I Need to put new wood on this trailer deck. Advice please.

Edges of Lumber become trash traps, hold moisture, allow microbes to start chewing. I still use Boiled Linseed oil, just not as religious as to use as used to be.

I did my small lowbed with 2 1/2" Douglas fir over 10 years ago. Bolted down with 1/2" galv. carraige bolts countersunk .Marked them for the exixting crossmember holes or drilled up thru holes where we could.Its started to get rough last year when were moving heavy chunks of a ship we were dismantling .we missed the steel plates we used for sharp ends between the wood and punched a hole and finally another hole where the bucket linkage on a120 excavator boom sat when moving. Pretty good for over 10 years,the only oiling it got was from the odd leaky machine. Around here guys claim Cottonwood decking is best for lowbeds. Ive never seen it. Theres tons of it out the bush but no one ever cuts it. The picture is 10+ years ago,she looks a little rougher now.The extra 1/2" of wood really helped with durability,you can just see it sticking up above the frame.

Cottonwood is one type that mills do not like to see coming in. Wet, tends to close on blading, blades run hot, grain is all over the place so not consistency. HOWEVER, once cut and allowed to dry a while, bolted and oiled will seemingly outlast the trailer. Earth contact rots like toilet paper but off grade and in air stream to keep dry, lasts well.

DMiller said: Cottonwood is one type that mills do not like to see coming in. Wet, tends to close on blading, blades run hot, grain is all over the place so not consistency. HOWEVER, once cut and allowed to dry a while, bolted and oiled will seemingly outlast the trailer. Earth contact rots like toilet paper but off grade and in air stream to keep dry, lasts well. Click to expand... That is not what I would expect. Up here in the North the only cottonwood is planted. Mrs. B teaches first grade. She gets student teachers. The most promising of them all came into our lives 20 years ago. She, her husband & their daughters have become very close. 18 years ago they bought a house I tried to talk them out of. A massive cottonwood stood near the house. Tammie HATED it!! We cut it & removed it. I got 3-1/2 cords of not so good firewood from a 29 year old tree. I can't say the weight, but light. I'd say lighter than pine. Rot resistance is not what I would expect.

So long as no physical earth contact on cottonwood here, gets a patina rot layer and stops. Lay it on ground gone in a year. As far as firewood, leave it long enough to dry and in a pile. No heat tons of ash.

DMiller said: So long as no physical earth contact on cottonwood here, gets a patina rot layer and stops. Lay it on ground gone in a year. As far as firewood, leave it long enough to dry and in a pile. No heat tons of ash. Click to expand... In those years we had a walk in woodshed with two doors. Enough space for two years wood supply. It got put in in summer & not burned until more than a year. Worked OK when we were home, just add fuel often. When we weren't home we'd use something else. Pound for pound, not all that much difference from one wood to another. Local lore from unscientific people is that pine for example makes creosote. Wood pellet manufacturer says that is nonsense. They make all their pellets from pine. Dry & compressed at over 600 degrees in a low oxygen atmosphere, the wood comes out hard as a hardwood pellet. Pellet stoves are much like a blacksmith's forge, burning a small volume with a lot of air forced through the fuel, burns intensely hot. Here we have a tree close relative to Cottonwood, Quaking Aspen. Locals call it Popple. The opposite is true of its rot characteristics. It won't last long exposed to weather, but underground it seems to last a very long time. It used to be used for log culverts. A small log was partially buried, Two larger were placed each side of it. They were buried enough to hold them stable. A fourth log placed on top, & covered in at least a foot of gravel. These will support log trucks for at least 30 years.

I refloored my trailer in the early 90s with oak. Treated it with the best used oil i could get. This week the magnet at the scrap yard quit and they had to unload me with a trackhoe i now have a big hole in the floor.

Seeing where some use Red oak and all the guys around here would not use Red because it doesn't last. I have a bunch of Red (8 to 10 ft) was going to make outdoor steps with, was told don't do it unless your going to stay on top of it and paint regular. My Red still sits in the barn 5 years later I'm looking at replacing my 10 ton tag deck (used self tapping screws) and reading through this thread has helped with some ideas

I don't think anyone has mentioned shooting nails into the trailer frame. Former brother in law told of seeing a trailer redecked using a Hilti Gun. More recently, I saw a You Tube video of a new gun made for the purpose. I can't remember who offers it, it is intended to shoot nails through wood into steel.

Thus far into life I've favored the fender washer approach. Drill up through the deck plank, use a carriage bolt.

I just used the standard 5/16" self-tapping deck screws.

Oak have tubes that sap flows through. A new layer grows each year. White Oak, the tubes close up the way bamboo does. Red Oak the tubes remain open. Split out a thin piece of red oak, you can blow bubbles in a glass of water like with a drinking straw. This is what sets red apart from white in rot resistance. In some circumstances red lasts as long as white. Split siding or roof shingles are laid to prevent water getting into the top end grain. Red Oak is said to last 100 years as roofing.

Sorry to revive this old thread. But, I am finally putting wood on this trailer. I have re-read the thread and I am wondering if the method Dmiller mentioned in post 35 is the way to go. Can anyone comment and also, if it is, what grade and size hardware is suggested? Thank you.

Yes, drill right near the steel. Personally I wouldn't forsener bit a hole for the head as i wouldn't like the water and mush to lay in it, I'd probably use coach bolt or just hammer the hex in if it's soft enough

Grade wise I'd imagine anything is stronger than the wood so any grade would do. You need a decent diameter of heavy washer underneath, then match bolt to that

Fastenal has thick fender washers.

Thanks guys. I reviewed the picture again in DMiller's post #35. In order to do this, do I lay under this thing, line the washer up to make sure it will cover and grasp the metal, then drill a pilot hole in the middle of the washer or just go straight to a bit that is the size of the bolt and drill up into the wood? I was looking for a vid, but have not had luck finding one yet. Thanks.

I drilled for the self tapping screws.

clydesdale6 said: Thanks guys. I reviewed the picture again in DMiller's post #35. In order to do this, do I lay under this thing, line the washer up to make sure it will cover and grasp the metal, then drill a pilot hole in the middle of the washer or just go straight to a bit that is the size of the bolt and drill up into the wood? I was looking for a vid, but have not had luck finding one yet. Thanks. Click to expand... If there's space to lay under, drill up with the next size drill bit bigger than the bolt, right alongside the steel. Or if it's tight, put some reference marks for the centre line needed for holes each side on the side rails or whatever, then lay all boards in and put string line across or straight edge, mark the lines, drill them through, bolt it it up, feel good.

Easy enough here the mechanic doing the install marked chalk lines on the upper steel structure as to the lay of Steel edges below, set the lumber where repeated the chalk lines from the steel across the lumber, drilled to open area side of the lines. Have also seen steel strap 2 and 3" width, 1/8" to 3/16" thick, cut and drilled as retainer plates, does not require severe duty materials as cannot Fall 'Up'.