more Harbor Freight trailer questions

[Katie&Craig]

I have a couple of questions about the Harbor Freight 1800# 4 x 8 trailer. I’ll ask the questions first but see below for caveats/other explanations.

I am interested in hearing from those who have used the HF trailer on several points:
1) How well do the standard 12” tires sold with the frame hold up to a combo of freeway speeds/high miles and also bumpy dirt roads?
2) Is the frame/tongue/axle sturdy enough for some off-road use?

Also I need the following measurements:
1) Ground clearance (height to bottom of frame and also height to bottom of axle).
2) Thickness of tires (I need to build wheel wells).
2) Distance between frame and tire.

Our camping trips are usually road trips. We combine a lot of freeway miles with a lot of cruising at low speeds on very bumpy dirt roads (looking for interesting birds). Our tow vehicle is a Subaru Forester which doesn’t have great ground clearance so we avoid the rougher off-roads (until we get a new/old tow vehicle).

Teardrop will be 5 x 10 with the tires semi-recessed into the body (don’t want to go wider then our tow vehicle) so small tire size is important.
If we can’t come up with a sub-floor design that makes the overhang of the frame seem safe then we will weld some supports to make the 4 X 8 frame closer to 5 x 10.
I live in WA and the closest TSC is in MT or CA so the Carry-on is out.
Building a frame from scratch will add a lot to our build time since Craig (my other half – I am the better half) will need to learn to weld (of course, waiting for the HF trailer to go on sale again may take as long!).

To me the frame is the most boring part of designing the teardrop but unfortunately a lot of my other measurements depend on it so I just want to get a (good) decision made and be able to move on!

Thanks,
Katie

[Miriam C.]

Hi Katie. Good question!!!!
I thought harbor freight had those on their web. but I guess that was one of the others.

Teardrop will be 5 x 10 with the tires semi-recessed into the body (don’t want to go wider then our tow vehicle) so small tire size is important.
If we can’t come up with a sub-floor design that makes the overhang of the frame seem safe then we will weld some supports to make the 4 X 8 frame closer to 5 x 10.

I would be seriously interest in hearing how your extention works. We have the same issue and a 5x10 cost a lot more.

[Clancy Courtney]

Hi Katie, The HF sale paper has the 1740# capacity trailer on sale now for $299 through 3/13/06, it is the same model number as my 1800# trailer.
Here's a link to a 20% off coupon. Good through 2/25/06.

http://ww2.harborfreightusa.com/showpag ... 202&email=

Hope the link works.

Good luck, Clancy

[Katie&Craig]

Clancy,
Thanks for sending me the info and coupon link - I guess this means I have to make up my mind really soon!

Miriam,
Once we get things figured out I will post to the board. This weekend I was convinced that it would be better to start from scratch, but now that the HF trailer is on sale again I may have to reconsider. We do have welders in the family so we could probably just weld on some additional supports onto the 4 X 8 trailer (I've seen some pictures of this idea on this forum). The 5' wide trailers put the wheels out too far, so we want to go with a 4' and semi-recess the wheels.
Thanks
Katie