Cheapie Home Depot trailers

[chorky]

If you can, try to avoid wheels smaller than 14 inches, and 15 inches is better.
Trailer kits typically come with inexpensive wheel bearings, and the smaller (10-inch or less) wheels will spin at high RPMs at highway speeds, and wear out the wheel bearings.
Also, 14- or 15-inch tires are easier to find.

Kevin

good input I didnt know about the tire thing. The 12’ trailer I posted above probably has better axles and bearings and are greasable without removing the wheel. Thats a huge plus. On the other hand I like how th other one is small but extends when needed. Its not every day I would need 12’ of flat deck.

Right! I installed brakes on my trailer and before installing I put Timken Bearings and cups instead of the made in China ones that came with the drums.

what did that cost? Are there brake kits for these cheap and small trailerrs? I cant believe I didnt even think about that till you said something. And I am always a proponent for brakes

Same here. That’s the only reason I went new. I didn’t see anything around ~$1,000 that looked like it didn’t belong in a junk yard. Most that appeared to be serviceable were ~$1,500.

I got mine new for ~$1,700. It was a no brainer for me, considering how much I would be using it. I.e. Once the leaves start dropping, I’m looking at 2-3 dump runs per weekend.

That’s 5’ x8’ and 18”+ deep (compacted) for each trip. ? At least I’ve got a lawn tractor with bagger to cut down the pickup time.

At some point, I need to make taller side boards (I.e. 48”) to cut down the quantity of lawn debris trips required.

there is one trailer place in town. I will call them again and see whats available but last time I looked a little 5x8 flatbed they had was up for sale around the 5K mark and I think their base weight was something like 2,500#’s

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[Camaroboi13]

Sometimes OfferUp and Craigslist are your best friend. My neighbor does his taco truck thing every night, and had a small trailer, probably big enough for a 4x8 sheet of plywood to fit on. He recently upgraded to a 5x10 with a little more space on it, and was going to just get rid of the smaller one. It does have the wimpy 10" tires but those along with the whole axle assembly can be replaced for a couple hundred bucks so it seemed like a good deal to pick it up from him. I've seen several of the like locally for 400-800 bucks depending on whether it needs tires or not.

 

[Camaroboi13]

Of course if you really want to look cool, get yourself one of these...

https://offerup.com/item/detail/eb6c53cb-3bb2-3c4f-a173-590b05a67c9a?q=trailer+jeep

Even better if you've got a sarge green jeep as well!

 

[Barnaby’sdad]

You’ll be the envy of everyone at the dump with this bad boy. Current pop-up ad. ?

https://brechbilltrailers.com/produ...MIo8SJl5TZ-gIVjQVPCB3SKwM3EAEYASAAEgJ_4vD_BwE

 

[Chuck]

I bought an old, not running ski boat off eBay a few years back for $93. Picked it up and scrapped all the metal, donated the inboard/outboard to the school, cut the tongue down and made a flat bed trailer. The sweet part of this was finding out it was actually a tilt trailer! I’ve got about $100 total in it…..

 

[JohnFinx]

As with anything built today, it's made as cheaply as possible. The first thing to do is scratch it and put a good coating of your choice of paint, or bedliner on it. Then change out the crappy taillights for LED. Grease everything well, spray corrosion protectant everywhere else.

 

[Barnaby’sdad]

As with anything built today, it's made as cheaply as possible. The first thing to do is scratch it and put a good coating of your choice of paint, or bedliner on it. Then change out the crappy taillights for LED. Grease everything well, spray corrosion protectant everywhere else.

Yup. Mine isn’t even a year old and I’m already chasing down rust spots.

No major issues though. One tail-light stopped working, but that was easy enough to diagnose and fix (loose ground wire).

 

[Blade1668]

Oddly enough I bought a new utility trailer a month or so back. Check if there is a "local" builder somewhere in your state. I got a 3500 lbs trailer built to order for about $1700.°° now I'm modifying it too.

a heck of a better trailer than the box stores sell. 15in rims spare tire is $106.°°
I've already put over 2500 miles on it.

 

[KVJ]

@chorky

Chad, The trailer had the brake mount plates already on it. All I had to do was buy the brakes and hubs and bolt them on. They come with the nuts. I removed the bearings and cups (or races) and replace with Timken bearings. Didn't have to do that, I could of used the China bearings for a few years and then change. The brakes you can get a etrailer.com. Run the wires and that's it.

