Trailer Decking

Ulma Doctor said:

the wood is very expensive but worth the extra $$$,... apitong
it is the toughest wood i ever ran across.
if you make a trip up to san leandro there is a wood dealer up there that hast the stuff.
you'll need some drill bits, and a few saw blades to make a bed of any size, but it will out last the both of us after you're done.

i worked for a forklift repair outfit when i was younger.
one job, i replaced the rotted out deck of a drayage trailer with apitong and pretty much replaced most of the x members due to extreme abuse.
to my knowledge the trailer is still in use....

Click to expand...

Just my 2 cents worth. I was in the trucking business for 42 years and we had all types of trailer equipment from light duty gooseneck type to 5 axle 100 ton oilfield lowboy type trailers.
If you want the best wooden floor then Ulma Doctor is correct, apitong is the way to go. The next step down down on wooden floor would be treated or painted oak floors. I would caution against metal floors of any type, a load will shift on a metal floor regardless if it is smooth plate or tread plate, may or may not be a problem in your case. Also if a heavy load is placed on the metal floors even on 16" crossmembers, the floor will bend some causing irregularites on the floor.

All that being said, for a light duty utility trailer like you are talking about a 2 X __ pressure treated pine floor should last a good 10 to 15 years or better. Install with floor board screws on crossmembers or just use the hold down method on the front and rear as pictured in prior post. The old screws left in the cross members after removing the old floor, just strike them horizontally at the base with a good ball peen and they will usually shear off flush with the crossmember, no need to saw or any of that stuff.

Hope this helps

I've redecked a couple of trailers and used PT pine. The Torx screws are self tapping, just use an impact wrench and they go in like butter. It took longer to cut the boards than it did to screw the entire deck down.

I hate steel trailer decking. Rubber tired tractors will slip on the deck if it's even damp. As far as moving machinery ,steel on steel is like ice. Here in central Ohio my choice is white oak .2 inch thick and will out last me.
Hauled my shaper home in a steel floor dumb trailer, sure made it nice to unload. Just raise the bed and slid so easy ,I had a comealong on the front to hold it back
Hauled my 6500 lb lathe home on a wood floor trailer. You could not have moved It with a bulldozer.
Thanks ron

I bought a Big Tex 18' car trailer with steel checker plate deck in 1994. It's hauled everything, taken a beating and is still straight after all these years. BUT...when wet (like it rains) it's slipper yer than greased owl stuff.

+1 on the white oak. I have used it in the past for trailer hauling trip hammers and the like and in horse trailers. Much stronger than pine or fir and more rot resistant. The downside; the added weight.

I would use stainless for fasteners. I found that even galvanized screws would rust out over the years.

I have used the 2x8 pine, and the self tapping screws to do the last horse trailer. It was a total trailer overhaul. Sanded the cross members, then put the converter, then paint and bead liner.
The self tapping screws are great. Agree also with putting the angle iron or something on both ends to hold the ends down. Also make sure you put the crown of the wood in the right direction so that you get a good crown and not a dip in the center of the boards. Have seen many around here where they put the wood on with the crown down.
Agree the steal or even the alum decks are slick as all get out when wet. And it can be as simple as morning dew to make it so slick. The only way I have seen to not be that slick is when it had the extra grip bead liner on top of it. Then things stayed put but was hard to slide things off. Jut my 2 cents.

Thanks for the suggestions, in this part of the country fir is the most prevalent , I'll go with PT and prob somthing like thompsons water seal on the top, with cs self tappers.

If you are going to use something like Thompsons, I would use it on all sides. The bottom sides take the longest to dry, and get soaked the most when driving in the rain.

Consider "Ipe" decking a South American hardwood, it comes in 5/4 X6 (1" x 5.5") boards that are much stronger than any PT lumber. It is naturally rot resistant too.