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Checked out your online photos, and all the specialized stuff you devised to add this feature to the trailer was quite a feat. Nicely done. By the time I got finished with all the other upgrades that preceded my spare tire storage solution, no way I would have gone to such lengths to design/put something like this together. I also noted that as designed, the profile of the spare starts at the bottom of the HF cross supports, leaving the bottom of the spare no less than 3 inches closer to the ground, on a small trailer with pretty low ground clearance as it is. My design holds the spare flush against the bottom of the deck, fitting perfectly between the two rear HF cross-braces, so I still prefer that configuration/solution to this one. Mighty nice though!

@@dmrtechnology6033 Thanks. My design works for our specific uses, but for others I agree having it tucked all the way up is probably better. Of course I probably would have over engineered that type by having the tire and rear cross-member slide out the back on full-extension glides like a drawer.

Glad you found the videos helpful. I went with the HF super-duty trailer mainly for the folding feature. I wanted to be able to use the trailer in the greatest variety of ways, and still be able to store it in a limited space when not in use (it's neatly tucked away in my garage now). I think you'd be losing the folding feature with an enclosed/covered structure, but I know lots of people use these HF trailers that way, and are very happy with the results.

Glad you found the video(s) helpful. HF makes three versions of this folding trailer, e.g., light, medium and "super" duty. Mine is the "super" version. The "medium" one comes with such a cross-brace for the tongue arms, the other two don't. I'm sure there's an engineering/cost reason for this, but IMHO, that "reason" was stupid, and they should just include a brace with all three models. I'm sure you'll find, as I did, that adding a brace like this will be a BIG improvement in the strength/twist resistance of your tongue arm assembly, especially when you add the jack.

I'm afraid not ... "one off" from scrap he had left over from a different job, and totally customized to specs for this particular application/trailer.

There are lots of potential ways to do it. I just wanted to ensure: maximum durability; minimum slack, but still allowing full R/L movement of the tongue with no strain points on the harness/wiring.

Since I've replied to the same "cutting corners" stuff about these "Chinese" HF trailers multiple times, here's a copy of one such reply: "China has swamped the entire world with cheaply manufactured goods, and Harbor Freight would not exist without them. To "call a spade a spade," these trailers are definitely a "compromise" on beefiness/durability features that most Americans love, but the price, and the practical utility these trailers deliver for that price, are what have attracted American buyers to these things by the millions. That was certainly the case for me, and the trailer's performance over many thousands of road miles has given me no reason to regret it." Re "drilling holes in the hitch poles will only weaken them." That has not been my experience either. Drilling holes in the "hitch poles" [aka "tongue arms"] doesn't "weaken them," e.g., when the purpose of the holes is to securely bolt a cross-brace onto the tongue arm assembly as a whole. This configuration/solution didn't "weaken" either the tongue arms, or the assembly ... it significantly strengthened both. When I bought/assembled this trailer, I didn't want/need a tank. What I wanted/needed was a small, inexpensive utility trailer that was still durable/adaptable enough to use with lots of different small-ish loads, and easy to hook up, haul, move around and store. That's exactly what I got with this trailer, and much more.

They've worked fine for me, thousands of road miles, all weather conditions, laden/unladen, worn to about 50% of original tread, but trailer's now been stored in my garage for quite awhile, not recently used, so I'd have to re-evaluate them before next use. If they're "bombs," I would say the "bombs" are duds, and I wouldn't expect them to explode, unless they're too old/cracked, or habitually underinflated, overinflated, or overloaded ... these are a standard, small five-lug rim/tire combination for this size/weight rating of trailer. Don't need a tractor tire for a trailer that's not supposed to be used to haul more than 1,700 lbs ...

Depends on how you configure the fences, I guess, but not with my configuration, which rests the bottom fence rail on the outer edge of the plywood sheet that makes up the bed, therefore taking the width of the fence board away from all four edges of the 4x8 bed, and making the surface a little too small for a 4x8 sheet of plywood to lay flat on it. I did it that way so the bottom of the fences would rest on the deck, and prevent yard waste/debris from slipping under the fences and onto the road when making trips to the dump, etc.

LOL. Yeah ... uhh ... you ought to ask for ... umm ... your money back ...

Thanks ... glad you're finding the videos helpful.

Thanks ... HF had the same "brilliant" idea with their medium-duty version of this trailer (this one is supposedly the "heavy-duty" version), which uses a slightly different/weaker tongue-arm. Guess they left it off this one to keep the cost a few bucks lower ... only conceivable reason that makes any sense. I decided to fabricate/add the brace to this one after seeing the tongue arms visibly torquing/twisting around as I was trying to maneuver the loaded trailer around on the tongue-jack caster. Only needed to see that once ...

