Customer Reviews for Northstar Trailers Sport Star 5 ft. x 12.5 ft. 3-ATV Trailer Kit

I purchased this trailer in August 2018. I have used it on many ATV weekend trips. Overall I like it, but... 1. Ramps are short and make for a steep angle where the ramp connects to the trailer, which causes my Polaris Sportsman's snowplow bracket to either hang up or scrape when loading. 2. The trailer weighs 500-600 pounds, so when you load with 3 full size ATV's, your trailer is maxed out in weight capacity. I wish the axle was rated at 3500 pounds. I only load 3 full size trailers for local trips. 3. Loading 3 full size ATV's is a very tight fit. It would be nice if trailer were another 4-6 inches longer. I am making due with the above challenges, and am overall satisfied with the trailer. I find it easy to ratchet strap the ATV's to the trailer, it tows nice, and assembly was not too difficult.

So far so good Delivery: As others have said it comes in 4 boxes but the main box weighs 400+ lbs. We took everything out then just moved the base of the trailer by itself. Can be done with two guys but easier with 4. Build: Like most other reviews I was missing a handful of cotter pins, two lock washers, and the turn signals were reversed. Other than that, it’s straight forward build. Highly recommend watching the 3 videos on YouTube. Just search for Northstar trailer build and you will find them. The directions don’t match the new LED lights but they are super easy to install. Michelle at Northstar sent me the directions below for installing the new lights. Use: We have three Honda TRX250s. The side load ramps work extremely well and all three fit easily. I’ve pulled the trailer 220 miles empty and 220 miles with the three quads on it with a Toyota Tacoma. Pulls straight as an arrow with no wiggle and no road issues so far. New light instructions: 1. Pull rubber housing off of the lights. 2. Push rubber housing into frame of the trailer (tail lights and marker lights). 3. Push lights into the rubber housing. · Orange marker lights go in the front of the trailer. · Red marker lights go in the rear of the trailer. 4. Plug in lighting. · Black goes to brown · White goes to white · Green/yellow goes to red 5. Back of the trailer frame will have two pre drilled holes that you screw the license plate light into. 6. License plate is to be attached in slots in the back of the frame.

Getting it delivered was the hardest part. Make sure the delivery company sends a couple of people and that you've got some muscles, as it took 3 of us to move the main frame around. It took me ~5 hours to assemble it myself, except for flipping it over after the first chunk of assembly, which took two of us. I tried to do it on my own, and don't recommend doing so. The rest of it was pretty easy for one person. There was a little confusion, but there always is, and I would say that the manual is decent -- they're never perfect. It showed installation of an older style of lights, but the new styles are perfectly simple and almost self-expanatory to install, and they're much better and flush-mounted now. I had planned to spend a weekend assembling it, but wrapped it up in a day. In the end I was short 3 cotter pins and 1 locking nut, plus I had to drill out a hole to fit the pin through it. Nothing earth-shattering, and I've gotten far worse kits from China. Don't even ask about the 3d printer.

I needed a trailer for my 3 ATV's and there aren't many options. I came across this trailer and bit the bullet and I must say, I really like this trailer! It hold 3 atv's perfectly and it pulls nicely. It seems well built and the quality is good. The features are really cool as well. I loved the fact the ramps come with it if you want to side load the atv's and they work perfectly. The only con is that the instructions were outdated as the new ones have led lights and have different parts so I thought I was missing parts but I really wasn't. It was missing a few cotter pins, but I wasn't put off by it. Great trailer and I would buy again!

The assembly took a little time but I was not in a big hurry. Some of the instructions need some clarification. The quality is good and it is easy to load and unload. Overall very happy with this purchase.

this trailer was easy to load and unload with the ATV's with the loading ramps that came with the kit. transporting this trailer behind my truck is very visible .

During installation had a little issue trying to figure out the instruction, but when I did the rest of the trailer came together fine. Helps to have an impact drill. Took it out to transport my ATV's and it moved smoothly. I would recommend it.

