HF trailer Review/Advise.

spaceboy said:
I'll finally be going down this week to get myself a trailer. I'll be getting some other things I ordered as well (tires, helmet, chain, water pump). Can I just not declare them at the border?
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If you bring back a trailer, you are looking at $300+ in fees (RIV+Inspection+Tax). If you bring back trailer parts, you have to pay ~$45 at the border + ~$35 for plates. Make sure you are just bringing back trailer parts.

Not declaring a car full of purchases on a two hour trip is a good way to make the rest of your border crossings very painful.
 
caboose483 said:
Of course you can just not declare them at the border, it's up to you.

There may be concequences tho. :rolleyes:
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Alright. Do they take credit card at the border?

GreyGhost said:
If you bring back a trailer, you are looking at $300+ in fees (RIV+Inspection+Tax). If you bring back trailer parts, you have to pay ~$45 at the border + ~$35 for plates. Make sure you are just bringing back trailer parts.

Not declaring a car full of purchases on a two hour trip is a good way to make the rest of your border crossings very painful.
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I will declare the trailer parts for sure. I'll think about the rest.
 
spaceboy said:
I'll finally be going down this week to get myself a trailer. I'll be getting some other things I ordered as well (tires, helmet, chain, water pump). Can I just not declare them at the border?
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I know someone who got caught for that... they did not have a pleasant night/morning... and they now get searched EVERYTIME they cross the border...
 
fsilva_mcl said:
I know someone who got caught for that... they did not have a pleasant night/morning... and they now get searched EVERYTIME they cross the border...
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Much like the trailer parts, I'll declare most of the stuff, but probably not all of them.
 
spaceboy said:
Much like the trailer parts, I'll declare most of the stuff, but probably not all of them.
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Really saving a few bucks say you don't declare what $100, you save what $13... does that really seem worth the risk to you considering the impact it could have on all future border crossings. Travel for work much? :)
 
not exactly sure what you are saying but when i assembled mine both frames were loose bolted and then firmed up when I was sure.

I recall everything went together nicely, can you be more specific?
 
Yeah, was being a bonehead and didn't notice there were 3 holes per side as I had it oriented I could only see the lower 2 holes. It's pretty much together now although one of the sides is a bit off. Without welding I think the only way i'm going to get it completely square is when mounting the wood on it.
 
That's great to hear and your right, simply put on your sheets of plywood and then bolt everything up snug, it will get squared off.

Here are a couple of pics on my last track day at Mosport with the Ducati club.

You'll notice the ramp on the right hand side which stays put vertically when ratched down.

It's the 3 folding panel I bought at Harbor Freight but I removed 1 panel so I simply walk the bike up,screwed a 1/8" plywood to fit the rungs and used strips of non slip tape available at Princess auto, works like a champ.

I used a 5/8" plywood for the surface to help fold better.

I think if anyone on this board works for Princess auto they should contact their head office in Manitoba and tell them of all the potential trailer sales that could be had.

Show us some pics when you have it all set up.
 
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Stealth1 said:
Where did you get those rungs, princess auto? Is that the Harbor freight chock? I'm guessing you routered out holes for the frame bolts so the plywood sits flush on the frame?
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The ramp was also from Harbor freight, it's the 3 panel fold-out which I removed one panel, cost was $100, but you can get the same at Princess Auto except I believe it was $200 plus not sure though.

Yes about sunken carriage bolts, I just used a 1" wide drill bit used when installing hardware on doors and just "chopped out half the thickness of the plywood.
 
I bought one of these trailers at the beginning of the year too. Its definitely a lot cheaper than any utility trailer you will find on this side of the border just keep in mind you do also get what you paid for. I have a Mazda 3 (2.0L manual) and I needed a light trailer to haul a single bike around. The car has no problems pulling the trailer whatsoever but the limiting factor is the brakes and you can really feel the trailer pushing the car around in corners and when slowing down.

The trailer is really cheap though and don't expect it to be old reliable. By that I mean the paint begins to peel and bubble and the frame rusts after a few months of just sitting outside in the back yard. You also need to give yourself at least five hours to assemble the trailer. Having someone to help you is a plus as it gets pretty heavy to flip around once your nearing the end. The other thing I didn't like about this trailer that it is all bolted and all that they provide are nylock nuts. I'd recommend that you go out and buy some lock washers and use an impact to torque the bolts down.

If all you are using this trailer for is hauling a single bike around I would say its the best value for the money but I would never load it to near its max rating. The other thing to be careful about with these trailers is that they are only rated for 55 MPH. I haven't taken it above 100km/h, but ive spoken to several other people who have this trailer and they claim they've done 120 consistently. Having a blowout with this trailer is something that I do think about constantly though driving around on the highway.
 
Kiss.Ferenc said:
The other thing to be careful about with these trailers is that they are only rated for 55 MPH. I haven't taken it above 100km/h, but ive spoken to several other people who have this trailer and they claim they've done 120 consistently. Having a blowout with this trailer is something that I do think about constantly though driving around on the highway.
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12 inch tires are perfectly fine for up to 120 km/h.

I haven't had a problem keeping it at 135 km/h with 2 dirt bikes loaded all the way to Shannonville.
 
Yea I don't know what is the safe speed for these trailers. In the states they have speed ratings for trailer tires but they dont here in Canada, the weight you have on the tire also governs how fast you can go with it. Most people I have spoken with have said the same thing that they keep up with traffic 120's no problem all day long. But I have also spoken with one guy at the track that told me he had a blow out with his tire pushing freeway speeds so I don't know if its something thats just a matter of time. Either way at those speeds youre probably asking for trouble if you need to do any sort of panic braking.
 
georgy said:
12 inch tires are perfectly fine for up to 120 km/h.

I haven't had a problem keeping it at 135 km/h with 2 dirt bikes loaded all the way to Shannonville.
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is the size of the tire the determining factor for what speed limit its rated to go at? I'm asking because i have a trailerinabag with a 5.7x8 tire, i've been hauling my bike at 120 pretty consistently the last few trackdays.
 
TomC said:
is the size of the tire the determining factor for what speed limit its rated to go at? I'm asking because i have a trailerinabag with a 5.7x8 tire, i've been hauling my bike at 120 pretty consistently the last few trackdays.
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I'd assume it's speed and load.

The smaller the tire, the faster it needs to rotate, thus generating more heat. The heavier the load, the higher the tire temperature that it generates as well.
 
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