Harbor Freight Trailer Build – Part 3

It’s been a while from the last update, but the build is winding down. That’s good, because I’ve put entirely too much effort into this.

I figured out how to secure the tires. Using some 1/8" steel angle ($30), I made some mounts.

A little resting ramp in the back:

Then I made some towers for the front. Reinforced with a gusset to hopefully prevent tires from flying through my back window in extreme deceleration events:

So, it will look something like this. The posts have the remaining LED clearance lights in them to help other drivers see my tiny trailer. They also help me since it’s pretty low even from my rear view mirror’s perspective.

Next step was paint:

Then I finished wiring in the rest of the clearance lights:

It looks like pretty much all trucks and trailers use 3 lights in the middle of the rear, but two holes were already drilled, so that would do despite some slight OCD on my part:

Next up was some electrical. Finally installed the flood lights. To do this, I needed a control panel of sorts. I almost went with the fender, but the wiring would have been a mess without some protection from debris from the tire.

So, ammo can time:

Voltage gauge and main switch installed. Next I installed one switch for each light, and the two lights. One up front, and one in the rear. I left plenty of extra slack in case I want to move them around. I also shortened and painted the battery bracket.

All done. Here’s a shot of the switches and some light output at dusk.

They are bright. Should do the job just fine.

Oh, one more thing. I finally bolted down the trailer jack in it’s final position. Drilled the tongue bar and placed it more rearward. The jack folds up partially under the front of the trailer cargo area.

After all this, I took it on it’s first voyage with tires, to my local Z meeting.

Considering the bumpy roads and that I saw the fenders from my rearview mirror after a large bump, I’d call it a success. It tracks straight, and I can barely feel it in the Z. But, being as short as it is, it’s next to impossible to back up.