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My budget (Harbor Freight) Jeep Trailer Build

15K views 32 replies 10 participants last post by  bobdog 
#1 ·
Since I bought my Jeep a couple months back I have been wanting a small trailer I can tow behind it to stow my gear in for camping. I looked at the explorer box type designs and then ran across this thread http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f27/mini-harbor-freight-type-trailer-ultimate-build-up-thread-1180456/ here on the forum. It inspired me to build my own design.

I will be documenting it as I make progress. The plan is to have it finished no later than June 27th. That is when my tent arrives I have on order and I plan on a long road trip to Yellowstone the week after the 4th of July.
 
#2 ·
I bought the small trailer from Harbor Freight with the 12" tires and 1090lbs capacity. On sale and using a 20% off coupon it cost me $191 out the door with the Utah sales tax.

First thing was to make sure all the pieces were there as the boxes were pretty trashed when they brought it out of the warehouse. I got lucky and everything is here.



 
#3 ·
Next I assembled the frame. This is as far as I went tonight as I am going to change it up a bit going forward. Tomorrow I am going to square up the frame and tighten down the bolts. Then I am going to paint the frame black before going forward. I do not like the red frame as it will not match my Jeep and I intend on the finished product matching my Jeep complete with maroon paint on the box.



Initially when I bought the trailer I toyed with the idea of purchasing all new hardware from Lowes or Ace that was 8.8 for the added strength. I was pleasantly surprised to find the HF comes with 8.8 hardware already. Granted it is made in China so take it for what its worth but I chose to go ahead and use the hardware supplied with the trailer.

 
#5 ·
Today I painted the trailer frame black. I used "Hammered" black rustoleum. Looks great in person. Can't really notice the texture in the pics. I didn't worry about the inside that is still red in the pics. Once the floor is on I am going to undercoat the trailer for added protection and you will not see this when upright and being towed.



 
#6 ·
Got some more of the trailer completed. This is the easy part. Now comes the fun part of building the box.

I was surprised to see the HF trailer had grease zerks installed.



The grease that was packed in the bearings looked extremely cheap. Just didn't look right. I cleaned it out and put real wheel bearing grease in to increase the life of the bearings.



A couple more pics:



 
#7 ·
I am going to put off wiring the trailer until my box is built. I am also going to head to HF and pick up a 2" to replace the 1 7/8" the trailer came with. Going to check out plywood today for the deck and have decided to go with a tongue and groove style for the sides.
 
#11 ·
These little HF trailers are a great platform to start from, and you've gotta start somewhere. And like a stock Jeep; they're fine in stock form, but there's so much you can do to them. And if there's a 25% off coupon out there, what are you waiting for?
 
#12 ·
Will get some more pics up today or tomorrow. Still making progress. I got my deck installed and have started constructing the walls. I initially was going to go with a tongue and groove side but changed my mind. The T&G Cedar doesn't feel all that heavy or strong, and the selection Home Depot had wasn't very good, so I am using 1X8's on the side walls stacked 3 high.
 
#13 ·
I wonder if anyone ever considered using some siding for the trailer's box sides? I forget what it's called - T1-11 or something like that. It's sold in sheets like 4x8 plywood. It's designed for the sides of houses, so it should weather well. If you were making your trailer's sides 24" tall or less, seems like one sheet should do the trick. I have no idea what a sheet costs these days (it was 30 years ago when I was working at a Home-Depot like place - anybody ever heard of "Scotty's" in the south east?).

Just tossing out a suggestion.
 
#15 ·
I am been working on this a little bit every day. Here is the progress so far.

Bought a 4X8 sheet of plywood and had it cut down. I will use one piece for the deck and the other piece will be used for my lid when I get to that point.

 
#16 ·
Initially I was going to go with tongue and groove cedar for the sides. However after looking at it closely I felt the tongue and groove boards at Home Depot and Lowes are just not strong enough for the job. They seem to thin and weak for this type of project. Not to mention cedar is a little more than I would like to spend.

Because I want an enclosed box when all is said and done that is weather/water resistant I decided to build the sides out of 1X8's stacked 3 high. A 1X8 is not really 8 inches so the 3 stacked came out to about 22 inches total height which looks just about right.



I used carriage bolts to fasten the lumber together. I think it is plenty strong plus it gives it a great "rivet" style look.





 
#17 ·
Here is where I stand today:



I have purchased the hardware to fasten each corner together which will make the box very solid. I will be taking pics and adding this in the next couple of days. This box will be a top loader style box. After it is fastened up I am going to seal each of the seams and cracks to make it more weather resistant before painting. I plan to add the lid and as of right now the plan is to make the lid so it will flip over into a camp table. I am going to cover the top of the lid in vinyl and when it flips over to a table I plan on have linoleum on that side to make easy clean up.
 
