Harbor Freight (type) Trailer Suspensions

[krick3tt]

Nobody is 'just' a nurse, nurses are awesome. I built out a little HF trailer, they are a great starting point.

 

[rnArmy]

Nobody is 'just' a nurse, nurses are awesome. I built out a little HF trailer, they are a great starting point.

Thanks! Currently I'm working part-time/relief at a nursing home/rehab center. COVID is hitting hard - staff and residents are popping up positive.

A few things I forget to mention:

1. If building a little HF-type 4' trailer, don't be afraid to go a little tall on your tub. Truck beds are usually about 18" tall. If building a trailer tub that'll have a lid, make sure you've got at least 24" height inside with the lid closed. That'll allow you to put two 8-gallon Rubbermaid Action Packers on top of each other. Think inside volume (square feet): Length x Width x Height. On a lil' 4' trailer, you're limited by the frame size to Length and Width. Go a little taller. In my experience, it isn't so much heavy stuff I'm putting in the trailer as it is bulky stuff. Things like sleeping bags, folding chairs, action packers with food and cooking gear, etc. You'll be amazed at how much stuff can go in even a little 4' trailer (especially if you go a little tall like I did).

The little red HF 4' trailer frames measure 40.5" x 48". Mine (from HF but a different model) pictured below was 40" x 50". Northern Tool says theirs is 40" x 48". So if you're going to have a tub made, by the frame first and measure before ordering a tub (if you go that route).



2. I had some aluminum angle welded to the underside of the tub once it was attached to the frame. It gives the floor a little rigidity since all it is is sheet aluminum. This way when the floor is loaded and you're bouncing down the trail, the floor won't get warped or start to sag.





What's your next adventure?

 

[jgaz]

Thank you for this article and yes, you answered my questions very well.

Two more things, thank you for your 34 years of service.
Also, as mentioned above, no one is “just” an RN.

I make this last statement from the experience of being married to an extremely competent (now retired) RN for the last 41 years.

 

[john61ct]

As the ex of a traveling ER nurse practioner I heartily agree.

Should get paid 80% of what the surgeons make, and more deserving of their adulation and overconfidence.

Even back at my (Jesuit-run) uni, nursing students always made the best girlfriends too. . .

 

[rnArmy]

Thank you for this article and yes, you answered my questions very well.

Two more things, thank you for your 34 years of service.
Also, as mentioned above, no one is “just” an RN.

I make this last statement from the experience of being married to an extremely competent (now retired) RN for the last 41 years.

Thanks. I enjoy being a nurse. And when I was in the Army as a nurse I got to do all sorts of crazy things I would never have gotten to do as a civilian nurse.

I didn't start this thread to talk all about me and my trailer though; I wanted to start it to help folks building little 4' HF-type based trailer improve their trailer's suspension. It really is a simple bolt-on affair, inexpensive, and really pays off when the road gets bumpy.

I had one person post on another thread saying he built a little 4' trailer, and his friends used to enjoy following behind him on the trail because they enjoyed watching his trailer bounce up and down and all over the place. Then he took my advice and swapped out the slipper springs for some longer springs with a shackle at the end. He said now his friends don't enjoy following him as before because the suspension soaks up the bumps and there's no more bouncing. I think he said his friends words were they found his trailer boring now on the trail (I take that as a good thing).

Some folks don't know how bad their slipper spring suspension is until they swap it out and see what they've been missing.

 

[rnArmy]

These little trailers are built for adventure. In a previous post I asked "What's your next adventure?".

Here's mine.

US Northwest - I want to do the TAT (Trans American Trail) in 2021 | OVERLAND BOUND COMMUNITY

I'll be leaving WA early June and heading to Ripley, WV for the start of the TAT. I'm trying to see if I can get a group going. I figure I'll be gone for at least five - six weeks. Here's the route I'll be taking on the TAT (highlighted by the black line following the route):



Right now I'm planning on taking the TJ and trailer, but haven't ruled-out taking the Willys and trailer. Either way, I'll be taking the lil' adventure trailer.

Not familiar with the TAT? Here you go: TransAm Trail – with Sam Correro

 

[opp]

Something I don't get . these trailers are great when use as intended. Why buy then discard most of it . I know a group was posting over 50,000 post running a bait and click con so they could get sponsored add money and sell your information . Having you buy one then up grade buying parts from them .Why not buy a bit heavier folded steel drill and build your own you save 1/2 the money

 

[high-and-dry]

One reason Opp is then come with a certificate of origin which allows you to get a title very easily

 

[rnArmy]

Something I don't get . these trailers are great when use as intended. Why buy then discard most of it . I know a group was posting over 50,000 post running a bait and click con so they could get sponsored add money and sell your information . Having you buy one then up grade buying parts from them .Why not buy a bit heavier folded steel drill and build your own you save 1/2 the money

I hope someone isn't using what I've posted to make money. Are they using my pictures? Please send me a link. For the record, I've never made (or asked for) one penny for the info I've put out. I do it for fun and in the hopes I'm helping someone out so they can better enjoy their adventures like I have. Of course, I'm not above accepting gifts of money from grateful folks, but it hasn't happened yet after all these years. When I would post a link, it was either a place I had bought from, or I knew they had what I was talking about. I never got a kick-back or anything like that from a link I provided. I'm not sponsored by anyone.

