anyone needing a cheap 4' x 8' trailer for hauling stuff

sambojones · Post by **sambojones** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 11:55 am

not sure if this qualifies as commerce but harbor freight has a sale this weekend for one of their 4' x 8' folding trailers for like $260 combine that with one of their printable 20% coupons and you can get it for like $208 plus tax

i found the info for the deal as well as links to the coupon here

i been shopping for a trailer for a while to haul my hexayurt and a few other things to keep the weight off my car and i plan to bring one more hexayurt this year so strapping em to the roof is no longer an option this is hands down the cheapest i've seen for a trailer this size i don't think i've even seen any used ones at this price in the dfw area that wouldn't need extensive repairs

i'm still on the fence about it but will probably pull the trigger on it

if for some reason this comes across as commerce then i apologize and please delete it

Post by **AntiM** » Sun Mar 14, 2010 7:24 am

Referrals to sales are fine, as long as you are not selling your personal trailer here.

Captain Goddammit · Post by **Captain Goddammit** » Sun Mar 14, 2010 9:34 am

Just make sure you're not a dumbass (no offense intended, humorous reference to the dumbass thread) and either load much stuff or go very fast with this dinky pile of shit!
The problem is the tiny wheels and tires, and I suspect tiny bearings too.
Small diameter tires spin a lot faster than your car tires at the same road speed, which generates heat at the tread and at the bearings, which makes trouble on long trips to the desert.
I wouldn't tow that thing to Burning Man, personally. When I used to bring a smaller trailer, it was made from the back half of an old Mazda pickup truck, nice and stout, nice heavy duty wheel bearings, and real highway tires.

sambojones · Post by **sambojones** » Sun Mar 14, 2010 10:00 am

no offense taken and thanks for weighing in captain! i was on the fence about since it since did seem quite lightweight i only would have been putting my hexayurts which don't weigh very much and probably a few other fairly light items but I didn't really think about the tires being small and spinning too fast i guess i'll keep an eye on craigslist and see if i can find one that's a bit beefier. about what size tires should i be looking for a trailer to have?

Captain Goddammit · Post by **Captain Goddammit** » Sun Mar 14, 2010 11:42 am

Well, first I'll admit an assumption I made... you're from Texas, and I assume you WILL be driving faster than gramma on her way to church... or you're not a real Texan! And almost all of us end up packing stuff on our trucks and trailers 'til they're actually kinda' heavy.
Ideally you want something with tires comparable to what cars have, something with at least 14" rims. Maybe 13s if you find a good deal and that's what it's got. Those extra-tiny things on that Harbor Freight micro-trailer are OK for light-duty, around town use. They're just marginal for you because Burners are doing a long, sustained-highway-speed trip. I and others in my caravan have had trailer tire and/or bearing issues on the way in and it sucks!

Check through this thread we had going a while back, all about towing trailers to Burning Man: http://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic. ... g+trailers

Without repeating the whole thing here, I'll add the one other big point about draggin' a wagon: Forget the wimpy little safety chains almost all trailers come with. In the event of an accidental unhitch, they will tear right apart. Get some REAL chain! And attach it to something solid!

Post by **Elderberry** » Sun Mar 14, 2010 8:51 pm

Interesting, I never would have thought of any of those things. I figure if the sell it it would have to be road worthy or they would be wide open for a lawsuit.

JK

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Sun Mar 14, 2010 9:00 pm

jkisha wrote:Interesting, I never would have thought of any of those things. I figure if the sell it it would have to be road worthy or they would be wide open for a lawsuit.

JK

it probably is "roadworthy" within the limits they probably state in fine print somewhere.......

Post by **Elderberry** » Mon Mar 15, 2010 9:47 am

Ah yes, the fine print. We were actually thinking about getting one of those; guess we won't now.

JK

ygmir wrote:
jkisha wrote:Interesting, I never would have thought of any of those things. I figure if the sell it it would have to be road worthy or they would be wide open for a lawsuit.

JK
it probably is "roadworthy" within the limits they probably state in fine print somewhere.......

Post by **AntiM** » Mon Mar 15, 2010 10:03 am

MyLarry noted that those trailers, as with U-Haul rental trailers, are supposed to be towed at 45 mph!!!!! Like anyone is going to go 45 the entire trip. Even with our sturdy Big Bubba trailer, he takes it under the posted limit.

Fire_Moose · Post by **Fire_Moose** » Mon Mar 15, 2010 1:13 pm

i stayed at about 55MPH for the entire trip from Phoenix to Gerlach....with the exeption of going slower thru the towns.

Cost us about 90 bucks in gas, this was in 2008 when gas was SUPER expensive

illy dilly · Post by **illy dilly** » Mon Mar 15, 2010 2:30 pm

Captain Goddammit wrote:I wouldn't tow that thing to Burning Man, personally.

Ay Ay Captain!
A guy I work with has one of these trailers, he was gonna let me borrow it. I'm glad ya said something otherwise I probably would have ran into some trouble trying to cruise at 65mph on the open highway.

capjbadger · Post by **capjbadger** » Tue Mar 16, 2010 3:36 pm

If treated right, those trailers work pretty well. i build my MV on the folding version of the 4'X8' and it has made 3 trips out to the playa so far. Keep the tire pressure right and I never drive it over 55mph.

-Badger

Dad · Post by **Dad** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 7:11 am

Any one see us on side of the road about 10 miles west of Sacramento Saturday night last year. Carry extra tires and rims, Lug nuts, lug posts and a jack and you should be o.k.. Our rim and tire had to come in from Reno. Made for an extra long trip for all of us. Won't be using a small sized rimmed trailer ever again.

archeolojust · Post by **archeolojust** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 2:37 pm

Crap. I usually drive around 80-90mph. I drive a little Celica, so was planning on towing, and hadn't thought on the whole speed with a trailer thing. I suppose I need to rent a bigger car....or ship stuff to my friend in Cali who's meeting us in BRC