#20 ·
I have some free time the next couple of days so it is back to the trailer. I am hoping to get this thing ready to use in the next week so I can use it on my July Yellowstone trip.

Today I secured the corners to one another using metal from Home Depot. After fastening these to all the corners this thing is solid!



Next I put a cross beam in for added stability. For the time being I have one going across the center. If this proves too difficult to get my gear in I will add a second one and relocate this to the end having one on each end rather than one through the center.



And the last thing for today is making the trailer more weather resistant. I am using caulk since it is flexible and should hold up to the weather. I am debating on coating the inside of the trailer with a rubberized spray from home depot, not sure yet if I will do this.

 
#21 ·
This looks awesome ...and of course I have some questions:
- What type and size plywood did you use for the floor? All I know about plywood is that it has different ratings or numbers.What is best for the type of exposure the floor will see, especially the underside?
- Any concerns about the protruding bolts on the inside of the box snagging your gear? The bolt head on the outside really looks boss, but reversing this would give you a smooth interior.
- Is the cross bracing on the interior (either in the middle as shown, or at the ends) really needed? Those interior corner braces (3 at each corner) look to me like they make this box pretty rigid.

I have minimal woodworking or metal skills, so my questions are from lack of knowledge, not criticism.

Thanks.
 
#22 ·
I went with 5/8" plywood, not sure if there is a number or rating for it. All I know is it was $27 at Home Depot :). As far as the underside I am going to use rubber sealant or undercoat on it to help with road grime, etc. I will post pics when I do this.

Those bolts you mention are a bit long. I may replace them with shorter ones or cut the ends off of the current ones. I am not too worried about them snagging gear but you do raise a valid point. I like the carriage bolt head on the outside simply because of the look, looks like a rivet.

The cross brace most likely is not necessary. I have seen other people do this and it kind of ended up in my plans because of it. I am thinking it may give the lid more stability which is a plus as I am most likely going to have some type of rack on top for hauling extra gear.

Keep checking back as I plan to do on doing quite a bit of work to this the next 2 days.
 
#23 ·
After reading AZCAT's post it got me to thinking he has a good point with the bolts sticking out and getting in the way of the gear. While I like the look of the carriage bolt I decided to change over today. Here is what I came up with. Thanks for the suggestion.....I like this way better.





This is why I did a build thread, to get different ideas. This is a work in progress and may be one of those projects that is never finished if you catch my drift.
 
#28 ·
That's so much easier than countersinking holes and such like I did on mine. I like it. I'll have to check into those little nut-thingies. One thing I would suggest is putting a thin but wide fender washer between the boards with the bolt going through it.
 
#24 ·
I bought some rubberized sealer to spray the inside of the trailer on the cracks to add extra resistance to weather. I am not sure if this stuff is thick enough. I will update when it dries completely. I am not expecting a water proof trailer or anything. I am just trying to keep the water out when towing in the rain so my gear stays dry. My wife said we should just put a tarp inside before packing gear in it. This may not be a bad idea.

After seeing the rubberized sealer I think I will use actual undercoat for underneath the trailer. I believe it will be better for the road.

 
#26 ·
To me, it looks like you could gain the rigidity of the box, and strength you are after, by building your lid with the supports on the underside that would fit snugly inside the box. Your lid could rest on the outside of the supports for added strength, and have the cross members add a rigid factor when the lid is closed. Just a thought, if it makes sense. It makes sense in my mind...:D
 
#27 ·
MoabCJ5....you are correct and I have thought about going this route to make the lid "fit" into the top of the trailer. I am still deciding what to do as my wife wants the lid to flip all the way over so it can be used as a table.

I did get the primer and paint done to the trailer this week. The plan all along was to match it to the Jeep. This isn't perfect but it is close enough. I used SpeedKote from Home Depot. I went with this paint because it was cheap. Warning to others, this paint was thin and took me 4 coats after the primer to get it to this point. Not a great paint that's for sure, but it did the job.







This weekend I am going to mount the fenders and get the electrical started. Then I will go to HF and buy the 2" tongue for the trailer. It should be towable by Monday. Then I will start on the lid.
 
#29 ·
Haven't updated in awhile. I got the rest of the trailer completed with the lid, fenders, and electrical. I also towed it to Yellowstone and back this last weekend. for the lid I covered it in black vinyl. Gives it a good look and will help with keeping water out.

View from the front of the trailer:



View of the lid:



 
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