Pretty much all I discarded from my trailer was the fenders, worthless slipper springs (and their frame mounting attachments), axle, and wheels/tires. I actually sold the original axle and wheels and tires when I did my first upgrade, so I got some of my original money back. I may have sold the original fenders, but I would have given them away if someone wanted them (to unclutter my garage). I later changed out the tail lights, but technically they could have been reused (if I hadn't busted them up running the Dempster Highway - but they had been repaired).

The C-channel HF uses is actually quite sturdy. I've never had any issues with mine. I do know of one fail:

Mini Harbor Freight (type) Trailer Ultimate Build-Up Thread - Page 51 - JeepForum.com

Where the tongue attached to the crossmember underneath in the middle of the trailer was/is a weak point. (He later fixed it). A little preventative reinforcement here with some angle iron would go a long way to keep this from happening. I used angle iron running from the front to the back to keep this from happening to mine (posted previously on this thread), and I have triangulated pieces going from the sides of the frame to the tongue to help with the load. I honestly don't think having a heavier gauge steel frame would add anything to my lil' trailer other than weight. And I have abused my HF-based trailer probably more than most folks have or would ever do, and we're talking days on end abuse. Busted a leaf spring (if that tells you anything about the abuse it has taken), but that's it.

What's nice about the HF-type C-channel frame trailers is everything is there. No fabrication needed to get a little trailer you can start pulling as soon as you put it together. The tongue, ball hitch thingy, lights, wiring, suspension (even though it sucks it is a starting point), hardware, axle, hubs, wheels and tires... all there. Then use that as a platform to modify to your needs. You can also use it to round-up stray feral critters.



And as mentioned, being able to easily get a tag is also a big plus.

 

[opp]

Not you rnArmy You have been supper helpful to everyone.
A bit about the Trailer manufacture license trailer 17# vin numbers
For US builders that build under 99 trailers a year the cost about $ 300 IN FEES $5.00 in paper work and cost of $10,000 bond under $100 a year in Calif. It seams easy to find a licensed builder of them. Have them look over your trailer inspecting is part of manufacturing then have them do the paper work never payed over $50.00 .last time I looked 3'' side wall 2'' on top and bottom by 12 foot 12 Gage thick.was $22.49 + 8.75 sale tax Ebay 3500 axle nut to lug nut $99.00 to my door. Again rnArmy you have been extremely gracious. Yes The C-channel HF uses is actually quite sturdy.

 

[john61ct]

How easy to register DIY varies widely by state.

RN, the "your information" opp meant like FB and Google etc do

 

[rnArmy]

The way these HF-type frames are designed, the cross members are slightly smaller than the front-to-back pieces. This way the crossmembers can fit inside the front-to-back pieces and be bolted together. So if you buy a bunch of same-sized thin-wall channel, it isn't going to fit together as shown below.

You could make it work (having just the one size channel) for the front and back crossmembers, but it wouldn't work for the middle crossmember.

And you still need to address the tongue (which is part of the frame), which is a much more heavier grade square(ish) tubing than the rest of the frame's channel.

So could you build your own trailer frame from scratch for cheaper than what a HF or Northern Tool frame would cost (before including modifications like what I've done)? I'm wanting to say "maybe... possibly" (once it was all said-and-done including lights, wiring, suspension, axle, wheels and tires, etc.). Would it be worth the effort the extra effort? Only you can answer that. I am in a better position now if I wanted to build one from scratch having built one from a kit. When I started out, having a kit (for lack of a better term) was most beneficial for me.

I guess I'm trying to say if this is your first trailer build and you don't have any trailer experience and don't weld, I think you'd be better off getting a kit and using that as a base to build to suit your needs. Either a lil' 4' trailer kit, or a 4x8' trailer frame kit and shortening/narrowing it. These C-channel frames are tough.

I'm not a fan of the angle-iron framed trailers that places like Lowe's sells to use as a base trailer for modifying.

 

[Caoboy]

Reading through this thread as I've recently started modifying my old HF 4x8 trailer. This has been a great resource to figure out how to make the trailer better suited for light hauling of my camping gear and kayaks!