I got my first quote for white oak decking. The wood is white oak, 16ft, 2 inch thick 7.5 inches wide. The ten boards I would need come to $840. That seemed kind of high to me. These boards are going to be fresh wood and not dried. Any thoughts on this? Any advice on where else to possibly look. Thanks.
What kind of reduction off that price do you think you can find ? 10% ? 20% ?
No clue. This is the first quote. But, I did think it might be $600 or so. With the first quote, with attachment clips, it will run me slightly over $1k. I have contacted trailerdecking.com. We'll see what they come up with. For all I know, the first quote is a good price and I just underestimated how much this stuff costs.
Rib eye steak was $25 pound yesterday, filet was $39. Nothing cost what it did, and it's not going back. Joe H
I get my hard wood at Capitol Log Yard. Emerald and Jade are the best in the biz.
you can get 6/4 x 8 apitong for 4.79 per LF, about 80 bucks a stick, About what the green white oak is costing you. https://www.trailerdecking.com/products.aspx?FilterstoAdd=524
Skyking1, we talked about this before. The rainforest, the Pygmies? That’s messed up.
I did put in a quote request from trailerdecking.com. I see they are crazy for Apitong. Is there a rain forest issue with this? I am just looking to make a good decision and not get ripped off. Of course I know things cost more and more these days. But, as provided in a response above, Ribeye does not cost me $25 per pound and filet is way less than $39. It all depends if you are will to shop around a bit or wait for a sale or such. If the going rate is $840, then that is what is is going to be. But, maybe I can NY strip instead of roast beef. Thanks.
I did a search here and did not find us "talking about this". The wood I used was Angelim Pedra from SA, probably Brazil and not much better record for overharvesting. It is not endangered, yet.
Yes, I thought we joked about that when you decked your trailer.
Why would you not find a local sawmill ?
I did. That is where the $840 quote came from. I am waiting to hear from another local saw mill as well. But, just because it is local, doesn't make it a wise idea. Let's see what the other price come in at.
Was that 2 hot babes, running an edger in bare feet? Not sure I’m impressed or infatuated?
Sounds about right price to me for sawmill white oak. But I haven't bought any in a while. I've got to get some to replace some boards in my lowboy. When you say 2" thick, is that a true 2" , or like dimensional lumber and 1 5/8" ?
Support your local economy and pay the $840
I agree, sounds expensive for fresh boards. Maybe compare with a few local suppliers or even check Facebook Marketplace for rough-cut oak.
Well, I got a quote for Kiln dried Apitong for only a hundred more, but the shipping is terrible. It is almost as much as the wood. They are trying to work on that to see if we can close this.
If my math is correct you need ~225 bf to deck a 7' wide x 16' long trailer. Around here white oak fresh off the saw mill is going for around $2/bd ft, some as cheap as $1.75/bd ft for trailer decking. That said, white oak is abundant around here, prices may be higher in your area. Instead of talking to the larger mills look on marketplace or craigslist for someone close to you with a portable sawmill. Often they have a some logs on hand and can mill up a small order like that fairly quickly. The large mills are probably going to be more expensive because a) they don't want to make a small order and/or b) they generally sell wholesale and don't want to deal with the public.
That may be the way to go. My too current options are not that attractive. It is either $1500 delivered for the apitong or $840 for wet white oak.
If you go the oak route I highly suggest getting a couple of gallons of linseed oil and when you have the deck installed soak it liberally several times before the 1st piece of iron goes on it. Best if you can soak it and let it sit in the sun for a few days. Linseed oil does wonder on raw oak decking to increase it's lifespan.
To make it last longer, make sure you stack for cup and use linseed oil on the bottoms first. Good heavy coat.
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?
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.
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.