Comments on: Craftsman Fold-Up Utility Trailer

By: Mr.Miz

Mr.Miz — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:51:08 +0000

MeasureOnceCutTwice that pop up garage made my day! My biggest problem with fold up … anything is that I never get to completely empty them. So in reality I would end up spending 1600 on the trailer and 15000 on a garage to store everything leftover in the tailer.

By: Josh

Josh — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:14:45 +0000

I bought an 89 Ext Cab Ranger for $900. To me it’s a much better bargin than a fold up trailer and has more uses. Plus if I go to sell it I can get my money back out of it. While these are a lot nicer looking than the Harbor Freight or Northern fold up trailers that are 4 times the price. And renting is ok it you plan on using 1 time at a certain time/date. Just like the Home Depot/Lowes rent by the hour trucks. I have used them in the past before I bought my full size truck.
For the price and only 1000lb limit not worth it when there are so many other solutions out there and you can get a lot more trailer for the money.

By: melvin

melvin — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 06:33:21 +0000

The worst part of renting a trailer is the rental sets the schedule. So when I, for example, want to pick up that hot tub being given away on FreeCycle I’d have to hassle with whether the U-Haul is open. Or if I want to prune my fruit trees in the spring over several days I don’t have to handle the branches twice instead I can just load them into my trailer. When I get those two yards of compost from the city I can unload it at my pace.

Plus I don’t know what it’s like around you but the rental trailers around here tend to be in pretty bad shape, you never can tell when some 20 year old tire is going to blow and then the rental company wants you to pay for it. And any resultant damage to the trailer to boot.

By: Toolaremia

Toolaremia — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 01:47:34 +0000

Kyle, that trailer lift deserves a Toolmonger post all on it’s own. Brilliant!

By: Sail Boffin

Sail Boffin — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 01:23:08 +0000

6′x7′ won’t do whole sheet of plywood or drywall. I have a 4′x8′ trailer that I bought from Harbor Freight tools a few years ago that has been awesome. It folds to 5′x2′. It was made in china and some assembly required. I think it cost $300 including 2 sheets of 3/4″ pressure treated plywood (for the deck and sides) and registration. It doesn’t look pretty and is starting to rust but at that price…

By: BJN

BJN — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:53:35 +0000

The real manufacturer is Lifetime, and they make the fold up trailer in three sizes:

http://www.lifetime.com/trailers/default.aspx

If you use a trailer with any frequency, running down to U-Haul before starting your job is a considerable hassle if they’re not located next door.

By: MeasureOnceCutTwice

MeasureOnceCutTwice — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:24:59 +0000

If space is the issue, you can just buy a normal trailer and install one of these:
http://www.popgive.com/2009/03/futuristic-pop-up-garage.html

By: Dustbuster

Dustbuster — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:31:04 +0000

Or you could just hire a trailer from U-Haul for $25 a day and not worry about storing it at all. You get a lot of rental for $1600 (or CAD 1000, or even $325)

By: David H

David H — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:20:03 +0000

Or this one from Norther Tool for $325.

http://www2.northerntool.com/trailers-trailer-parts/trailers/item-12571.htm

By: Kyle

Kyle — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:15:32 +0000

IF space is an issue, why not get a cheaper trailer, and do what this guy did:

http://panofish.net/2007-06-03_Trailer_Lift/index.html

By: Glenn Attwood

Glenn Attwood — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:57:17 +0000

For Canadians you can get almost the same trailer (a 4′x6′ version anyway) from Canadian Tire for ~$1000CDN.

By: melvin

melvin — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:31:50 +0000

The main advantage I see is you can wheel it down a narrow side yard in developments where there is no alley.

By: Justin Eddings

Justin Eddings — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:24:33 +0000

I believe that Costco carries the same trailer for a similar price.

I’ve been thinking about the 5×8 version to tow behind the Jeep, would be just about perfect in my mind.

I need to see the axle though.

By: Jonathan Peterson

Jonathan Peterson — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:03:01 +0000

tha’s kinda cool. But it doesn’t take up any less room than the traditional prop it up on it’s side/end storage method, does it?

By: Jim German

Jim German — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:26:10 +0000

This isn’t new in the slightest, Craftsman has sold a folding trailer like this for years. Perhaps if they spent more time acutlay developing new products, and less time making irritating ads then they wouldn’t be doing so horribly these days.