I finally found something better to haul the skid steer and attachments with. Almost new tires, new brakes, bearings just re-packed, no rust issues. I knew it needed a couple deck boards, but thought it could be a fall/winter project. First time I went to load up, BAM! right through the beaver tail on the left side. Trailer had a treated pine deck, I presume original. I happened to have a couple of 6/4 white oak boards out in the barn so I zipped home and replaced all the boards on the beaver tail. So, since I have my tools out, I decide to replace a couple of the worst looking boards. Of course, the inspectors had to investigate everything. 3 hours later I've got all the boards off, cleaned up the tops of the cross members and spraying primer on them when my wife comes out and asks me why I'm not ready to go to her cousins wedding...
I couldn't find any treated 16 ft boards in stock, so I called a local saw mill and asked how soon they could cut some 6/4 white oak. Had all I needed by the end of the week. Decided I may as well finish priming and painting the tops of the cross members. They had a light bit of rusting where the old decking rubbed the paint off. TSC equipment paint it is. Paint is done, I should be putting new decking on this weekend, after another wedding is done Maybe this fall I can find some time to touch up the rest of the paint. She isn't a 10, but there isn't anything super serious going on underneath. What do you guys treat your white oak decking with? These boards are awefully wet today, but I would like to treat it with something before winter sets in.
When I got rid of my dual wheel trucks I converted to a gooseneck vs. pintle hitch, on the F350 single rear wheel it makes for much more stable travel. Mine is a deck over. The rear lighting is interesting, I've never seen rectangular lights mounted vertically before. Good luck with it!!
I treat my trailer decks with.................used oil. Slop it on and park in the hot sun for a few days. Nice looking trailer, they even put ramps on the fenders so you can load the mud bogger truck....lol. Ed
Nice looking trailer I won't put anything on oak boards drain they work just great dry and not slippery with oil it will still get twice the life of treated pine
My buddy had one just like it i used it some it was well built you could tell you were pulling something. I had a 68 GMC 3/4 350 another friend pulled it one day that had a Dodge Cummins we were talking and i about said something about how my pickup pulled it but i didnt want to down grade my pickup he then said to me that thing pulls hard.
Got the decking placed on the trailer and then broke every 3/16" drill bit I had. Self drilling screws are a B.S. marketing gimmick. I gave up trying to 'self-drill' the screws and drilled every hole. Pulled out the old handy jack to tighten up the gaps. Also ended up buying some longer screws. 2 1/2" weren't long enough if the board had any bow to it at the crossmember. Done and ready to haul.
I did find some mold growth on these boards after sitting for a couple days in my yard. I cut them to length and stacked them up Thursday morning. Three days later, I started laying them out on the trailer and found a fair amount of mold growth. Should I just let it go and hope the sun kills it off, or should I spray it down with bleach or deck wash to kill the mold/mildew?
If you are anything like me then you were ready for the wedding long before your wife. And while waiting for your wife to get ready. You went out in your tuxedo and decided to finish a project.
So long as not in ground contact may see a little mildew but should not see mold. When mildew appears to be taking over I make a batch of Lysol floor cleaner slop mop it on and leave dry.
Looks very nice I gave up on those screws also you definalty have to predrill and then they are so brittle that they want to break off as the boards dry now I only use carriage bolts hunk of steel big enough to stand on and magdrill to punch the holes
I'll keep that in mind if I ever do this again. Hopefully these screws will outlast the decking.
I'll give it bath later to kill off whatever is there.
I also use old oil on the oak. It can be slick for the first little while till it quits beading up water on top. I just take a 5 gal. bucket and slop some on and mop it around with a rag.
Do not like used oil on wood, seems to make rot quicker where could be the acids in the waste oil.
I've never had much luck with the self tapping screws either, like Jonas said a high percentage snapped while tightening. I went the carriage bolt route too. A bit of a pain in the ass crawling under the trailer but once it was done it was done. Job looks great!!
Self tapping screws with a "SLOW" drill motor works beautiful. Redone a whole 40' shipping container floor with them no problem. Nice trailer BTW, the one I got needs a new deck too though due to Covid-19 prices have gone way up on lumber. Going to mill my own from the trees around my property for mine.
anything over 3/16 metal and turning to fast is really hard on em
anything over 3/16 metal and turning to fast is really hard on em
When I decked my Bobcat trailer, I was laying out hole locations and screwing, a friend was drilling.....thought my old Milwaukee drill motor was gonna go Chernobyl on us. Got so damn hot Al had to wear gloves. Not a fun job. Ed
Unlike trailer where can wide stagger Used drill and cordless driver to set all the screws on the grain bed floor Believe at least a dozen per board Used 3/8 Torx deck screws
Nice project but I saw an issue throughout the process. Not at any point did I see those kids jumping around on the material........playing hide and seek around that trailer......dragging scrap material around to build a fort........ throw sawdust at eachother.........grab hand tools........I mean, if I did a project around here like that, my youngest grandkids would have sidewalk chalked it so bad it would look like a parade float!
I always predrill every hole.
They didn't dig the chalk out, but they were on it, under it, over it, etc the entire time. Those two don't slow down . They tested every tool I would let them and drug off every scrap piece I made.
On one of my trailer instead of self tappers, they used nuts and bolts with really big washers to catch the crossmembers. Seems like a good idea, no holes in crossmembers to rust, no hassles drilling through them.
Like this? I saw this yesterday on a trailer that went through the auction, 1998 Eager Beaver tag
So long as the boards cannot slip would work fine, only other problem is corrosive effect of acidic wood on steel of fasteners and road detritus that could affect integrity faster than a hard bolted into cross members. Those 17.5 Daytons?
AHHHH.........I feel relieved.
Im not sure of tire size. Trailer had a fair amount of rust holes through cross members and other areas and it got bid up fairly high for overall condition. I thought they could have bought a nicer trailer for less through a private sale. That eager beaver brought $3500
Looks like the ole 10R15's on those wheels. Tough as nails, expensive and hard to find.
Yep mine is exactly like that. Auctions prices are so fickle. I think in a lot of cases when you see something go crazy high it's someone who really wanted/needed a certain item and it's best to avoid overpaying.
Yea that is true. I am pretty sure my 2012 is still factory decking, I haven't seen any fasteners broken off, and only a few boards have come loose. I do know it would be a PIA to ever replace the decking cutting out all the fasteners though.
Cut the boards between the crossmembers with a skil saw and lift them up. That's what I did. Stuff comes apart really fast that way. I would bet most of your fasteners come right off with the boards since they aren't screwed to the crossnembers.
Yea that would work, but trailer is about 34'x9.5' of deck so there is a ton of boards. I'm happy to patch it up every year. Funny enough the first year I got it inspected they made a big deal about any holes, went somewhere else after and they no longer care.
That seems cheap from what i have looked at.