(pencil scribbling)
(spray can spraying)
- [Steph] Welcome to Mother Daughter Projects, I'm Steph.
In past videos, we've shown how to assemble
this Harbor freight DIY trailer kit.
Today, we're gonna hitch it up and hit the road.
Here, I'm using the Harbor freight 600 pound trailer dolly
to easily move my trailer to the car.
This can be done from a standing position,
with little effort.
(Light music)
At the back of our CRV, I have my towing supplies.
First, I'm gonna lube the ball mount
and secure it to the car trailer hitch with a hitch pin.
This trailer hitch gel lube is made by 3-In-One
and will provide long lasting lubrication
with rust prevention.
Using hitch lubrication reduces friction and wear
between the ball and coupler as well as the hitch receiver.
When we had the trailer hitch installed on this vehicle
it came with the ball Mount, but it
didn't include the trailer ball.
This is due to the fact that different items you
will tow will require different size balls.
Make sure you get the right size ball hitch
for what you're towing.
In this case, we bought a one and seven eighths inch ball
with a three, 4 cent shank diameter.
This measurement is based on the size of the hole
in the ball mounts.
I secured the hitch pin with the R-clip, lube the ball,
then place the trailer coupler on top. Push down
on the handle until the trigger locks into the slot.
Pull up and down to make sure the hitch
ball is fitting snugly in the coupler.
Place the locking pin and R-clip to secure.
Next, attach each side
of the safety chain to the towing vehicle.
Connect the wiring harness to the towing vehicle.
Now everything is connected
and it's time to review our checklist.
These 12 before you use steps
come straight from the Harbor freight trailer manual.
I also created a handy PDF of them that you can print
out for yourself when prepping your trailer.
Number one: Check tire condition, and air pressure.
(Music)
These tires are supposed to be 60 PSI,
So I use my Ryobi battery powered tire inflator to get them
to the right PSI.
Number two:
make sure wheel lug nuts slash bolts are properly tightened.
Number three: makes sure hitch coupler, drawbar,
and other equipment that connect the trailer
and the tow vehicle are properly secured and adjusted.
Number four: Make sure wiring is properly connected,
not touching the road, but loose enough to make turns
without disconnecting or damaging the wires.
Make sure all running lights, brake lights, turn lights
and hazard lights are working.
Number six: Check that all items
are securely fastened on and in the trailer.
We have a metal trellis that we're delivering to a friend,
so we're going to load that up.
We're using ratchet tie-down straps to secure it to the bed.
On one end of the strap is a hook that we place
on the trailer frame,
then we pull the excess strap through the ratchet
and secured it.
The rest of the strap we rolled up and secured it to itself.
I actually saw a useful video on how to do this on YouTube
which I will link to below.
Then we repeated the process with the second strap.
(Music)
Number seven: Make sure the trailer jack, tongue support,
and any attached stabilizers are raised and locked in place.
Number eight: Check low distribution to make sure the tow
vehicle and trailer are properly balanced front to back
and side to side.
You want to make sure the trailer is level
with your vehicle,
If not you'll need a different ball Mount or adjustable ball
mount. Also, make sure your payload on the vehicle is evenly
distributed from side to side
with 60% of the load forward of the axle.
You can see that better here,
when we rented a stump grinder from the Home Depot.
This ramp was a separate purchase from Harbor Freight,
which works great with this trailer.
Again, we use ratchet straps to secure it with most
of the weight forward of the axle.
Number nine: Check side and rear view mirrors to make sure
you have good visibility.
Here you can see a load of wood
we took home from the home Depot, nothing moved.
(Music)
Number 10: Check routes and restrictions
on bridges and tunnels.
I would also recommend thinking through your driving path.
For example, to get to our Home Depot, we have many options
but we actually go a back way when we have the trailer
connected so that we don't encounter any steep hills
or sharp turns.
Number 11: Make sure you have wheel chocks and jack stands.
Wheel chocks will be needed if you're
on unlevel ground or need to unhitch the trailer,
and as you saw, we have a jack stand that stays connected
to our trailer.
This is my trailer supply bucket that I keep
with my trailer, so everything I might need is all together.
I also keep the screws that are removed when
the trailer is folded, right in here.
Number 12: Check trailer for loose bolts and nuts,
structural cracks, bends, or any other condition
that might affect its safe operation.
Do not use a trailer if even a minor damage appears.
(Music)
And there you have it,
now you're ready to tow.
For the full playlist of all our trailer videos,
click here, and for more details
and the PDF of before use trailer checklist, check
out mother-daughter projects.com.
Thanks for watching.
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