Just last weekend helped my FIL drag his trailer home. We knew it needed work as it has been sitting in a field at his friends property for 10+ years. But with new tires and new grease in the hubs it pulled home 3.5 hours no problem.
It's a huge trailer - 4 position snowmobile - two axle, steel frame in nice shape, currently decked with 1 inch plywood that has seen better days. We're going to refurbish the whole thing to get it ready for useful use, and re-decking is on the list. Right now, we're material agnostic. We might use it for a car from time to time, but more likely this will be for moving stuff like 4 wheelers. I don't know the exact size but I think the deck is about 8 feet wide and very long like 18-20 ft.
There are a few older threads on trailer decks but I didn't find any on the pros and cons of specific types of decks. So, boards, plywood, expanded metal, others? GO!
I like boards. Pretty easy to install. Last a decent amount of time and are pretty non-skid. They soak up leaky oil and you can add tie-downs, screw-in chocks, or whatever you need without breaking out a welder. Just remember that treated boards shrink over time so put them in tight.
Apitong. A tougher, more abuse resistant wood you will never find.
Wood is stupid spendy at the moment
Plywood won't span the distance of trailer framing well. It will sag, hold water, and deteriorate quickly. Plus it's not strong enough for the point load of a car whew if you should decide to put a car on it.
Expanded metal has the same span problem. Trailer framing is often up to 5' o.c.- too far for expanded metal. And it won't hold a car.
2x decking is probably the best answer. You could use diamond plate steel or aluminum, but it will cost more than wood.
I bought a trailer with wood decking. After a few years is warped and split. I replaced it with more wood and the same thing happened.
I finally found a place that sold steel diamond plate. I had them cut a 4'X8' X 0.125" sheet into 4 lengths. I had them bend a 1" edge 90 deg. on one side.
I welded that to my trailer frame over 15 years ago and other then applying a coat of paint every few years I've had no issues.
Go to your local salvage yard and take a walk around. You might find some aluminum extrusions, steel diamond plate, steel drain grate or ??? Whenever I have a decent amount of scrap metal to dispose of, I go to the local yard and make sure I have a spare 30 minutes to take a complete lap around the place. It's amazing what "crackheads" will steal and scrap for pennies. Sorry if that wasn't PC.
I have a work trailer that I use daily. Open trailer that looks like any landscape trailer. Hauls all kinds of construction stuff.
It has PT 2x6 deck boards. Now 16 years old never replaced the boards... in humid Florida. But... every year I buy some mis-matched paint from the big box orange or blue store and splash it on thick. Usually $5 to $9 per gallon.
YMMV
The 2x6s on dad's flatbed have been replaced once in 25 years. Trailer sits outside 24/7 with snow, rain, sun.
I love the fact that you can screw something to it. Transporting a half-disassembled car? Screw the fenders to the deck under the car. Put a lag screw through a hole in the bumper. Need an extra light-duty tie down for a wheel or a lawn tractor? Screw a D-ring anywhere you want. Need an extra HD tie down? Just find a steel crossmember and bolt a section of E-track to it. It has a truck box on the tongue and I keep a handful of lumber scraps and Headlok screws in there. I was transporting a bunch of pallet racks for the theater. I didn't even waste time with straps, I just used some 6" screws and fastened everything to the deck. Much quicker and more secure.
But yes... lumber ain't cheap these days.
I will be redecking my car trailer soon. I put a foot through the deck over the summer. I plan to replace the treated lumber with 5/4 rough sawn oak that is cheap here in Missouri.
My big trailer is decked with 2x10 treated lumber. It has lasted about 15 years but is starting to deteriorate.
My little trailer is decked with 3/4 treated plywood. It has lasted about 10 years and been flipped once. It's still in pretty good shape.
Both of them hold up very well. I wouldn't use ply on a trailer that will have heavy loads on small footprints, like cars.
Honsch
Reader
3/2/21 5:22 p.m.
I did my house deck in Angelim Pedra wood. I'd reccomend it for any decking needs, home or trailer.
If you really want to go nuts, get some Ipe.
for everyone saying 2x6 'deck' boards...
my understanding is that there are 6 inch wide deck boards, that are 1 inch or 1 and 1/8 thick or so, and there are also 2x6 dimensional lumber boards. Both can be had in pressure treated. Are we saying the deck boards or the 2x6s? Maybe it doesn't matter much.
My 10yo trailer has treated 2x6 dimensional lumber on it. It lives outside. It is still in good shape. I would re-do it with same material again.
In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :
I used 2" x 10" treated lumber. The frame spans on my trailer are too large for 5/4 decking.
In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :
It matters a lot.
A 1" thick "deck board" is insufficient unless it is a small utility trailer (like a lawn mower trailer)
For anyone interested, here is the trailer in question. The deck is 8 ft wide and a few inches more than 20ft at the tip, maybe 18.5 at the edges.
and I don't think all trailers are built like this but it has quite a few supports underneath, especially on the outsides.
For snowmobiles and 4 wheelers, plywood would work fine.
For a car, I would at least want the plywood doubled where the wheels roll. If you seldom haul cars, you could even screw down a couple of 2 x 10s to the plywood when you needed to haul one.
It looks to be 8' wide. If so, 2x6 decking is going to make that a pretty heavy trailer.
if the shipping weights listed on menards website are correct (and they seem to be ballpark at least), then it breaks down as follows (all are treated wood):
2x6x8' - need 36, weight about 1000 lbs and cost $400
3/4 plywood - need 5, weight about 600 lbs and cost $250
1 inch plywood (not listed but I doubled the 1/2 numbers) - need 5 weight about 800 lbs and cost $500
I need to find an expanded metal supplier to see about weight and cost. Also would be good to take a lap around our local scrapyard as noted.
1" plywood is hard to come by. Only in commercial suppliers.
2 layers of 1/2" is definitely not as strong.
3/4" Advantech is definitely stronger than 3/4" plywood.
I would only trust 3/4 for a car if the supports underneath are 12" or less.
I can't see the photos of the trailer, but would it be possible to add some steel going under where car wheels would be and then deck it with plywood?
SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:
1" plywood is hard to come by. Only in commercial suppliers.
2 layers of 1/2" is definitely not as strong.
This.
I priced 1 1/8th plywood recently. It was over $200 a sheet
I'd be hesitant to tow most cars on a snowmobile trailer. maybe I'm overly cautious, but here's my reasoning
A 4 place snowmobile trailer is probably rated for 4500lbs max, and left the factory weighing over 1k lbs. with a plywood deck. Add heavier decking and the payload will be reduced
While that leaves 3300-3500 lbs payload, the frame is design for the distributed load of a snowmobile ( 2 skis and a 16"x 4' or longer track)
In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :
Post the pictures by a different method so I can see them.
