I finally assembled the folding HF trailer. It came with everything needed except for decking and the sides.
For the decking, I used cheap 19/32" CDX plywood and stained it with leftover semi-transparent deck stain.
Although it's hard to see in the photo, I decided to cut notches in the side boards and fit them in the stake pockets along with the 1"x4" lumber supports. I did this so I can fit full 4' x 8' material flat on the deck. If I had simply used 2x4 lumber and screwed the plywood sides onto it, 4x8 sheets wouldn't fit on the deck due to the thickness of the sides protruding into the area. In other words, the frame of the trailer is exactly 4' x 8', with no margin left for the sides.
Just looking at the simplicity of the trailer, I figured it would go together very quickly, but it probably took me 5 hours just to get the frame, wheels and lights on it. Then another 7 hours to get the building materials, stain and install the decking, wire the electrical harness into the Prius, and build the rails. It probably has 80 bolts holding it together!
My dad gave me an LED light kit that had a broken lens from my sister backing into it. The housing and lens that came with my trailer kit was slightly different in design, but the round LED board fit perfectly within the lens. I retrofitted them in with some hot glue and soldering. The low power draw from the lights allowed me to tap straight into my vehicle wiring without the need for a controller box. The only issue with this is I had to choose between having brake lights, or turn signals on the trailer. I choose brake lights as I think that is more important, and people can still see the turn from my car.
If I had to do it over again, I would probably just buy a used trailer on CL to save some time, although it might be difficult to find a folding one that was put together just as I would like.
19/32" CDX plywood cut in half. Went thin to reduce weight and allow folding.
Deck stained on both sides and the edges.
All done except for the corner brackets to hold the sides together.
Tested it on the Prius with a yard of soil.
The cashier at the yard made me sign a waiver before I could get the 1,800 lbs of soil loaded into my 1,000 lb capacity trailer.