Was a pain to put together an ramp was too steep

Rating provided by a verified purchaser

Took me a week to register it because North Star doesn’t send proper paperwork with trailer. Home Depot was very helpful with that end of it. The instructions were for a different trailer so I had to just figure it out. Some welds were off and needed bent. Had to add lights doesn’t meet NV standards

The turn indicator lights were backwards other than that it's ok

Item arrived with the wrong axle, customer service did get the correct axle to me in a week. The assembly instructions hardware list did not match hardware in box, also instructions described a different set if brake lights than the lights sent with the trailer. The latch for the tailgate does not latch on both sides, this could be a safety issue if not secured with something additional suck as rope.strap etc.

Although the trailer is a good product the directions sucked. Directions need more diagrams to help explain where the parts go.

It’s a good trailer. Only had to do some miner things to get it to fit right like drilling bigger holes where the locking pin that holds the ramps go. But nothing to major. I would recommend this trailer. It’s a great trailer for the price.

My issue is not with the trailer. First of all you should know that this trailer comes totally disassembled. It came on a tractor trailer in several boxes strapped to a wooden pallet. I had to help the driver disassemble the pallet and then unload all of the pieces. Thankfully I had another trailer that I could unload the platform onto. It weighs several hundred pounds. Second, the first thing you should do is throw away their instructions. They are horrible and leave out so many necessary details. Go watch the youtube video first. Search for Northstar Trailer Assembly. The instructions will make it nearly impossible to get the wheels on because the diagram is backwards. Just be prepared that you are going to need hours and a couple of people to assemble this trailer. I am also not happy because the trailer is already scratched up just from the delivery. It's an ATV trailer, so scratches will happen, but I would rather put them on there myself. Not get it delivered all banged up.

I purchased this trailer to pull two ATVs and some firewood up to our camp. It also allows us to transport three ATVs. It was fairly easy to assemble.

We have had our trailer since March 2015 and it has done great. It took my husband and I about 2 1/2hrs to assemble with the easy to follow instructions. We also previewed the youtube video as well. It holds our 3 atv's with no problems. Handles good going down the road too. There are "tie down" places for your ratchet straps. Easy to load from the sides as well as from the back. We did have a recent mishap with our rear bracket breaking off due to the weld not holding. Called Michelle at Northstar and they are sending a new bracket out today. She was extremely polite and friendly. Best customer service I have EVER gotten anywhere, handsdown. The one thing I would change to this product would be to add a box to it somewhere to store the straps.

If you want a cheap, 5 year use, throw away trailer then this is for you. Overall quality is marginal at best, it being made in China I wouldn't expect any better. The steel frame and wire mesh decking is quite thin and has many sharp edges as I discovered during assembly. The bolts and other hardware is cheap in quality and rust easily. It took about a day to assemble, with the instructions being hard to understand and vague at some points. Also I built my trailer in the normal position and avoided the "flip" procedure as this is a dangerous maneuver. I bought a cheap set of jack stands and set it up on all 4 corners. Overall if you need a cheap entry level trailer then this is it. With some internet research, Home Depot has the best price on it by far from other distributors. If you want something that is going to last then spend the additional $500-$1000 and buy a name brand trailer.

