preserving the wood floors in open trailers

[geogunn]

does anybody do anything to preserve the life of the wood floor in their trailer?

mine stays outside in the weather year round and every couple of years I paint it with an enamel paint. unfortunately, I scrape the paint away while doing mulch jobs.

I wonder if spraying the wood with Thompsons a couple of times a year would be better than the paint.

the wood is pressure treated and still in good shape, but when it starts to weather, it seems to go quickly.

GEO

[bob]

Except for the winter months, my trailer stays indoors while not being used. I also thought about treating the flooring, but never got around to doing it. Triton trailers have a liftime guarentee on the decking. They use a marine grade plywood.

[Alan]

I build my own trailers and use rough sawn oak for the floors. Before I put the floor on I cut the boards to length, then soak in all the linseed oil they will accept, with special attention to the endgrain. After the first coat has dried I apply a second coat to what will be the bottom of the boards and screw then down, the swab a second coat on the top. Seems to work ok, and not "waxy" like waterseal stuff is. Recoat once a year when the floor is good and dry (and I remember to do it).

[gusbuster]

The tompson water seal is pretty good at sealing, but can get slippery when wet. At least the tompson sealer is easy to apply. You can use a regular garden pump to apply.(spray) We use the sealer on all wood on trailers.
John

[Greenkeepers]

We put thompsons on last year and it has worked great. Now that we've bought the shop it will be inside all year round. BUt the Thompsons worked great, we did both top and bottom.

[BUSHMASTER]

i am about to replace my boards after only 4 years i was thinking of useing thompsonson treated wood and top coating
with duros roll on bed liner... what do ya'll think..

[Mike Paulsen]

I think when I redo my trailer I'll look at that fake decking stuff for home decks.As long as its strong enough it will last a long time.

[TLS]

I had to replace my boards on my '93 trailer after 3 years. They were regular pine 2x8's. Rotted real quick. I replaced them in '96 with pressure treated and they look like new still to this day. It wasn't cheap, but well worth it. No signs of rotting, I would guess they will last at least 10 yrs or until the trailer rusts out beneath it!

[dylan]

Attn: Mike Paulsen

I built a deck this summer with the plastic (fake) wood. It is heavy! Covering the whole floor will really add weight to your trailer.

[morturf]

I am a big fan of linseed oil on wood floors. The biggest thing i can think of is to thin it 1/2 oil, 1/2 thinner and do it in the sun on a warm day. go light and let it sink in and do a couple of coats. I will outperform any thompsons or the like. I have 72 chevy pickup with the original wood floor, the slats have been replaced but the floor is like new. When we got the truck we sanded off the paint and treated with the oil. we then treated it about every other year after that. The truck was used a lot till about 3 years ago. But the lesson is the floor lasted because of the oil. Makes the wood like iron and it does not rot. Any more Questions just ask me.

[dfor]

I have a 1991 trailer that almost always stays outside. I only use it for mulch. The deck is rotting and has one hole in it. I'm just going to cover up the boards with exterior plywood (1/2" cdx) and see how that works. Just a thought.

[geogunn]

mowturf--I've heard the boiled linseed oil and turpentine ina 50/50 mix is prefered to bring new life to old dark military gunstocks. thanks.

GEO

[Dan Stoms]

Have you thoght of using the material used to line truck bodies.You could have it sprayed on or roll it on yourself.

[jeffex]

I have a pressure washing business called DECK
DOCTOR PRESSURE WASHING we use a product by
Sherwin Williams called UV SUNBLOCK it comes in
a cedar tone that looks like an oak finish it
is water based and easy to apply. I use this on
the pressure treated wood on my trailer and it
beats the oil based products by far the oil just
holds the dirt and makes the wood turn black
about $15 a gal retail 1 gal covers about 175 sq
ft. check out a deck we did at http://www.angelfire.com/md2/jeffex click on the deck page very natural
color stain is on deck at the top

I fixed your link for you
Eric

[Edited by Eric ELM on 12-13-2000 at 01:59 AM]

[Eric ELM]

I replace my trailer floors with pressure treated 2X10's. You can get a guarantee of 25 to 40 years on that lumber and it costs about 2 times as much as a regular 2X10, but worth every penny of it.

Jeffex, I may try that UV sunblock on my decks, thanks for the tip.

[thelawnguy]

The PT pine on my trailer rotted thru in under 3 years-the grass juice just does a number on it. I replaced with diamond plate. No problems since.

[Eric ELM]

I feel pine is way to soft for a trailer floor and it rots to quickly. I use pressure treated Douglas Fir, which is much harder, but heavier also. I replaced a floor on the trailer I had before this one around 10 years ago and I sold it to a friend about 4 years ago. That floor still is in great shape, but the new trailer I bought rotted out in 3 years, so I replaced that floor last year. They should just put pressure treated floors in them when they build them, but I guess the sales of trailers would drop then. They wouldn't wear out as fast.