Thanks ... glad you found the videos helpful, and it isn't "stealing" when the "owner" has invited the "theft" ... whole point of the videos. Have fun with your buildout.

It came from my head. When I noted the amount of vacant space between the bottom bolts (the ones that bear the load of the tongue, and which must be mounted right up against the bottom of the tongue arm) and the top bolts of the tongue jack anchor bracket (this space depends entirely on which of the pre-cut holes in this "universal" bracket has to be used to fit the tongue arm), I wanted to put something in there to fill that void and help the brackets to remain stable/in position against any lateral stress on the deployed jack). The one you see in the video is wood, made from a simple 2x4 cut down its length with a jigsaw to match the height of the gap, drilled with holes to match the positions/diameter of the anchor bolts, then painted to match the tongue arm. However, knowing that material would eventually start to compress/wear and get deformed from the pressure of the steel brackets/bolts, I had a friend with a whiz-bang metal shop/tools at his house fabricate me a matching part from a billet of solid aluminum. A little on the crazy side, I know, but I didn't want anything on this trailer to look/be half-a**ed. ... the spacer is as solid as the bracket/tongue itself now, and isn't going/moving ANYWHERE.

@dmrtechnology6033 hey thanks for the info. I'm currently rebuilding a jet ski trailer and love the idea.

Glad you're finding the videos helpful ... that's why I made/posted them ... I spent a lot of time thinking all this stuff through and picking/sourcing all the hardware, and hoped sharing my ideas/solutions would help others get to a trailer that works for them with far less time/effort.

I put all the wiring inside plastic tubing, and also put breaks at the points where the tongue folds down (detachable marine plugs) so the whole wiring configuration can stay tight to the frame with no sagging/loose sections.

You just make it a tad shorter and angle it into place with a hammer. But, if you plan to use a fence on the rear end of the trailer, see the end of my subsequent video on "storing spare tire" for changes I made to the configuration shown in this video ... I removed the entire center of the 2x4 to make room for my spare tire, strengthen the mounts, and clear the areas where the locking pins go in/out for any rear-end fence posts.

All the OE photos/manual illustrations show the jack on the passenger side. It's probably fine either way, but you might want to check out my "1 of 4 -- build out" video on wiring placement ... and then "4 of 4" to see how I eliminated any contact between the jack and the trailer wiring by running the wiring inside the tongue arms. Spend a little extra time doing this part right/clean, and you'll never have to worry about your wiring getting damaged/fouled by a tongue jack, regardless of what side of the tongue you mount it on. Unfortunately, HF's instructions say very little about this subject, and lot of people just leave big stretches of the wiring hanging loose on/around the tongue arms ... I wasn't having any of that.

They're just called swing down trailer jacks ... lots of different sellers of the same item on Ebay, here's just one: www.ebay.com/itm/275742312327?itmmeta=01HSP654R78E633FRR2HXGFPVA&hash=item403385c787:g:4q4AAOSwpHlkDsiB&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA0ApLEQZJ2NS%2FJnoRgddsNdyglaIalOxFkmk7erxQ7xsPumLXojPoRaMHCTNjpC2Ni7k7g90mcLLwLVcH4MjarvelniaQd1Q9%2BWi8eseTRxPdHHL5DcqPQv%2FuJw3CVoFchr6QIjnTvhTGRyATgZX6Et8zJYbngfNXa2bwy4ySsleSDB44LL3mO3NvT8%2BFTEf4GxjvoTB7PhBuJKWWk%2BJ9RxX2udzIyjLCEV3EuuXRgfZslGeRqV4P5%2FkJzexMOAE1zsHu5L8bxsMZnUdPyE1i0M4%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR5zMlMbNYw

Thanks ... found the license plate parts on Amazon ... don't have a specific link, but they aren't hard to find. Just look for a silicone frame/holder and steel bracket.

Thanks. 1. Same reason they're found in most SUV cargo beds ... just in case I need to move any bulky/awkward/top-heavy cargo like a big appliance, motorcycle, or anything else that needs to be tied down/held in the center of the bed, and can't be properly anchored/secured on the fences. 2. Sure, it's shown in one of the videos ... rear gate just like the front, except secured to the side fence ends with swivel handles. 3. After a whole bunch of early road trips, thousands of miles, both laden and unladen, in rain, dry, heat, cold, it performed/held up great, but has just been folded up in my garage for awhile now. 4. Nothing ... it has all the features I imagined I'd want/need when I first bought the basic trailer from HF, and more. It was all worth it, but by the end I was definitely tired of figuring stuff out, sourcing the right parts, etc. That was one of the reasons I made/posted the videos ... to help other owners of these trailers customize their own without having to go through all I did to finish mine.