Can not register/title the trailer in Louisiana because the trailer doesn't come with a Bill of Sale. It does come with a valid Certificate of Origin but Louisiana also requires a Bill of Sale and they will not accept a printout of the email you receive for such. I went to the local Home Depot and they cannot provide one because they cannot access orders placed online and shipped directly to the customer. I called HomeDepot.com customer service and they stated the only thing they can do is email what has already been emailed. They absolutely cannot mail or fax anything. I asked what I'm supposed to do with a $1300 trailer that I can't use because I cannot get it titled or registered and he asked if I'd like to return it and then said, "Oh, it's not returnable." Real nice. As to the trailer itself, as others have stated it arrives rather beat up. The paint was significantly damaged in several spots. Be sure your delivery location can handle a tractor trailer. I had to redirect the trailer to my place of business because my driveway will not accommodate a tractor trailer. I figured I would break down the pallet and carry home the parts in my pickup. Wrong! There's no way to get the parts in the bed of a pickup so I had to borrow a 16' trailer to get it home. Thankfully we have fork lifts so getting it loaded was no problem. Unloading on the other hand was a pita but I got it handled. Assembly was pretty straight forward and uneventful. Everything fit where it was supposed to. No idea what the heck I'm going to do with it now since I can't use it and therefore can't speak to how it functions going down the road carrying my bikes.

Trailer was as expected. Home Depot was cheapest place I could find this trailer. Was missing a few minor parts but had extra at my shop. Took three guys 3 hrs to unload and put together. The only issue I had was when the trailer was delivered to my residence the shipping company (RAC Transport) expected me to unload the trailer from their truck. We had to dismantle the packaging and unload it piece by piece. Also had to tighten wheel bearings after pulling trailer only 20 miles, they where really loose. Make sure you grease the wheel bearings good after mounting wheels to trailer. All in all very satisfied with the trailer, perfect for hauling 3 four wheelers. Really like having back gate but is not wide enough to load a side by side (Gate is 60 inches wide) Remember Trailer does not come with Spare tire or tongue jack.

I am very pleased with this trailer. I bought it to haul my Polaris RZR 570 or a compact tractor with a loader. I only used it once so far to haul the RZR home from the dealer. It worked very well. This trailer is delivered on one huge pallet and requires a lot of assembly. Plan to have help as it would be a lot for one person. The only problem I had was that one grease fitting on the hub was sheared off and the other would not take grease. I called the number in the instructions and they sent new fittings along with replacement hub washers which were damaged.when installing. Very good customer service.

Overall I am happy with this product. It wasn't hard to assemble and the size is perfect for three machines. It looks good too and I like the led taillights. Rear ramp could be a little longer though, it works but it's a little steep.

The trailer came delivered to me unassembled, but the local store was very helpful and assembled it for me. I had the tongue bend on the first trip with it, but I contacted the warranty department for Northstar and they sent me a new tongue immediately. Overall, it is a very nice trailer.

The fit and finish is poor, the hardware is cheap and it's only sold through an american company but it's made in China. I chose this trailer because it's lighter and I can pull it with a minivan. It serves it's purpose but I don't think it will last. The rear gate is way to short also almost useless on flat ground. They have raised the price now by $200, I would never buy it at that price you might as well get a heavy duty 15" tire trailer like a Top Hat for what they are selling them for now.

Long sleek profile that is relatively light weight having the diamond grate decking and not the heavy timber planked trailers. Good all around trailer for hauling more than just ATVs. Not too hard to assemble. Handles well while being towed and easy to back.

I liked the trailer. It towed good, and easy to see behind truck. Loading our quads was a breeze, able to load from both sides and end to end , off loading was good too, drive on one side and off load from the other. And able to take three quads at once. NICEl

Good product for the money. Packageing for shipping could have been better but it was not damaged when it arrived and the shipping company was very helpful in delivery and unloading. Instructions were pretty good but you may need a little mechanical know how to assemble in a reasonable time.

Overall I am happy with this purchase. There were a few bumps along the way though... First things first.....the website doesn't say how many pieces you have to put together. It is a "kit", but it never said how intricate the kit was. I took a chance and bought it anyway. Putting it together wasn't too bad. You will need two people however. Its one of those things that take 5 hours to do the first time, and if you were to build another one, you could do it in 2 hours. The wheels were missing a locking washer, but when I contacted the manufacturer (not home depot), they put the parts (and then some)in the mail and I receieved them quickly. Once built, the trailer is solid and for the money, it is hard to beat.