Harbor Freight 4' x 8' Super Duty reinforcement questions.

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Harbor Freight 4' x 8' Super Duty reinforcement questions.

Postby Barugata » Mon May 11, 2015 8:17 pm

Hey gang,

Just curious if the wood brace as detailed in the Kuffel Creek Cubby build is necessary.

My thought process is such. It's a heavy duty trailer, I'll probably only meet a little over 1,000 LBS, and the trailer is made of steel.

Isn't steel tougher than wood? Course some research showed me - NO! Not necessarily, it seems to depend on its applications. Both seems to make great load carrying beams.

So my question is - why wood? Is this step necessary? I've seen one tutorial of the Cubby that did not use this step but did not move the wheels back either. Given that I want to put my wheels back due to the galley, I'm wondering if the wood step is necessary and what the logic behind all of this is.

Don't get me wrong, I realize all of this will be easier said than done. I'm just someone who needs to know the purpose/logic behind things. I was also wondering, if anything, if it's simply because one piece of wood is better than two pieces of steel, in addition to the fact that the steel braces don't have to be wasted and can be used for additional side support.

Thanks for all your help! Sorry if this is a common q, I honestly couldn't find details regarding this anywhere.

...while we're at it, another "n00b"esque q. Anyone know if it would be alright for me to reverse the bolts and nuts on the undercarriage of the trailer? My erm, socket wrench is too big. In fact, I'm using mostly friends and tool banks for this job if you must know (tools are out of state). Thanks again for your help!
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Re: Harbor Freight 4' x 8' Super Duty reinforcement question

Postby KCStudly » Mon May 11, 2015 9:40 pm

I'm not familiar with the cubby plans so I can't help you there, but regarding the bolts, if there are no clearance issue (i.e. the head of the bolt will be shorter than the nut and thread stick out), there are a couple of considerations for bolt arrangement that I can think of.

In a horizontal orientation putting the nut inside the frame and the bolt head out would reduce the chance of scrapping your shin on the protruding threads.

If the bolt axis is vertical, it is common good practice to arrange the bolt head up, so that if the nut comes adrift the bolt is less likely to fall out.

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Re: Harbor Freight 4' x 8' Super Duty reinforcement question

Postby rowerwet » Tue May 12, 2015 8:35 am

Actually the HF trailer isn't really heavy duty, it is about the bare minimum you can have and still be safe. A real heavy duty trailer would be welded of angle iron at a minimum and C channel, I beams, or boxed tubing.
Reflecting this weakness, the cross member is used to reinforce the main rails. Some people add a piece of metal there instead like superstrut. The cross members are what support the floor so you want something there.
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Re: Harbor Freight 4' x 8' Super Duty reinforcement question

Postby Barugata » Wed May 13, 2015 6:14 am

KCStudly wrote:In a horizontal orientation putting the nut inside the frame and the bolt head out would reduce the chance of scrapping your shin on the protruding threads.


Thanks stud. It's the horizontal orientation. That makes a lot of sense to me, and I'm sure during construction my shins will be nearby. All this being said I'll find a small hand wrench or pliers or somethin'.

rowerwet wrote:Actually the HF trailer isn't really heavy duty, it is about the bare minimum you can have and still be safe. A real heavy duty trailer would be welded of angle iron at a minimum and C channel, I beams, or boxed tubing.
Reflecting this weakness, the cross member is used to reinforce the main rails. Some people add a piece of metal there instead like superstrut. The cross members are what support the floor so you want something there.


Those son of a guns! I take it you wouldn't consider the "Super" Duty trailer Heavy Duty either than? Bummer. I'll probably just do the wood brace then since it seems to be what most people go for.

Thanks guys. Also, just to be sure, you do recommend moving the wheels back, yes?
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Re: Harbor Freight 4' x 8' Super Duty reinforcement question

Postby rowerwet » Wed May 13, 2015 1:21 pm

For proper balance towing, yes.
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Re: Harbor Freight 4' x 8' Super Duty reinforcement question

Postby bobhenry » Wed May 13, 2015 1:43 pm

NOPE !

reinforce and lengthen the tongue it affects the balance the same as moving the wheel rearward.
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