If your atv can fly off a 200.00 trailer. It can fly off a 600.00 trailer. Better strap it down better. Seriously, how many popup campers and 2 wide snow mobil trailers have you seen pass you up on the highway. If you look many of them have 8 inch wheels and weigh alot more than an ATV. They seem to do just fine, right. Just as atv's have more CCs. and computers have more gigahertz, that consumers must have. Even if the last year smaller model was just fine. As far as I'm concerned if a 8 in wheel was fine 10 years ago. Its still fine today. Only reason I bought 12 in wheel-- same price.

 

Sure, I just got rid of a trailer with 8" wheels. The axle came out from under it on the highway because it couldnt handle the weight. Keep the bearings greased and they will do fine. thats not the point. The harbor freight bolt together folding trailer is the real point. The harbor freight tires are not only small, they are skinny too. You can strap it down all you want, but when your trailer comes apart, I know for a fact that your wheeler is going where it wants to regardless. . I dont trust one. But to each his own.

 

Well after a few interuptions I finally got the trailer together. As I said I would reply back. Inspected ( here in Pennsylvania we have yearly car inspections). This trailer being a kit needed to be inspected. The mechanic I had inspect it also has almost 25 years selling tires. He laugh at me when I voiced concerns about the size of the tires, reminding me that there still are cars with no speed restriction build with 13 inch wheels. That, at a 1200 lb GVW. These tires are quite capable. We agreed that in this litigious society. Down grading of specifications is the only way for manufactures to protect themselves. After inspection I sent for title and plate which I received 10 days later. I also would like to note that every bolt came with a matching aircraft or what is called locking nut. With the nylon washer on. I have never seen these come lose. My understanding of them is that they where orignally invented to resist the vibration on aircraft and coming lose.
It is a break away trailer That I tried once and almost drove my bomb into the back of my truck. So I took a couple of 10/2s and attached 2/4 posts for my front and rear stakes. Up in the corner of each I attached a small 2/4 block on a hinge so that each would fit into the stake holder in the rear as a ramp. The 2/4 posts work great for increased traction when loading. Because my bomb is about 47 inches wide I moved the wheel fenders out about 3/4 out for more clearance. Monted the side stakes or rails on top of the 2/4 posts and fastened the ends to the wheel fenders. I now have atleast an inch and a half clearence on each side. Three weeks ago I loaded up for a weekend in Altoona Pa. by the world famous Horseshoe curve. About 85 miles one way for me. I drove between 65 and 70 mph. Because of a closed in cap on the back of my truck I could not see the trailer. A friend behind me said it ran straight and never pulled to either side. Last week on another trip with out the cap I was able to confirm this. The trailer is perfectly square to my truck. I took some mountain roads at faster than normal speed for me and never seen it lean. After about 400 mis. I checked every nut and bolt and none had any looseness. All in all, I think this is a very fine trailer for $200 dollars. If you have the time and mechanical ability, buy one. If not, buy one for about $500 and drive it that day.

 

I hate towing a trailer I can't see because it is so tight to the pickup. You can have a flat or other problems and never know about it. I always mount the lights or some part of the trailer where I can see something of each side in the side mirrors. A low or flat tire will make the trailer sway and can be detected before major damage is done.

Even a piece of PVC pipe strapped across the back and wide enough to be seen can be used as a marker.

JMHO from years of towing all kinds of junk with other junk. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Should have mentioned this in the previous post, sorry.

When shopping for a trailer take a look at the boat yards. You may be able to find a low profile boat trailer that you can put a deck on at a very reasonable price. Most people want the new galvanized trailers and a lot of good steel trailers with great potential are wanting a new owner.

A reciprocating saw, you wanted a reason to buy one anyway, with a metal cutting blade will make short work of the roller mounts. Use Lennox metal cutting blades, they have always been the best I could find.

 

I bot a Harbour freight trailer last summer to haul my SP500 on and it works great. I didn't make it so it could fold. Kept the decking in solid piece for more solid frame. Only problem is after I bot it and the Sportsman my wife decided she wanted a quad too, so now I have to haul one in the back of the truck. Kind of a pain when you have to unhook the trailer to load/unload the wife's quad. Planning on upgrading to a bigger trailer some time in the future. But still would recommend the HF trailer though.

 

Sounds like it fits your needs well. Some bearing buddys and you will be set. I had some small CB whips mounted to my smaller trailer, mostly so I could keep an eye on it while backing it up empty. With good towing mirrors on your tow vehicle you can see anything behind you.

 

As stated in previous post. Trailer comes stock with bearing buddies. Thanks though for tip about CB whips though as they are probably cheaper than Meyer snow plow whips.

 

Harbor Freight 4x8 foldable trailer: I just finished building my cheapo $179 8" tire Harbor Freight trailer. I put the 4x8 3/4" plywood on, and on my way to the DMV to get it registered, both tires burned up on me. I had only gone maybe 4-5 miles and had just gone maybe 1/2 a mile at approx 55 mph when I noticed smoke coming from the trailer. I immediately pulled over and realized both tires were flat and smoking badly. Upon removing the tires and wheels, I found that both hubs had seized. Somewhere along the line, I was dragging the tires. When I assembled the trailer the bearings were pre-packed, all I had to do was install the tire/wheel/hub onto the axle, then add the spindle nut with 90lbs of torque (which I did). I was thankful that I didn't have a load on it ( I pick up my lifted golf cart tomorrow) or that nobody was hurt. I returned the trailer to Harbor Freight (after getting the whole trailer into the back of my truck) for a full refund and a $45 store credit for the plywood and bolts I added to it. Just a warning to be careful with those cheap trailers. I am now going to Carson trailer to get a $500 trailer with 15" tires and wheels.

 

A $500 Carson trailer? Which model as the ones I see are ~$1K.