Help with replacement Wood Trailer Bed?

[JesterGrin_1]

I have a Trailer that uses 2X8's I think but never the less I need to replace them. What can I do to help the wood last the longest?

Thank You for your help. :)

[RickinTN]

I would start by using pressure treated of course. Then a quality sealant, probably sold under "deck sealant". Thompson's water seal is a popular brand but I haven't been impressed with it. Ducksback sealant has an excellent reputation. It is more expensive and more difficult to find, but in my opinion is worth the trouble. The last time I bought any, which has been some years ago, my Sherwin Williams store was able to order it for me.
Hope this helps, and good luck,
Rick

[375RUGER]

oak if you can afford it.
I started treating my wood floors a long time ago with used motor oil. In live stock trailers it helps the urine run off. In non-livestock apps it just seals.

[Lloyd Smale]

pressure treated 2x8s out to outlast you as is.

[Ickisrulz]

I have a Trailer that uses 2X8's I think but never the less I need to replace them. What can I do to help the wood last the longest?

Thank You for your help. :)


Pressure treated, of course. Don't leave anything on the deck that will hold moisture for any significant length of time. Use water sealer every so often. I use Thompson's on mine. It takes me about 15 minutes to apply to my 16x7 foot bed.

[jeepyj]

I've done a couple over the years and pressure treated has been the answer. Watch your grain as you would any deck (bark side up) that way as it shed water a bit better. I'd butt them tight if it was mine. The only caution is be sure your screws have the proper treatment on them. Regular galvanizing and P/T don't get along. Just ask the at the place of purchase for the name of the coating. Some how it escapes my right now. I didn't seal mine until after the first year then I used Thompsons.
Jeepyj

[Wayne Smith]

Two issues. All the pressure treated I know of is soft wood. Consider how much wear this trailer will have. If it is a high wear environment consider white oak. White (NOT red) oak has a fungus in the capillaries that fills them and resists water. That's why it is used so much in wet environments.

As to coatings - your home center now has the same stuff used as spray on bedliner in colors for decks. I don't remember the name of it, but look closely at this if you use pressure treated.

I have no idea if Black Locust grows in your area or if any local sawmill saws any at all. If so, get it and bolt it down. That stuff is HARD! We used it for fence posts, when it was dry it would turn a staple.

[texassako]

The little, local sawmills can usually set someone up with good set of oak floot boards, but not sure if SA has much more than hobby millers and guys cutting mesquite and cedar.

[Charlie Two Tracks]

All pressure treated wood is not the same. Some is just treated on the outside and some clear through the wood. The wood is placed into a thing that looks like a submarine and the thing is filled with solution. It is then put under pressure and the liquid if forced into the wood. That's why the lumber is so wet. It is soft wood so it won't be as strong as oak or another hard wood. I guess it depends on what the trailer will be used for.

[dakotashooter2]

Bridge planking............if you can find it........ pressure treated is pretty good but really won't hold any kind of treatment until it has weathered about a year.

[sparkz]

Pressure treated, and HOT Dipped hardware ALL of it,, it will out live you,, cheaper is find a small sawmill and see if they have white oak and treat that white oak stand up to water well,, whats trailer for? hualing stuff or anamials? then go treated with a Matt to keep hoves off treatment,,

when you install what ever wood be sure to put cup side down (Anual rings center of tree DOWN, as when it drys and wants to CUP it will get tighter, other way it makes a trip factor, if you have a router round off board ends, it will keep then from chips forever takes a minuit and last a lifetime)

there are diff grades of treated like 20# and 40# and even 60#= rare,, but highter LB more treatment, also theres Plastic lumber for areas that may take the lions share of beating or rot, prices high but lasts thousand years, so sorta got some to think about and how crazy to get,,

If you paint or use a sealer I find best to let it cure first in rain and sun for a few months or sealer tend to come up, well that what I find so..
Hope i sparked a few ideas

Patrick Campbell

[montana_charlie]

There is a man-made product called Rumber.
It is used like lumber but is made of rubber.

My neighbor has it in the bottom of his stock trailer.

CM

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I use boiled linseed oil to treat everything "WOOD" that's outside. I blend the linseed oil with minerals spirits 50-50, then spray on. I re-coat the items every 2 or 3 years. my front steps, my Deck, trailer bed...all were homesawed lumber of various types...white Oak, Ash..and other. I also coat my (3) wheel barrow handles (they sit outside year round). one of them is over thirty years old...same handles.

After about a year, the wood turns a blackish-grey and stays that color.

boiled linseed oil has become expensive over the last 5 years...I'd check out the local household hazardous waste collection site, if your county has one. also garage/estate sales where they are cleaning up before a move...and there are companies that come in and cleanup forclosure houses...they need to get rid of that stuff, since that landfill isn't suppose to take it.
Good Luck,
Jon

PS added photo...My deck, homesawed white oak...installed in 1994...coated with boiled linseed oil every couples years since...ignore the rifle and accou..
http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu127/JonB_in_Glencoe/100_1296.jpg

[Love Life]

^^ That's what I was thinking. Also the synthetic stuff used for building decks.

[km101]

See if you can find a small sawmill in E. Texas that can set you up with rough cut oak (white oak) boards. Call the chamber of commerce in places like Lufkin and Nacogdoches and they can get you info. It would be worth the trip! Also when treating, wait at least one summer after installation to allow the wood to cure/dry properly. I have had the best luck applying by putting the sealant in a 3 gallon garden sprayer and spray it on. Adjust the nozzle for the best pattern as it may be thicker than the sprayer is set for. This will be faster and give you a thicker, more even application that any other way I have found. Just my $0.02.