[Cutter1]

I'm redoing my trailer tomorrow. I bought all the wood and bolts for it, not cheap!!! I got all pressure treated wood and stainless steel bolts. Its going to cost me around $125. THe hardest part was getting the old ones off, had to cut all the bolts off.

[paul]

We use rough sawn oak 2" thick width varies then treat it with oil. floors last us 10 years this way and all our trailers stay outside all year long.

[JJ Lawn]

Geo,

I use the 50/50 boiled linseed oil and turpentine mixture on all my wood handles, ladders and trailer decks. Just apply heavily with a rag and let it soak in. I do this once a year. And don't forget to treat the bottom of the trailer.

Jim

[sunrise]

we use CWF-UV. Its about half the price of Thompson and it dont get slick when it gets wet.

[geogunn]

jj--I used marine polyurethane on the wheel barrow handles recently thinking that would be the ultimate protector.

do you think the BLO/turp mix would be better?

GEO

[jaybee]

I bought a Parker trailer 2 years ago. It came with pressure treated boards. Don't know if it is standard or just my model. Nothing fancy 6x12 single axle.

[jeffex]

thanks for the link fix Eric!!!

[Banzaitoy]

I cast my vote for the boiled Linseed oil. Just remember this stuff is extremely flammable while wet.

[JJ Lawn]

Originally posted by geogunn
jj--I used marine polyurethane on the wheel barrow handles recently thinking that would be the ultimate protector.

do you think the BLO/turp mix would be better?

GEO

In my opinion the linseed oil/turpentine is better than anything painted on. The oil soaks in while the painted or spray just covers. And it can crack, peel, and allow water in. My grand father used this mixture for years, and some of his had tools are in use today, even after 50+ years. Of course I still wish they made tools a well as they did back then. :)

Jim

[Eric ELM]

No problem, the link wasn't all together so it didn't work. It was an easy fix. :)

[Esby]

I put down marine grade decking. Three years later it still hold up. My equipment stays indoors year round, well of except of course when I am working.....

[SLSNursery]

On the heavy equipment trailer we replaced the deck a few years ago with the 2" rough sawn oak. Last year we pulled all the planks again (to paint the trailer and fix a couple of welds), then sort of soaked the boards with some used motor oil. This was something that my father in law used to do on the farm, so I figured it was worth the recycling effort. Its a little bit slick at first, but the wood seems to stay in good shape and the oil soaks in nicely. We did the same thing on some of the other lighter decks which were made of PT lumber. This soaking seems to work pretty well, especially if the wood starts to dry out. In the past we are able to get about 6-8 years out of the oil treated PT. The oil makes the wood less susceptible to rot damage from gouging. Instead of being brittle the wood ends up absorbing the blows from equipment - especially implements for tractors, aerators, etc.

[snake1040]

I agree used motor oil works great just don't let the EPA cath you. I also works great for insects you can pour it around fence post and even arond your house to kill termites. I figure I am putting back where I got it.

[Mowman]

GEO,
I HAD MY TRAILER MADE THIS SPRING AND REQUESTED A WIRE MESH FLOOR. THE GUY DIDN'T WANT TO BUILD IT THAT WAY, SO I PAID HIM CASH IN ADVANCE AND TOLD HIM I DIDN'T WANT WOOD THAT WOULD ROT BY THE END OF THE SEASON. AFTER HE BUILT THAT ONE FOR ME HE SOLD TWO MORE JUST LIKE IT. IF I NEED TO HAUL MULCH OR ANYTHING ELSE I JUST THROW A SHEET OF PLYWOOD IN AND IT WORKS OUT JUST FINE. IT ALSO MADE THE TRAILER A LITTLE LIGHTER. WORKS OUT GREAT FOR ME. NEXT TIME YOUR WOOD ROTS OUT TRY THE WIRE MESH. IT'LL LAST FOREVER IF YOU TAKE CARE OF IT. JUST MY 2 CENTS.
Mowman

[geogunn]

thanks mowman--I looked at mesh but figured it wouldn't work for mulch or sand. the guy that tried to sell me was a dufus and I wasn't going for it. he said just throw a tarp over the floor and no problem. I don't see how you would ever scoop mulch out that way.

I see how it could work if you use plywood, however.

doesn't the mesh get kind of get punched down in between the supports underneath? is that a problem ever?

GEO

[thelawnguy]

I considered mesh before I settled on diamondplate. Drawback with mesh, something falls off a machine, its gone for good.

[TGCummings]

I bought my open trailer this last summer and was wondering how long the wood decks would last, and if I would have to replace them already come summer. After reading this thread I can see that the deck should last 3-4 years, by which time I should have an enclosed trailer... :)

Thanks!

-TGC