I'm about to start my off road trailer build this weekend, won't be doing anything too crazy with it and it will mostly be used for carrying 2 6' kayaks and bikes. Can anyone tell me what's the better base to start with? I thought since I have a JKU the 4' would be plenty of space, but it also seems really small, so would a 8' be better? Going through harbor freight

1720 Lb. Capacity Super Duty Utility Trailer, 48" x 96"


Or

1090 lb. Capacity Utility Trailer, 40-1/2 in x 48 in

 

I just bought the 1720lbs trailer from HF. I can tell you that the trailer itself is great. Came together very easily. It is a pretty good platform to start a build from. Or just to use as is for light hauling duty. My wife and I carry it in and out of our back hard. It only weights about 300 (after adding flooring) pounds when complete. Things to remember? It has CRAPPY LIGHTS, and improperly greased wheel bearings. Buy better lights for it. Run dedicated ground wires for all lights to the trailer wiring plug. Don't use frame grounding. Completely clean and repack all the wheel bearings before use.
Northern Tool has bigger axles that fit this trailer and also have "Jeep style" fenders that can be retrofitted. That's my plan. And then 5 on 5 wheels will fit. And you can either get recurved springs to gain height or use blocks and longer u-bolts. I think I'm gonna go with different springs with eye bolts and shackles. And put my factory Sahara rear shocks on it.
Again. The bigger trailer for under $300 is a GREAT starter for a custom, lightweight trailer.

 

Thanks! I am considering northern tools trailer too, I was kind of leaning towards them. It seems everyone has the 4' trailers behind their jeep and I guess I'm wondering its big and strong enough, but it looks to work well for everyone else.

 

The HF trailer is a light duty trailer. I know it is inexpensive but it is also "you get what you pay for." I had one and when I started to do all of the upgrades that I felt that it needed I just went and bought a better trailer. I had an uncle that was towing one down the road at 55 and the hub broke. What a mess that made. If you are not going on long trips and are going to only haul only really light loads it may be OK but nothing beyond that. Like a previous poster stated change the lights, wiring, and my recommendation is to replace the bearings with a better quality ones.

 

Love my Manley trailer. I looked at many different brands when I began looking. I had a 1967 M416 at the time but it was old and needed a lot of work. The quality of the Manley is amazing. The attention to detail and communication during the build made me feel at ease. I have head so many horror stories of people having trailer built that took up to 6 months to get and everytime they called no one would answer. Not my case at all. I was emailed, called or facebooked at least once a week. I have big camping trips planned this spring. Cant wait.

 

Can't hide money haha. Looks great !

Sent from my Galaxy S4 Boo-Yah!

 

here is mine in the front I have a box bolted to the frame that keeps the camping gear..

 

66 Apache tent trailer, custom built frame with trailing arms, airbags, shocks.

 

Would love to have this, but......sleeps 4, at times will have 5



Gonna end up with this cause there's too many kids...lol. This one sleeps 6



Pulling it with this...info in profile

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Your JEEP will pull that just fine, but how about room for all those kids in it?? :-)