I Built a Tire Trailer!

[Stang70Fastback]

I'm going to be a super-huge jerk, though, and force you to click through to my blog to read it because I already spent too much time formatting everything there to reformat everything here, lol.

http://www.seriesblueadventures.com/...a-tire-trailer

[Speck]

Dude! So cool. Nice work!

[CarzCarzCarz]

Nice work and write up. Thanks for sharing

[extrashaky]

You're a braver man than I. I don't think I would trust a bolt-together Harbor Freight trailer with a wobbling wheel behind my car.

[Stang70Fastback]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

You're a braver man than I. I don't think I would trust a bolt-together Harbor Freight trailer with a wobbling wheel behind my car.

Yeah, I suppose it sounds a lot worse than it is. However in reality, this trailer could probably be pulled over one of those test courses they use to destroy cars all day long and be just fine. It might be a basic bolt together trailer but you use quite a few bolts, and once it's properly put together, with a thick floor attacked, it doesn't feel any less flimsy than if it were a thick, welded trailer. It's a good example of "too simple to break."

As far as the wobbly wheel, that also probably sounds worse than it is. Nothing is loose, it's just a steel wheel that's slightly bent. No real threat to anything in the short term, but I do need to get it fixed eventually, lol.

[yberther]

Make sure you repack the bearings with good bearing grease. If there is any grease in there to begin with, the quality is shit. Bearing buddies or just replacing them will ensure it will ride better longer. I've had mine setup for a motorcycle (not towing with my brz) for a couple years now and changing the grease and adding the 3/4" ply made it much more tolerable. The plywood really stiffens it up and for $200 it can't be beat.

[Sideways]

Great work thr. Even I was thinking of grabbing that trailer for my car.

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by Stang70Fastback

It might be a basic bolt together trailer but you use quite a few bolts, and once it's properly put together, with a thick floor attacked, it doesn't feel any less flimsy than if it were a thick, welded trailer.

Until it doesn't. Maybe it'll be fine. But I've bought a lot of stuff over the years from HF, and while they're great for some things, the quality of their materials doesn't always inspire confidence. I would be worried you couldn't torque the Chinese screws tight enough without stripping them, and that without proper torque on them they would back out under constant vibration from your wobbling wheel.

Is that thing even meant for road use? It looks like it's intended for towing stuff behind a four-wheeler around the farm. I think I would head around the corner to Northern Tool instead if I wanted an inexpensive trailer that was roadworthy.

[Stang70Fastback]

Originally Posted by yberther

Make sure you repack the bearings with good bearing grease. If there is any grease in there to begin with, the quality is shit. Bearing buddies or just replacing them will ensure it will ride better longer. I've had mine setup for a motorcycle (not towing with my brz) for a couple years now and changing the grease and adding the 3/4" ply made it much more tolerable. The plywood really stiffens it up and for $200 it can't be beat.

Yeah, you aren't the first person who has suggested that to me. For the time it's running on the grease it came with. I've never "packed" a bearing before, so I'm hoping sometime this summer I can buy some "nice" bearings and grease and get a friend to help show me the proper method for doing it. As it stands, I pretty much just shoved the bearings it came with in and called it a day, lol.

Originally Posted by extrashaky

Until it doesn't. Maybe it'll be fine. But I've bought a lot of stuff over the years from HF, and while they're great for some things, the quality of their materials doesn't always inspire confidence. I would be worried you couldn't torque the Chinese screws tight enough without stripping them, and that without proper torque on them they would back out under constant vibration from your wobbling wheel.

Is that thing even meant for road use? It looks like it's intended for towing stuff behind a four-wheeler around the farm. I think I would head around the corner to Northern Tool instead if I wanted an inexpensive trailer that was roadworthy.

If you Google "tire trailer" you'll find that this is the trailer kit used for a significant percentage of them. As far as the quality goes, the beauty of this trailer is that there isn't much that can be "poor quality." You've got the six main frame pieces, all of which were well painted, and all of which had the holes stamped in the proper spots. You've got leaf springs, an axle, some wheels, and some hardware. All of the nuts I installed were lock nuts, and they were tightened about as tight as I could turn them with my socket set. They will definitely NOT be coming loose. At least not for a very long while.

The trailer is rated for road use, which is why it came with all of the legally required lighting. It is fully DOT compliant. I believe the tires are rated to 55 MPH but apparently people tow them at much higher speeds all day long without issue. In the long run I'd like to replace the wheels and tires with proper radial tires instead of the cheap bias-ply ones it came with.

[yberther]

Originally Posted by Stang70Fastback

Yeah, you aren't the first person who has suggested that to me. For the time it's running on the grease it came with. I've never "packed" a bearing before, so I'm hoping sometime this summer I can buy some "nice" bearings and grease and get a friend to help show me the proper method for doing it. As it stands, I pretty much just shoved the bearings it came with in and called it a day, lol.

Honestly man, if you built all this, its super easy to buy some good grease and just pull the old stuff out, fill it with good grease, then you don't have to worry.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNOeMCeWWn4"]How to Grease / Pack Trailer Wheel Bearings : Trailer-In-A-Bag Example - YouTube[/ame]

[extrashaky]

Well, if you're comfortable with it... I'm still wary.

BTW, great job on the customization. It looks good, and your mods are very functional. I didn't want that to get lost in the concern over the quality of the trailer itself.

[Stang70Fastback]

Originally Posted by yberther

Honestly man, if you built all this, its super easy to buy some good grease and just pull the old stuff out, fill it with good grease, then you don't have to worry.

Oh. I hadn't actually looked up a how-to yet. I thought "packing the bearing" was going to be some complicated process. I didn't realize it just means shoving a shit-ton of decent grease in there. Should I replace the bearings with some "higher quality" units, or are the ones from HF sufficient? I want to be able to tow this trailer at 70-80 MPH without worrying about the bearings overheating.

Originally Posted by extrashaky

Well, if you're comfortable with it... I'm still wary.

BTW, great job on the customization. It looks good, and your mods are very functional. I didn't want that to get lost in the concern over the quality of the trailer itself.

No problem, and thanks! I can understand your concerns. I'm wary of all HF products to be honest. In fact, even though everyone says their jacks are fine, I still spent considerably more money on a different brand jack to ensure it would be a good one. This trailer is something much simpler, though, so I wasn't quite as concerned. My degree is in aerospace engineering, so I promise you if it truly was flimsy, or really felt like it wasn't up to snuff, I would be the first person to point it out, lol :P

[yberther]

Yea, I'd put quite a bit more than he did in the video. If you use your palm you can literally fill the cavity completely. That is the correct way to do it.

I've had no problems with the stock bearings and I wouldn't be worried with how little load is on your trailer. Awesome work otherwise. Little cars with tire trailers looks so awesome.

[Stang70Fastback]

Originally Posted by yberther

Yea, I'd put quite a bit more than he did in the video. If you use your palm you can literally fill the cavity completely. That is the correct way to do it.

I've had no problems with the stock bearings and I wouldn't be worried with how little load is on your trailer. Awesome work otherwise. Little cars with tire trailers looks so awesome.

Oh, so literally put the wheel on, and then pretty much pack the entire void FULL of grease, smother the bearing in grease, shove it into the grease, fill the CAP with grease, and basically just make it so that when you put everything back together it's all grease and no air? That seems pretty simple, lol.