Ya noticed that, eh? The orientation of the bracket shown in photo on the OE packaging is wrong. The orientation of the bracket shown on the tech drawing in the manual is correct.

They're offered by a number of vendors on E-bay ... here's just one example: www.ebay.com/itm/292512366395?hash=item441b187f3b:g:AzYAAOSwvCBkb2HF&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA8KywDMe4QWjLFyDAvVlp6rGUfdEmHQd554FguDVYRG%2BwIg7LqBY0kM6gpDPMvogq3nXakxszfYM4dW4pePjeK1kAQbbOvR%2FfHqMZgVHL6JRs7a9Z%2Bm9zdGInndAgTdNyWgIAFe1%2Fi5pnnU%2Bwr%2BfbK%2BcIhecERzDtsZLg58dhald4amfVTrah9QJqGs8kGF48R2%2FC5dXVlIkbMDV%2BGWrWZ8%2BPGxlvFkZug5MNoTzUfDg5GvdwcjjcmX45FPmOXK8qtX41kDQ1nhj1FKy3TxH3LZznCmcHKXbO23l2Fqh%2Fig%2BcprfHpBpdnHuZ4fieIdMxgg%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABFBM1pmfpKxj

Glad you found the video/idea helpful. This add-on was probably my favorite, just due to the way it came together and fit so nice with the trailer configuration ... haven't had any flats on this trailer to date, but good to know I've always got a proper, easy-to-reach spare on hand if I do.

As stated in the video, the routing shown here was temporary. Final was moved into the tongue arm, and added a detachable marine plug/socket at each front corner, so no slack/sloppy wiring required to fold the trailer/tongue.

As you've noted, weight of the tractor shouldn't be a problem ... loading/unloading will be. This trailer can be tipped backward to put the rear edge on/near the ground, but then you need to figure out how to get a heavy load going up a pretty steep incline, AND then hold the load/cargo in place while you safely control lowering the front end again. I opted for a folding aluminum ramp that can be either divided into two narrower ramps, or kept as a full-width, single ramp, combined with swing down jacks on the rear corners, so you can block the tires and safely load/unload whether or not the trailer's attached to a vehicle. All in the vids.

Glad you found the videos helpful. On the cross-brace, anything's "possible," but the tongue arms on this particular trailer are "c-channel" steel with one open side, not a fully-closed tube, so trying to fabricate and weld a cross-brace on that without impairing the load-bearing characteristics of the OE steel would be tricky ... all depends on how you prep the OE steel, and design/cut/weld the piece you're adding. Too many potential failure points for my "risk assessment." I purposely chose the "bolt-on flange" method of attaching the cross brace so that I wouldn't have to mess with any of that. Other than the holes drilled for the anchor bolts (which are fully mitigated by properly sized/secured flanges/fasteners), no impact on the structural integrity of the original steel ... only the reinforcement/strength added by the brace ... it has worked beautifully ... exactly as I hoped it would when we designed it. BTW, this is how the cross-brace that comes with the HF trailer model just below this "super duty" model is attached to the tongue arms. That trailer comes with lighter duty "c-channel" tongue arms that don't have the additional, curved open edges that this one does. That's the only reason I can figure that the OEM didn't supply a cross brace with this model, which I obviously considered a "cheap-out omission" by the OEM ... one that was dumb enough for me to go to the trouble of building/adding MY OWN cross-brace to their design, after actually seeing how the OE tongue arms were torque-ing/twisting under load in the OE material ... before I added the brace.

I provided a link for the hardware a few times in the comments section on the video featuring those add-ons ... just scroll through the comments, you'll find em.

@@dmrtechnology6033 I did notice the cross bracing on the lower trailer and was wondering why this didn’t come with it. Definitely not a good option by Harbor Freight. I may actually weld a steel tube underneath the tongue arms just to reinforce and also may add a tube through the middle as I am planning to convert this to a 5x10 trailer. It is an opportunity for me to learn welding with the cheap titanium welders at HF which I am planning to buy. How many miles do you have on the trailer now? Have you maxed the capacity anytime?

@@dmrtechnology6033 I was able to find it. Thanks.

