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Trailer decking.

I like to use actual trailer deck screws for semi trailers. I got my last box from Fastenal. Depending how thick the crossmembers are though you sometimes have to pre-drill through them. I would stager your ends like any decking so they don't all line up. It should last plenty long but obviously if you leave it buried in wet snow all winter its gonna rot faster. Our trailers at work I try to hit them once or twice a year with boiled linseed oil thinned with a little turpentine using a roller. I can do a decent size deck over trailer with like 2 gallons or so of the linseed and a gallon of turpentine. Unless you do it regularly though it will soak in and disappear real fast like its never been done. Or just buy some cheap outdoor paint and paint the crap out of it and throw some of that grippy sand in it too so it's not so slick.
 
beags86 said:
That's @max 02 territory there. I think he put a new deck on and then just hauled the 454 for a few miles. Then it was plenty oil soaked!:haha:
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That’s not quite rightt Brian. Lol

We looked for fir but I couldn’t find any 18’ Long so we just used Spruce 2x6. Then we painted them with used 15-40. Both top,bottom and sides. Worked good, Cheep! It’s not slippery now. We used self tapping trailer deck screws, But predrilled them first.

E5E0F68E-AE1A-4E64-A8AD-56588102FA83.jpeg
 
Strange. I've used those type fasteners several times without any heads popping off.
Some of the uses would not not tend to cause that, for instance attaching wood framing to some I-beams. Once they are attached, there is not going to be any twisting or other type variable strain. But I have also used them to replace a few trailer boards that got damaged by heavy weights dropping on them.
As far as I know they have not decapitated themselves yet.
But, the ones I used were not the hardened star drive type like those I linked to. I wanted them, but they did not have any in stock locally. Instead the ones I got were phillip's head screws, and I discovered that if I did not have a correct sized bit and one with no wear, the heads would strip out.
Which makes me think they are not as hard as some others, which would tend to cause them to give more than a really hard version and thus not break as easily.

I guess like a lot of things, which make you get determines performance. No idea what make I used, I think the company has changed brands since.
 
Yeah kinda hard to have covered storage for trailers. I try to keep them shoveled off when I remember but you get a bit more snow than we do.
 
Truckman4life said:
Yeah kinda hard to have covered storage for trailers. I try to keep them shoveled off when I remember but you get a bit more snow than we do.
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Last winter I used mine several times so it stayed shoveled off pretty good. But I've thought about just covering the deck with a tarp.
 
In Fl. everytime I cover something with an impermeable tarp, moisture collects under it and it rots.........
As long as the tarp is held off the surface a few inches so air can circulate, its fine. A couple of 2X4s on saw horses to make a steep "roof" out of the tarp so the snow and rain can run off would work.
 
My experience with tarps is they usually ruin more things than they preserved,just like Fordum said..unless you make it so air can circulate under them..

I've had riding mowers under tarps have the paint peel off and rot holes in the chassis in less than 2 years here,if you just toss a tarp over it and use cinder blocks to hold it down..
I've had others I just left out to the weather that survived much better!..

Anything made of wood will rot in record time under a tarp too--I recall the year I laid a tarp over a big pile of firewood and didn't leave any openings for air to get it--within a few months the logs were white with fungus and were like mush,completely worthless as firewood,or for anything else!..

I learned to just lay the tarp on the top layer only..since then I've used metal roofing or that fiberglass panels used on patios to store the firewood under--tarp kept blowing off,and got all shredded..
 
The tarp was kind of a joke. If you cover something here with a tarp in winter the snow makes it very difficult if not impossible to get the tarp off without ruining it.

Winter humor didn't not come through the interwebz.

It froze at my house (32°) a light freeze 2 days ago
 
That is crazy talk..........
I am going to have get up there really fast or the pass will be closed.......
 
I actually just figured you'd use one of those disposable Walmart tarps. With a coating of snow the ultraviolet would not rot it too fast.
 
When building campers, with plywood on the bottom, they say NOT to cover the bottom. If you coat both sides it may not be able to breath. Wood will soak up moisture, from the air, rain, etc. And it will hold it in longer if the bottoms covered too... Causing it to rot faster.
I have no idea how that works will a deck style trailer. Since sun hit's them and their open most of the time. It may be different with campers due to the top side being covered. But I figured I'd mention it.
 
I coated plywood I used for a floor on a flatbed I made for one of my previous trucks,I put an asphalt based silver mobile home roof coating on the bottom side,figuring it would prevent salt and water from soaking in and ruining it quickly..
I painted the top side with house porch & deck enamel,oil base,that I had lying around..

