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Steve Butters

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Okay... I'll go with that and make sure to grab the best grease I can find... I'll try to keep it at 75 or under... Sounds like a few of you have had success at this... Might look into axle upgrade at some point in the future, but right now I'm trying to get my bike across country on a budget

Edited by Steve Butters
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I know way out of you price range but this will be my next trailer.

 

http://www.tritontrailers.com/products/Model.aspx?CatID=26&SubCatID=29&ModelID=285&info=specifications

 

Not in a hurry for it so im just going to hope a used one comes along at half the new price.

Really? I'll eventually get a Kendon.

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I'm planning to build the Harbor Freight trailer. I've seen quite a few happy stories about it and none that describe real problems, other than about poor directions for electrical wiring. The main caution seems to be to change out the grease in the wheel bearings with a good quality bearing grease.

 

Here's a link from the FZ6 forum.

 

http://www.600riders.com/forum/the-bar/50851-2-days-hard-work-frustration-but-here.html?highlight=harbor+freight

 

Please see the link he's embedded to the Sportsbike.net site for a build story.

 

To secure the bike, I plan to use the Tyre Down that secures the rear tire, plus a simple front wheel chock, probably from Harbor Freight.

 

http://lockitt.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Store_Code=Lockitt&Screen=PROD&Product_Code=TDTD1502

 

Eric, "Erci" on the FZ6 forum, uses a Pit Bull. But that's almost $300 vs $120 for the tyre down. Plus with the Pit Bull you need to use mounting spools on the axles while the tyre down fits most modern bikes.

 

Good Luck - and let us know how it works out!

 

Chris

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i did a harbor freight trailer, they do bolt together, i ended up bolting and welding it together.

 

when you assemble the trailer, the bearings will be in the hubs, but they have hardly any grease in them.  thats what alot of people don't check, and thats why the bearings fail so soon.  so when you get it, pull the bearings and pack with good grease. no need for bearing buddies.

 

buy and extra wheel/tire from HF as well as a back up, they are cheap.

 

you can also buy a full set of backup bearings from redtrailers.com   they are 25mmx52mm taper bearing

 

add a HF wheel chock on top of a plywood deck and your good to go, i hauled my multistrada to colorado and back, i used it to haul 2 bikes to deals gap and back, 2 bikes to florida and back,  and my buddy used it to haul 2 bikes to the gap and back as well.  i used it quite a few times hauling my bike to the track too.

 

bearings only got warm, not hot.  in the time i owned it i didn't have to regrease the bearings.  i had no issues with the trailer at all.   

 

i had ran 80 MPH with it and again no issues.  i just checked with my hand to feel how warm the hubs were getting to make sure any time i stopped.

 

good little trailer for the money.  JUST REMEMBER TO PULL AND PACK THE BEARINGS WHEN PUTTING IT TOGETHER


 

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Just so the OP is aware, there are two HF 4x8 models, one with 12" 4-bolt wheels. The load capacity is 1050 lbs., if my memory is correct. The 13" wheel mod is a 5-bolt pattern, and the load capacity is 1450 lbs. (again, that is from memory.)

If you remove the fenders, larger wheels will fit without issue. Building your own fenders to replace them wouldn't be hard... Finding larger wheels is much easier with the 5-bolt pattern.

I have the 4-bolt.

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So you're saying it would be fine just buying stock HF trailer, throwing deck on it, and repacking bearings?

I've done exactly this. Has thousands of miles on everything stock. only thing added is the wood deck, nylock nuts, and had to weld supports to the fenders. My stock HF hubs have grease zerks on the inside. They get the same marine grade grease my boat gets. Never had a problem. Just keep checking the hub bearing for tightness.
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  • 1 month later...