@@philos212 ... I probably have about 4-5,000 miles on the trailer now, in pretty much all road conditions. I've never met/exceeded the weight capacity ... think the max I've put in it is probably around 1,200 lbs., and it handled that fine. The main issue with weight capacity on this trailer is the suspension. It's only a single axle/single leaf spring, so you if you get anywhere near the max load you're at much greater risk of bottoming out the suspension going over bumps (which, in turn may damage the axle/suspension components), as well as having a tire blowout. You can safely haul loads at/near the rated capacity, but the heavier your load, the more careful you have to be about speed and bumps.

Glad you found the videos helpful. I had fun doing the build and videos, but I was pretty "done" by the end. The final product was worth the effort.

You didn't fill in bolt heads like you said in part 3 before painting. I did a 14 trailer and chalked everywhere I cut into the wood to stop water from entering.

Very observant, but I actually I did seal all the bolt holes (including the fence panels) with a standard exterior waterproofing caulk, which I applied liberally, pressed into every bolt hole, and smoothed to surface/flush level using a putty knife. But the caulk material shrank into the recess as it dried/cured, leaving all the caulked bolt holes looking as you see them, and I didn't want to bother going back and caulking them all again before applying my primer and paint. With the combination of normal material shrinkage and absorption of the caulk material into any porous surface it's applied to (e.g., the plywood), along with the primer/paint placed on top of that, I'm satisfied that all the holes are fully waterproofed ... after thousands of road miles (some of that in pretty heavy rain), still no sign of any water intrusion into any of my bolt holes.

Rustoleum "Colonial Red," I believe ... think I pictured/mentioned it in the video. I found it at a local Ace hardware store.

If you "subscribe" you shouldn't have any trouble seeing the entire sequence of videos I posted on the initial build (e.g., 1 of 4, 2 of 4, etc.). Links to sources of various parts appear in the comments on multiple videos.

L brackets securing the sidewalls are screwed into the underside of the deck material. When the compartment is closed with tire in place, the screw heads are not accessible. Just select a screw length that goes well into the deck material (I used 3/4" ply), but doesn't go all the way through ... plenty strong/secure. I cut the "hatch door" in that triangular shape primarily to make it fit better with the hinge/hasp configuration, with less potential for warping of the plywood on hasp (lock) side. Combination of the side walls and hatch door holds the tire in place just fine.

@@dmrtechnology6033 Cool, thanks for the info!

Sorry for the delay in response ... saw the original message, was too busy to respond, then forgot about it. Glad you found the videos helpful ... I had a lot of fun doing the build and making the vids, but by the end of it all, I was also pretty "done" with the time-consuming process of devising and sourcing parts for every little thing I wanted to beef up/improve. On the cross-brace, I'm afraid not ... I've relocated to another state and the cross-brace project was a highly-customized "one-off" for us ... it really just came down to using some scrap steel he had left over from other projects at his place, then me sourcing the nuts/bolts and adding the matching paint.

Glad you found the video helpful. China has swamped the entire world with cheaply manufactured goods, and Harbor Freight would not exist without them. To "call a spade a spade," these trailers are definitely a "compromise" on beefiness/durability features that most Americans love, but the price, and the practical utility these trailers deliver for that price, are what have attracted American buyers to these things, by the millions. That was certainly the case for me, and the trailer's performance over many thousands of road miles has given me no reason to regret it.

Yep ... you're well under the max load for that trailer. Safe travels.

That's a good idea ... might even add that to my own. By the time my build was really "done," I was just tired of coming up with solutions/finding hardware for the things I wanted to improve. That was the main reason I did the videos ... to help others see/save time on the adds. Glad you found the videos helpful.

If you tried it, I think you'd find that mounting a spare tire anywhere on/near the tongue assembly on this trailer would end up being more of a PITA than it's worth. Apart from the challenges of mounting on a fold-down tongue assembly, "easily accessible" for you also means "easily accessible" for, e.g., vandals/punks/thieves when you're out/about with the trailer. As I stated in the video, I considered the tongue area, and picked this area instead because: 1) the OE tire (5-lug rim on this model) fits *perfectly* in the space; 2) didn't want it anywhere on the fold-down tongue, inside the bed, or hanging on an external mount anywhere on the fences/frame, and 3) didn't want it anywhere "easily visible/accessible" to anyone other than me. The added weight to the rear (the spare weighs about 20 lbs ... the added wood, practically nothing) causes no issues at all when the trailer is unfolded/being used, loaded or unloaded. Only issue I've noticed is that the weight of the spare makes the rear half of the trailer a bit heavier/harder to fold up, which can nevertheless be done safely/normally by two people (that's what the mfr recommends, for good reason, with or without a spare) with the spare in this location. Checking/adding air is easy when trailer is unfolded, even easier when it's folded up.

Scroll through the comments ... same question, and posted link 2 or 3 times ...