Harbor Freight 4 x 8 Questions

[philpom]

It's much simpler to build a 5' wide on a 5' wide frame, and you don't have to live with interior fenders.

While I don't disagree really much at all if circumstances mean it needs to be done (what's on hand or can be found at the right prices etc) you can build a flush interior 5' wide on a 4' trailer. My wheel wells are 1 7/8' deep so by the time I dropped in the insulation board and EV rubber matt the floor was flush side to side and front to back, no wheel wells to speak of, maybe 1/8" but the bed doesn't even notice one bit. The only additional work it created was installing the shallow box wheel well over each opening, sealing, and taring the underside. The wheels have never bumped the top of the well and it's been drug at 75 mph down plenty of roads. That was my initial concern. To accomplish this on the HF trailer I did raise the deck by 1.5".

 

[Brumasterm01]

Good to hear that you went with with the 5x8. As others have mentioned you won't regret it.

In regards to trailer height, I have no regrets with 42" interior height. In that small of space, I don't miss being able to stand up. It's not like your going to square dance or walk down the hall way to the bathroom. There is simply no place to go. I would rather dedicate that additional garage door clearance for off roading lift, awning clearance, solar panels etc.. I've got more stuff strapped to the top of my trailer than in it.

 

[Jwh92020]

It's much simpler to build a 5' wide on a 5' wide frame, and you don't have to live with interior fenders.

Pull out your tape measure and look at 23". That's how much room you'll have with your spouse inside a 4' wide.

Been there.

Tony

I'm building on a 5x8 Northern Tool trailer.

 

[Tony Latham]

I'm building on a 5x8 Northern Tool trailer.

That's good news.

Tony

 

[Chief-John]

I used the HF 4X8 1720LB frame and built a 5x8 camper on it. It's been on the road since 2021 or 22. No complaints here. Too much tongue weight could be an issue but that can can be resolved easily. Because it's bolt together I ran ground wires out to the lighting instead of relying on the frame as a ground.

If I did it again I'd go with a 5x10 or even larger. Building a 4x8 while much more affordable is just too small for us to be very practical.

I hear ya Phil, I also went the 4 ft route and think 5x10 would have been way better.

 

[Pmullen503]

I built my new 5x8.5 specifically on a 4x8 frame so the walls would over hang the edges of the trailer. I incorporated drip edges to keep rain and dew from wetting the trailer/cabin interface.

After 15 years I'll be pulling the cabin off my old trailer this winter to see how bad the rot is. That joint would get wet every time it rained or even heavy dew. When little mushrooms started to grow, I figured that was a bad sign.

 

[philpom]

I built my new 5x8.5 specifically on a 4x8 frame so the walls would over hang the edges of the trailer. I incorporated drip edges to keep rain and dew from wetting the trailer/cabin interface.

After 15 years I'll be pulling the cabin off my old trailer this winter to see how bad the rot is. That joint would get wet every time it rained or even heavy dew. When little mushrooms started to grow, I figured that was a bad sign.

Could you expand on the area of concern, maybe a photo? Certain I don't have any issue like that but I am curious to understand your issue.

 

[Pmullen503]

The cabin edges rest on the frame. Water from rain and heavy dew wet the interface between frame and cabin. It's covered with PMF which is fine on surfaces that dry out. But that area stays wet for much longer than the walls or roof. Eventually (15 years) there is obviously some rot starting.

I should mention that the floor is wood with the wall PMF wrapped around and between the floor and the frame.

My new trailer has 1/4" plywood sides that extend 1/4" beyond the floor. The side fiberglass wraps around to form a drip edge so water flowing off the sides hits that and drips off. It can't crawl underneath to wet the floor/frame interface.