I still plan on building the trailer this year, just haven't got started yet... My trailer money went to a plane ticket to fly back to Ohio for death in the family... I'll post up once I get started and decide what I plan to do,just been delayed sadly

Pauly I will keep your advice in mind... I'll have more time now to build it and get it setup nicely, so I'll definitely post back here once I get going... I think I'm going to take your advice on using standard kit with a couple upgrades

Edited by Steve Butters
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Don't buy this! My god, look at the tongue! Actually it has potential after you cut half the tongue off at the jack and he takes $300. $250 if he welded the hitch tongue to that long ass tongue.

 

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/cto/4882400857.html

 

This one maybe.

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/cto/4891495890.html

Edited by Gump
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I borrowed Stumps HF trailer and hauler my C14 out to Colorado and back with no problem other than I lost his licenseplate. But I did check and tighten all bolts and fasteners and flushed all the Chinese grease out of the bearings and packed them with quality grease before the trip. His was the foldable model with 12" wheels. And I did 75 mph average all the way out.

 

I borrowed it after you did to haul my bike down to Columbus, I didn't have any problems either. Except having to make an extra trip to grab the new plate for his trailer haha.

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Don't buy this! My god, look at the tongue! Actually it has potential after you cut half the tongue off at the jack and he takes $300. $250 if he welded the hitch tongue to that long ass tongue.

 

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/cto/4882400857.html

 

 

 

That trailer is built to haul canoes. That's why the tongue is so long. Canoe can be 18' long so that's an extra 5' toward the vehicle from the front of the trailer. 

 

With that said, i would never haul anything other than canoes on that trailer unless you cut the tongue down. 

Edited by ludwb675
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it's nice to hear that my bearing concerns are likely unfounded. I re-pack the bearings yearly, and really don't put many miles on the trailer.

 

I still try to keep the speedo at or under 70 just for sake of fuel economy, and because the cheap trailer tires aren't balanced.

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i did a harbor freight trailer, they do bolt together, i ended up bolting and welding it together.

 

when you assemble the trailer, the bearings will be in the hubs, but they have hardly any grease in them.  thats what alot of people don't check, and thats why the bearings fail so soon.  so when you get it, pull the bearings and pack with good grease. no need for bearing buddies.

 

buy and extra wheel/tire from HF as well as a back up, they are cheap.

 

you can also buy a full set of backup bearings from redtrailers.com   they are 25mmx52mm taper bearing

 

add a HF wheel chock on top of a plywood deck and your good to go, i hauled my multistrada to colorado and back, i used it to haul 2 bikes to deals gap and back, 2 bikes to florida and back,  and my buddy used it to haul 2 bikes to the gap and back as well.  i used it quite a few times hauling my bike to the track too.

 

bearings only got warm, not hot.  in the time i owned it i didn't have to regrease the bearings.  i had no issues with the trailer at all.   

 

i had ran 80 MPH with it and again no issues.  i just checked with my hand to feel how warm the hubs were getting to make sure any time i stopped.

 

good little trailer for the money.  JUST REMEMBER TO PULL AND PACK THE BEARINGS WHEN PUTTING IT TOGETHER

 

i bought this trailer and am still using it to this day. still pulls great

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I've built a few in my past. I agree with the above. #1 is can your vehicle handle the tongue weight. #2 they like to rock back and forth in the hitch. I'd never put my bike on one. You're also limited to securing the bike due to the lack of angle you can get on the straps and the bike moves towards the front of the vehicle and towards the back of the vehicle a lot. But in a pinch, why not. I doubt the rack itself would break but securing your bike is the weak point.

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Not only can the vehicle handle the tongue weight, but can the hitch. The weight is effectively more because the weight is hanging farther back and creates a lever action. It could rip the hitch mount right off unless reinforced.

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The HF trailer is cheap, folds and takes up less space than a bike, can be pulled by a 4 cylinder sedan, and can carry a lot more than a bike if you need it to.

The last thing I used my trailer for was moving 10 sheets of plywood decking for my porch roof.

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I understand those concerns, but who here has ever seen one fail?

I have only seen 4 or 5 of these in use, but the owners always love them.

Not fail but the edges of the square tube that goes into the hitch receiver start to get rounded off allowing it to spin more after using it a lot.

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