Fast forward to roughly 20 years later,my foot went thru the plywood last time I climbed up on the bed to get something out of it,after I let the flatbed sit for decades in my backyard after I scrapped the truck I had it on..the underside of the plywood still looks like the day I coated it...the fact a deep layer of pine needles accumulated on it over the years may also have contributed to the rotting on the top facing side..

I would say something like bedliner,if applied so it sealed all four sides well enough not to let moisture penetrate ,it would probably last much longer,but we all know how impossible that is--water always finds a way to get under any coating or paint and blisters it and it peels off,then lets rot begin,if it wasn't rotted on the inside already..

Friends have used pressure treated wood on trailer decks in the past,the older "banned" stuff--it never rotted,but man does it crack and warp like crazy..gets brittle too..
 
Unless those 2x4s are fully dry now, they're gonna shrink over the next year or so, and that little gap you leave between them will become a very large gap. It may or may not an issue for you...just something to be aware of. I know some guys like big gaps so dirt and mud falls between the boards, lol.

Go with actual trailer decking screws. https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Redline/TFX250.html I got enough to do a 8x20 foot flatbed from my local hardware supplier for less than $20. Like others mentioned, a place like Fastenal, NOT a typical hardware store like Ace or True Value. Yes, they need to be pre-drilled, but it's worth the extra labor. I'll NEVER again use those self drillers.

You WILL be hating life big time when you try to remove those carriage bolts down the line when the deck needs replacing or you break a board or two. Or some of them loosen up, and you try to tighten them down more. The bolts will corrode, AND they WILL spin in the wood, so you'll be grinding them out. Even if you use high grade stainless stuff, they'll still spin in the wood.
 
urbex said:
Unless those 2x4s are fully dry now, they're gonna shrink over the next year or so, and that little gap you leave between them will become a very large gap. It may or may not an issue for you...just something to be aware of. I know some guys like big gaps so dirt and mud falls between the boards, lol.

Go with actual trailer decking screws. https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Redline/TFX250.html I got enough to do a 8x20 foot flatbed from my local hardware supplier for less than $20. Like others mentioned, a place like Fastenal, NOT a typical hardware store like Ace or True Value. Yes, they need to be pre-drilled, but it's worth the extra labor. I'll NEVER again use those self drillers.

You WILL be hating life big time when you try to remove those carriage bolts down the line when the deck needs replacing or you break a board or two. Or some of them loosen up, and you try to tighten them down more. The bolts will corrode, AND they WILL spin in the wood, so you'll be grinding them out. Even if you use high grade stainless stuff, they'll still spin in the wood.
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I have used those. Maybe I'm just harder on stuff but highly unimpressed. The only successful decking hold down I have ever used is the carriage bolts. And yes it SUCKS putting them on and taking them off.

I don't know how long it takes 2x4s to dry. I live in a fairly dry climate they came from Salt lake, also fairly dry. They have been stored inside for a month at least.
 
2x4 are as dry as they are going to be by the time you buy them. Which is around 14% -they won't shrink.

As far as this thread goes. It's pretty much going as I thought, a million different opinions/options from everyone and no right or wrong answer.

FYI for y'all. I put UNTREATED wood on my trailer 15 years ago. Stored outside, used In The snow and salt.
The wood is now "just" starting to get rotten and I mean just. I probably won't need to change it for a few more years. I don't mind redecking a trailer every 17 years.....point is..... just do what you want. It doesn't matter. Plus they were free anyways.
 
beags86 said:
2x4 are as dry as they are going to be by the time you buy them. Which is around 14% -they won't shrink.

As far as this thread goes. It's pretty much going as I thought, a million different opinions/options from everyone and no right or wrong answer.

FYI for y'all. I put UNTREATED wood on my trailer 15 years ago. Stored outside, used In The snow and salt.
The wood is now "just" starting to get rotten and I mean just. I probably won't need to change it for a few more years. I don't mind redecking a trailer every 17 years.....point is..... just do what you want. It doesn't matter. Plus they were free anyways.
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Truth!

My old boards never got treated. The trailer was 8 years old when I bought it 8 years ago. Just in this last couple years have I had issues.

I wanna treat the boards to make it look nice. But time constraints might prevent that from happening. We shall see. If I can't it's just extra time I have to take.

I mean really if I had the money I'd be buying a bigger trailer. Or larger axles for this one. And redecking it with a combo of wood and steel
 
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