[JesterGrin_1]

Thanks Guys I am in South TEXAS San Antonio.

This is just an 8 by 10 utility trailer. It does not get used all that much but I wish for the deck to stay good for awhile.

JohnB I was told by an older Gentleman to also use Boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits

And I have used used motor oil of which I have a good supply of on my larger trailer but it is not that old yet for a conclusion of how good it works.

As for wood I am pretty stuck with Pine Treated or non treated but I can coat it. As for Oak down here it is dang expensive and sorry I just can not spend those kinds of funds or wish to on a utility trailer lol. But I do not mind applying something to it now and then to try and make it last.

[Castaholic]

Regular pine that you treat every year or two will be more than sufficient. Most trailer decks get ruined not by the wood they choose but the lack of upkeep they are given.

[deepskyridge]

Jester, I replaced about half of the boards in my 12' trailer 3 years ago, I used PT 2x8 and they have weathered very well. I do get some snow on it in the winter but it does not seem to cause any problems, you should be good to go with PT lumber.

Gary

[Wayne Smith]

If it's an open trailer keep a tarp over it. Keeping it dry is the best preservative. Any coating is next best.

How much do you know about woodwork? Wood needs to be treated the same on all sides or it will warp. If you put the bedliner on it do it before you bolt it down, cover all sides. If you spray on a coating try to do top and bottom.

[Iowa Fox]

Rough sawn white oak is what we uses around here. We get it from some of the local one man saw mills.

[JesterGrin_1]

The Treated wood that they have here when drying will warp like a wet noodle even if bolted down. And yes I know it is just a Trailer lol.

But I think I am just going to go with Pine and before bolting it down treat all sides with Boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits and then a couple of times a year do a re-coat.

Or would used motor oil cut with some kind of thinner work just as well? I ask since I have a few gallons of it lol.

[schutzen]

I use 40 year pressure treated 2X8's on my trailers, but I also do several other items. First I clean out the channels the boards fit in. Ideally they should be sand blasted, but a good wire brushing will do. Then paint the channel with a rust inhibiting paint. Next use spray-on undercoating to seal the channel. You are not ready to begin fitting boards. Fit the boards in tightly and screw them down with deck screws for flat-bed truck decks. You can purchase these from Fastenal. They are pricy, but you deck boards will last twice as long if they do not bounce going down the road empty. Next year seal the entire floor with a quality deck sealer and you should be good -to-go for the next five years. Every five years reseal and it should out last you.

[JesterGrin_1]

Shutzen can you be more specific about the Deck Screws from Fastenal?

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

As for wood I am pretty stuck with Pine Treated or non treated but I can coat it. As for Oak down here it is dang expensive and sorry I just can not spend those kinds of funds or wish to on a utility trailer lol.


Rough sawn white oak is what we uses around here. We get it from some of the local one man saw mills.

Jester,
In the late 90s and 00's, My folks lived just outside of San Antonio (in Hondo), Yeah, I suppose there isn't much sawmill activity in southern TX
like in MN or IA. And Yeah, the lumber yard gets an arm and a leg for Oak...nearby me, a sawmill cuts anything and everything...they make pallets. they set aside nice boards and premium varieties like White Oak and sell them on the side in "rough" form...Last time I bought some, it was cheaper then untreated 2x10 at the lumber yard.
Good Luck,
Jon

[dkf]

I redid mine trailer the other year. Used treated wood and treat it a couple times a year with water repellant. It looks like it contains silicone which helps the water to bead up and not soak into the wood.

[montana_charlie]

Or would used motor oil cut with some kind of thinner work just as well? I ask since I have a few gallons of it lol.
I don't have any experience to claim expertise in that area, but here is why I would not use motor oil.

Most gun oils are derived from petroleum products, as are motor oils.
We all(?) know that allowing gun oil to saturate a gunstock will ruin it.
The small amout of regular lumber I have observed that has been (accidently) soaked with spilled motor oil sure never looked very good to me.

CM

[oneokie]

The Treated wood that they have here when drying will warp like a wet noodle even if bolted down. And yes I know it is just a Trailer lol.

If the boards are warping that bad, they are drying too fast.

[plmitch]

Try some Ipê. We been using for decks and a couple of trailer bottoms. I’m thinking of using for my truck bed. It’s expensive but well worth it. PT lumber just looks ugly.

[jj850]

we use a wood called apitong for equiptment transport trailers and it lasts years even with track equiptment up to D8 dosers. It is straight grained no knots high resin hardwood no water treatment necessary. Semi trailers get 2X12 boards smaller ones get 1 3/8 shiplap with the deck screws schutzen uses. It's an expensive deck but cheaper than doing it twice and will outlast pine 3to1 for us but may be overdone for lighter trailers.

[DCM]

Try some Ipê. We been using for decks and a couple of trailer bottoms. I’m thinking of using for my truck bed. It’s expensive but well worth it. PT lumber just looks ugly.

+1 Great, Strong, Heavy, Pretty wood that will last a long time if you can afford it.
It is expen$ive though.
Decks and docks that last and last.

[cylinderman]

I use 2 x 6 rough cut oak or poplar, and I don't bolt them down they are held by a piece of angle iron bolted down at each end. As far as treating boils linseed oil is great because its not slippery when wet. But honestly if you get hardwood it will take forever to rot. I have a 16 ft car trailer with 18 year old oak on it, never treated and its solid. My experience with screwing them down is with the flexing of the trailer it will work them out or break them off. If you are worried about the bow, I place them with the bow down and they stay put.