you using? This makes a big difference because on the Generic Benroy the side walls come down to cover the trailer rails.

Mk

EDIT... DUH You have allready GOT-ER-Done....silly me...

Mk

[sandman]

MaryK-no problem on the reply. I got it all figured out after staring at the pics some more. I am also building the Generic Benroy but I am not cutting down the width of my trailer. I am going to build the walls on top of the frame. The Benroy design is my fave of all the teardrops.

[Caradoc]

I am trying to assemble my new Red Trailer 5x8 and I keep running into a problem. The main outer frame pieces are not labelled correctly and I it's driving me nuts. I have 1 piece marked RL, RT, 1RR, and another 1RR.

Funny you should say this. I got my new 5x8 Red Trailer a couple of weeks ago, and it had two rear left bars (RL), no no rear right bars. It seems like you got them, and I got yours. They weren't labels very well either, but I definitely had two identical bars when I should have had a left and a right.

I talked to Paul at Red Trailers, sent a couple of pictures, and he set everything right. He sent a new bar, along with a new caster replacing the one that broke. I got the parts, and finished putting the trailer together the other Monday night.

I have no complaints, and Paul was helpful and prompt in fixing up the mixup.

--Lance

[sandman]

Now that you said that, I DO have two of the same 1RR pieces. My trailer doesn't look right. The left and right side bolt holes are all different. I just contacted Red Trailers about sending me the correct piece which should be 1RL. This has been an utter pain in the butt. How long did it take for them to ship you the replacement piece? Now I am taking my trailer back apart...AGAIN!!! Next time I am buying one of those already welded trailers from Tractor Supply. You get what you pay for.

[Caradoc]

Now that you said that, I DO have two of the same 1RR pieces. My trailer doesn't look right. The left and right side bolt holes are all different. I just contacted Red Trailers about sending me the correct piece which should be 1RL. This has been an utter pain in the butt. How long did it take for them to ship you the replacement piece?

They sent out a new piece without any complaint or squabble within a day or so, then three or four days of shipping. I had it within a week. Once I had the right pieces, the rest of the trailer went together within a couple of hours.

The main issue was the holes for the little hinge pieces, and there really needs a left and right hole pattern. I guess I could have drilled them myself, but it was good to have the right piece from the start.

Now that I've got the trailer put together according to the instructions, the next stage is to start taking it apart. Since this is a folding trailer, I need to remove the little hinge piece, and secure the bed together a bit better. I've still got to move the axle back a bit.

This was going to be my winter project. However, we're also remodeling the bedroom, and I just realized that I've got to move my bed into the garage while the construction is taking place. The trailer has had to move out, and this weekend's project is to build a little privacy wall in the garage so that when the main doors open, you're not looking at me and my wife in bed.

--Lance

[sandman]

Paul at Red Trailers is shipping me out the correct 1RL piece since I ended up having two 1RR pieces. I thought I was going crazy and couldn't follow directions. Red Trailer does offer great customer support so I am happy about that.

[lopazopy]

I'm having the same problem with my Harbor Freight trailer. I have (2) 1RL pieces (correct?), but just wanted to run it by you guys before I call up HF tomorrow. I don't think I'm crazy either, but you never know.