New Harbor Freight offering

[QueticoBill]

This might be interesting option for some. A little more weight but 5x10, 23" tires, and other apparent improvements.
https://newsroom.harborfreight.com/prod ... r-at-sema/

 

[stupido]

Zooming in on the hi rez pics, it looks like the accessory railing is uni-strut. Except for the tongue, the frame looks to be doubled up uni-strut.

 

[QueticoBill]

I can't tell. Just thought the 13" tires, 10' length, and protected wiring made it a better option than previous offerings.

 

[QueticoBill]

Wonder if brakes can be added.

 

[publife]

Only just noticed the existence of this new model - I think this might be what I end up going with for the idea that's been running around in my head for entirely too long. I'm surprised there isn't more talk about it on here!

 

[reaver]

There seems to be a lot of hesitation here regarding this frame. It seems most people would prefer to weld their own frame. That's not feasible for some though. Some people are skeptical of the unistrut style construction. Having worked with the stuff myself for many purposes, I think it's a great solution. My only hesitation would be regarding axle placement. Moving the axle would require custom brackets made that allow you to bolt it to a different location. I'm sure, that, given enough time, somebody will come up with a solution though.


It would be a fantastic option for folks who can't weld.

 

[QueticoBill]

I looked at it on HF website and noticed high rails are an accessory. I kind of like the "truss" frame. Feels much stronger than the traditional HF/NT utility trailers. From the manual it does look very unistrut like. Underslung axle is nice. It doesn't look like it's ready to add brakes so is that an axle replacement?

 

[S. Heisley]

If that wheel has only 4 lug nuts (It looks like 4, but I can't tell for certain from the picture.) then, no, it is not ready for the addition of brakes and yes, you would need a different axle if you want to add brakes.

 

[QueticoBill]

Manual says 5 and pictures in manual seem to confirm it.

 

[S. Heisley]

 

[CascadeRange]

Having preordered one of these trailers as soon as they were available, I was the first person to pick one up from the local Harbor Freight. It came on one long pallet in several boxes.

It sat a while before I had the free time for assembly, but overall it took a few 2-4 hour stretches over 3 different Saturdays and another weeknight after work to put lights on.

I put together a 5x8 Northern Tool Ironton for my previous build and this one took a little more time but feels like a nicer end product. The assembly of this one is very repetitive since most of the components go together in a similar way at each connection point. It’s very similar to unistrut.

I haven’t fully designed my next camper build yet but this seems like it will make a good platform. Obviously there are advantages to a custom made trailer, but for $1000 I’ve got 2000lbs payload capacity and a licensed trailer frame that can be used as a flatbed in the meantime.

 

[reaver]

Do you mind if I ask you some questions, and would you mind taking some measurements for me?

I'm curious how long the tongue is? How much ground clearance is there? How much space is there between the tire and the frame?

I'm thinking about using this frame for another build down the road.

 

[CascadeRange]

Sure, I'll take some measurements when I get home and edit this reply to note them.

 

[CascadeRange]

Not seeing the option to edit from the phone but it’s 48” from the front to the end of the tongue, 8” ground clearance to the bottom of the shackle bolts on the axle and from the tires to the closest part of the frame is about 1-1/2”

 

[Sara-TNT]

Not seeing the option to edit from the phone but it’s 48” from the front to the end of the tongue, 8” ground clearance to the bottom of the shackle bolts on the axle and from the tires to the closest part of the frame is about 1-1/2”

Hi - would you be up for one more measurement? I'd like to know how far from the front to the fenders. I'm trying to determine the door placement on a teardrop and if the fender will get in the way

 

[QueticoBill]

You really need to move the axel rearward for good towing of a teardrop. On the older version, I moved the front hanger to where the rear slipper was - same holes - and was very close to the 60% point.

 

[Sara-TNT]

Thank you.

 

[kipa]

I just got my 5x10 yesterday. It is no joke on construction weight and quality. Not assembled yet obviously, but I had to use my 4x8 to go get it, as I wouldn't have been able to bring it all home in one trip in the back of the SUV. (I brought the 4x8 home in a subcompact.)

 

[DrewsBrews]

Personally I think the price seems a bit steep compared to similar (but not exactly comparable) options. I suppose if you absolutely need the 2k capacity then that narrows the options.

Even HF's 40x48" frame kit is $500 now. Yikes. I wonder if Northern Tool will follow suit soon.

 

[kipa]

I think we will see similar inflation across the options. That's not really what drove me to purchase either of the HF trailers though.

I had a welded Carry-On 5x10 which was generally fine, but it had the ramp and welded side panels, and weighed a crap-load, making it challenging to move around when totally empty. I sold it for the light maneuverability of the heavy duty HF 4x8, sacrificing no weight capacity (since I had kept the 5x10 unregistered and restricted from a full ton in Oregon). The difference in moving it around by hand is massive, requiring no jack to move it or change a tire.

My hope is that the new HF 5x10 is a good compromise between the two on those points. I didn't really need more weight capacity so much as want the extra space for utility use. It's at least 250 lbs lighter than my old 5x10, and without the rails, a lot more adaptable, but the old 4x8 is what I plan to build on over the next few months only because I want to keep the frontal area to a minimum for aerodynamic benefit. Fully built, I should still be able to easily move it around some by hand. I doubt that would be the case with the 5x10 and a similar build.