New Decking quote for 16 foot trailer- Any advice? Thanks.

To make it last longer, make sure you stack for cup and use linseed oil on the bottoms first. Good heavy coat.

clydesdale6 said: It is either $1500 delivered for the apitong or $840 for wet white oak. Click to expand... Maybe post some images of your trailer as it looks now. What's your trailer worth now, and what will it be worth after you install the decking? Does it need new tires or brakes, led lights, more D-rings welded on, and other work? Do you really love the trailer? Is the trailer stored inside or out. Apitong is usually best for long heavy deck/heavy equipment trailers. My 16' tilt trailer was bought used and I've done a lot of welding and up dates on it. It looks like crap, but it's a work trailer. The deck is some sort of plastic stuff and takes a "licking and keeps ticking".

Well, I gotta make a decision on this now that winter is just about over. It looks like $850 for raw white oak that is 2 inch x 8 inch by 16ft and I drive 2 hours each way to get it, or $1700 for Brazilian Apitong 2x11x16ft shipped to me. The shipping price for the Brazilian is the killer, about $800 from TN to NY. I have a hard time accepting that, but I don't know if I have any other option. It seems you can get a car shipped for less. Will the Apitong outlast the white oak? If so, any idea on how long each would last. If Apitong lasts twice as long, then that will help me decide. Thanks again for all the thoughts on this.

Suggest asking how long will you have the trailer? If more than 20 years, than maybe Apitong

I will likely keep the trailer long term. I could certainly have it for 20 years.

I would personally get the local oak. Ask the guy if he will do $50 off for cash, no receipt .

Well, I got a potentially crazy thought. Why not just use 2x8 16 foot pressure treated from HomeDepot? Is this an acceptable option for hauling a car or skid steer? Or do I need the white Oak or Apitong?

clydesdale6 said: Well, I got a potentially crazy thought. Why not just use 2x8 16 foot pressure treated from HomeDepot? Is this an acceptable option for hauling a car or skid steer? Or do I need the white Oak or Apitong? Click to expand... Tends to be soft, and thin. I made my own last time, chainsaw, and fir tree. Cost me about a dollar.

I can't make my own and I think I am going to go with the Apitong. Thanks.

Depends, around here, PT tends to be Southern Yellow hard pine. Often used for flooring as it’s very dense and supposedly hard to dent. I did use it for a kitchen and dining room floor once and wasn’t impressed but I would certainly use it for a trailer floor. Still White Oak would be better or Ash if you could get it.

Last time I got white oak locally (maybe 4-5 years ago) at a local mill, it was about $225 for maybe 10-12 boards. About 8" wide x 2" thick x maybe 12'-16'. Check with some of the mills here in the south. Catch the right one and maybe they have room on a load heading north? We have quite a fair amount of white oak in my area. I'm not sure what current rates are these days.

Don't forget, raw wood shrinks, will leave gaps between boards over time. Kiln dried doesn't do that as badly.

clydesdale6 said: Well, I got a potentially crazy thought. Why not just use 2x8 16 foot pressure treated from HomeDepot? Is this an acceptable option for hauling a car or skid steer? Or do I need the white Oak or Apitong? Click to expand... Pressure treated hard pine 2x8's or x10's or x12's are the standard down here for utility trailers and entry level tilt decks. Cheap but durable and functional. What really matters most for determining weight capacity is understanding how your weight will be distributed. This is a function of board dimensions, wood property, stringer placement, stringer size and even board length amongst a few other things. What is your trailer rated for? If you want to haul something that's near the max capacity of it, you better be spreading the weight across more than just a couple stringers. A heavy track loader will put way less stress on your flooring compared to a light wheeled skid steer because the wheels focus all the weight in a few spots. And always use full length boards for re-decking or repairing as it's much stronger then shorter pieces with joints near where the weight will supported. When I haul heavy forklifts with my tilt deck floored out with basic treated yellow pine, I generally screw a couple 16ft 2x10's on the deck so the forklift wheels have "twice" the flooring under them, especially for the steering wheels which carry most of the weight. I do this for the dynamic bouncing from potholes or humps or other junk you hit when booking down the highway which cause something to effectively weigh a lot more than it's static weight. I would not be concerned about using home depot treated yellow pine as long as it was the hard pine which you can easily tell apart from soft pine.

It’s stamped SYHP.

Yea i put pressure treated yellow pine on my 18’ trailer. No complaints. I think white oak is pretty expensive these days. I think it may be the popularity of bourbon. Lots of white oak barrels being made.