 

[chorky]

Right! I installed brakes on my trailer and before installing I put Timken Bearings and cups instead of the made in China ones that came with the drums.

i was looking at etrailers for backing plates and brake kits. I cant find any. Any idea how hard it would be to add brakes to an axle that doesnt have a backing plate? Im not sure if thats even possible.

 

[KVJ]

You would need something like this:
https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Redline/4-35.html?feed=npn&msclkid=b5c05564e373121f2b13362388c65924&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Bing | Shop - Accessories and Parts - RLSA&utm_term=4577541786295614&utm_content=Trailer Brakes
There are youtube videos showing how to weld them on but you would need the right one. Etrailer can help you for anthing you would need, just call.

@chorky

 

[chorky]

So I settled on the DK2 Home Depot trailer in black (galvanized was an additional 400 bucks). It has sides to haul dirt/rock, removable front/rear sections to haul up to 12' boards, but when folded is small at 7.5' long. Its light weight, but can haul up to 1600 pounds. Should do well for what I need from a utility trailer.

Not the best option. But I need one fairly fast for some chores before snow hits and to get firewood. Supposed to have the first snow this weekend already. Trailer will be here early November.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/DK2-163...Ends-to-Extend-Bed-to-12-ft-MMT5X7/206586893?


I know a lot said to look for sales. Which is a great idea. Here's the thing. I live in a VERY rural area. Not gonna drive 4 hours to go look at a used trailer that already looks bad by the pictures. I did look, but the cheapest options I found that weren't obviously backyard builds started at 4500 and were 100 or more miles away. I also went to a local trailer place just to see. Their cheapest was a 5x8 starting at 4,500. I need to be able to haul up to 12' boards for this house rebuild. 8' won't work. Their 12' option was somewhere around 5,500. I simply don't want to spend that much. I also don't have 'toys' to haul around and this is specifically a little work/utility trailer.

I also like the idea of this trailer being modular in the sense that it is small when folded but does have the option to essentially be a flatbed. It is also a 'dump' trailer although I probably will never use that feature. The only question is how well will it truly hold up to weight over time. Time will tell. I will report back if I remember when it's arrived and put together. One potential big downfall is brakes. It has none. In time I may contact etrailer to see options. I'm never a fan of no trailer brakes.... But, its also under 2,000 pounds GVW so its pretty darn light compared to what a lot of others tow, and I won't be doing multi-hour long highway trips. I'm sure etrailer will have some type of solution for me.

 

[Jeep-A-Kneez]

I had one of these once and got it from Tractor Supply...they're great utility trailers....see link.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/search/5 x 10 utility trailer?

This one is the same size as mine, and mine had a tool cage on the front. I liked that fact that the tongue was made from a triangle than just a single bar leading to the hitch for better stability and strength.

I took a couple of 2 x 12's and closed in the front and sides. It'd haul a LOT of stuff.

I actually used it once to tow my motorcycle (Honda Shadow ACE 1100 Tourer) from NW NJ to upstate MI and back one memorial day weekend and, it did admirably...my 2002 GC Special Edition with the 4.7L V-8, not so much After that trip, I got my '08 GC Overland with the Hemi and it didn't even know the trailer was back there

Price ain't too to bad either for what you get...a good sturdy trailer and if I recall, they're 15' wheels.

I have this same unit, though when I bought mine about 15 years ago, it was less than $1k. Has 3500lbs axle, tad over a ton rating and 15" wheels. A great versatile trailer for any size truck.

 

[chorky]

I have this same unit, though when I bought mine about 15 years ago, it was less than $1k. Has 3500lbs axle, tad over a ton rating and 15" wheels. A great versatile trailer for any size truck.

I paid 1200 with shipping? so not a ton more I guess. But it doesn't have a 3500 pound axle, just a 2K I think. But I'm sure there is a 3500 option. It also only has 12" tires according to their spec sheet. Seems they changed a few things. I bet 15" tires will fit though.

 

[Blade1668]

I paid 1200 with shipping? so not a ton more I guess. But it doesn't have a 3500 pound axle, just a 2K I think. But I'm sure there is a 3500 option. It also only has 12" tires according to their spec sheet. Seems they changed a few things. I bet 15" tires will fit though.

Well glad that you found something that should work out for you. Dang I might need to "bootleg" trailers out to your state. I'm lucky enough to have a few companies near by that build trailers to order close by. One 5.8 miles from my place and 3-4 or more within 40 miles.

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