Newbie with questions

[unituber]

I have started my new build!
The plans have not arrived yet (Big Woody), but I bought the trailer last week and begin putting it together.



The shrink wrap with parts sticking out shoulda been a red flag:

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Giving new meaning to the term "some assembly required"

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Anyone see something missing from this picture? I hope HF will send me a new coupler base that was missing from the package.

[mikeschn]

You mean they didn't give you those red plates that the coupler attaches to?

Bummer!



Mike...

[unituber]

Nope, no red plate. And after reading someone else's post I realized the frame is nowhere near square. I don't have plywood yet, but I'm pretty sure it's not gonna fit without it looking bad, not to mention, difficult to attach.

[Vedette]

Welcome to the Forum.
Not to sound negative or make you second guest your choice?
But as a welder/fabricator I am really amazed at how many members here on the Forum choose HF Chassis.
Considering how cheap and superior Dexter Rubber Ride axles are, how much better it is to have larger better quality wheels, radial car tires, and a chassis that is not bolted together with a bunch of grade 5 bolts that is not guaranteed to be square??????
Just starting with a custom built chassis to builders specs, just seems to be a no brainer to me.
But Good Luck with the rest of your build.
And remember to use the knowledge that is available to you here on this wonderful Forum, before you hit the "Buy it now" button on your computer.
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi

[123jay]

Go get two ratchet straps make a X corner to corner .Just snug the nuts then pull square

[unituber]

Great idea! Sounds better than my idea of backing one corner against a tree until its square. On my next build I'll know more about these things, including grade 5 bolts!

[citylights]

Great idea! Sounds better than my idea of backing one corner against a tree until its square. On my next build I'll know more about these things, including grade 5 bolts!

Don't worry, harbor freight trailer will be fine. Just take the extra effort to square it up. You might change out the bolts if you want, or even just the nuts. Changing the nuts to good nylocks is easy.

Most of the strength comes from the teardrop structure anyway. Mine is on an angle iron trailer (probably weaker than the HF tube steal) and it is rock solid after the build.



If you have a local harbor freight, I would stop in, tell them your missing part and ask them for it. It is either they give you the missing part or you return the whole kit and get another one. That is what I would do rather than wait for HF to send you one. That is if you have a local HF store.

One thing to remember with the harbor freight trailer is to use good grease on the spindles and adjust them while you are at it. They use packing grease when they send them, but it's never enough. Also, you should repack the grease every year.

Here is mine finished...



Good luck!

[Gold5one]

After you get it squared up you can stiffen it up with some angle iron . One repurposed bed frame has enough steel to do the job. Another option is to buy a 10ft piece of unistrut in the electrical dept of Lowe's or Home Depot and bolt that to to bottom of the cross beams.

[KennethW]

A HF trailer uses the floor as part of the trailer strength and to keep it square. They are a fine trailer for the money. Like the other post said the stuff in the bearings is NOT grease and must be cleaned out of the bearings and packed with good grease. You may consider mounting the axle above the spring and notch the bracket for a lower ride height.(feet on the ground when siting in the door)

[unituber]

I bought some ratchet straps like 123jay suggested, I was gonna need them anyway. That will definitely hold it square till I get the floor mounted.

My biggest obstacle now is acquiring the missing "coupler base." HF said they could order one for me but it wold take 10 weeks I'm hoping my local store will "rob" one from another trailer kit, that is, if one comes in on their truck. It will probably be spring before I finish the build, but I was hoping to use the trailer to haul our tent camping gear in the meantime.



Connecting wires the "correct way" using solder and shrink tubing.

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[Mary C]

Woahaa..... It is packing goo not grease in the wheels. You need to use mineral spirits or paint thinner and wash out the bearings do not use them like they are you need to wash out the back bearings I used a syringe ( meat ) to wash out the back bearings I pushed 25 or 30 fills through the bearings and let the wash out go into a pan under the wheel. then I pushed grease through and packed it really good. then packed the front or outside bearings before putting the wheels on. sorry you didn't get all the parts. have you called them yet?

Good luck I will be watching your build remember we love pictures.

Mary C.

[unituber]

Thanks Mary,
I'll probably repack the bearings while waiting on the part. HF is telling me it could be 10 weeks before I get the part.

Meanwhile, I've waited over a week for the camper plans and finally got a message from the post office that my shipment is undeliverable because of a bad address. Geez, this project is off to a slow start!

The good news of the day; My bolt on trailer hitch, that I ordered from E-trailer.com, fit like a glove. Those guys are awesome. I ordered the hitch on Saturday and it arrived on Tuesday. I also ordered a wiring harness from them that is supposed to fit my existing taillight plug. More on that later...

Craig

[chriskoebb]

[quote="Vedette"]Welcome to the Forum.
Not to sound negative or make you second guest your choice?
But as a welder/fabricator I am really amazed at how many members here on the Forum choose HF Chassis.
Considering how cheap and superior Dexter Rubber Ride axles are, how much better it is to have larger better quality wheels, radial car tires, and a chassis that is not bolted together with a bunch of grade 5 bolts that is not guaranteed to be square??????
Just starting with a custom built chassis to builders specs, just seems to be a no brainer to me.
But Good Luck with the rest of your build.
And remember to use the knowledge that is available to you here on this wonderful Forum, before you hit the "Buy it now" button on your computer.
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi[/quote

Hi Brian & Sandi,

Thanks for adding your info! I was going to convert a deckover ATV trailer into a campster12 but I have decided that doing a custom frame will better suit our needs.
I am now going to build off of Grants design for the campster12. I was looking for a place to buy a torsion axle and it looks like Dexter may be the place that works for me.
I was looking on their site and I saw the air ride was available for their axles. Is this something you would suggest for a teardrop build or would a Dexter Rubber Ride be enough?

[tdprice54]

What is the main reason everyone use the HF trailer? Price or bolt together? Anyone with minimum welding skills can build a much nicer frame for about the same money. I personally would not trust the bolted parts . I am a welder by trade and understand some may not have ability or equipment. Anyone in my neck of the woods I would gladly weld your frame together for you for free. With predetermined cut sheet you can build this in 2-3 hours max. TP

[unituber]

Check out my build journal:



https://www.facebook.com/pages/Craigs-teardrop-camper-build/384934375014291?ref=bookmarks

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