Tractor decking - White Oak vs. Pressure Treated

[HawkinsHollow]

I need a new deck on my trailer. I have a sawmill but do not have any white oak logs long enough to serve the purpose. BUT, if white oak is going to be that much better than pressure treated wood I will find one.
So my question is: What is better white oak deck boards with the oil/diesel treatment or pressure treated 2x6s? If white oak is the answer, is it THAT MUCH better to go through the trouble of sourcing a white oak log to mill the boards out of? This trailer will primarily be used for moving logs and my trailer. The log loading process will probably not be very kind to the trailer decking.

The old timer that I usually ask about such things seems to think that white oak will be substantially superior to pressure treated. What says ye?

 

[2manyrocks]

White oak will be stronger than PT pine of the same dimension. White oak (but not red oak) has the reputation of being decay resistant. If needed, a sawmill can also saw it thicker for you than what you'd find at a box store, but you might have to do some trailer modifications to install it.

Not implying you can't saw it yourself, but some guys do this enough and have sourced white oak that it might be less hassle for you to buy the material from them.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

The white oak is going to be MUCH tougher!

PT lumber isn't nearly as strong and you still have to oil it.

SR

 

[HawkinsHollow]

White oak will be stronger than PT pine of the same dimension. White oak (but not red oak) has the reputation of being decay resistant. If needed, a sawmill can also saw it thicker for you than what you'd find at a box store, but you might have to do some trailer modifications to install it.

Not implying you can't saw it yourself, but some guys do this enough that it might be less hassle for you to buy the material from them.

That would negate the purpose of buying a sawmill. But yeah I hear you. Seems like 2x6 white oak trailer decking could be a bit on the costly side too.

 

[Rustyiron]

I need a new deck on my trailer. I have a sawmill but do not have any white oak logs long enough to serve the purpose. BUT, if white oak is going to be that much better than pressure treated wood I will find one.
So my question is: What is better white oak deck boards with the oil/diesel treatment or pressure treated 2x6s? If white oak is the answer, is it THAT MUCH better to go through the trouble of sourcing a white oak log to mill the boards out of? This trailer will primarily be used for moving logs and my trailer. The log loading process will probably not be very kind to the trailer decking.

The old timer that I usually ask about such things seems to think that white oak will be substantially superior to pressure treated. What says ye?

Do you have any locust growing around you?

 

[nybirdman]

I have a small utility trailer that I rebuilt 50 years ago with pressure treated,out-side the whole time;is STILL good and still use it.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

I have a small utility trailer that I rebuilt 50 years ago with pressure treated,out-side the whole time;is STILL good and still use it.

Yeah, I have a 5x8 trailer that I bought 10 years ago that old PT 2x6 on it. They ain't pretty but they still work fine.
PT boards 50 years ago are alot difent than they are today though.

 

[5030]

I re decked my GN with Apitong which is the wood of choice for every commercial trailer builder. Stuff lasts forever and is impervious to rot and is structurally superior to common pine or oak.

It all depends on how often you want to re deck the unit. Apitong isn't cheap.

 

[2manyrocks]

That would negate the purpose of buying a sawmill. But yeah I hear you. Seems like 2x6 white oak trailer decking could be a bit on the costly side too.

The price was comparable when I bought white oak from the local sawmill maybe 10 years ago because you aren't paying for all the big box store markup.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

You are looking at about $40 for a 2x6x16 White oak deck board on FB marketplace. PT is $17 at home depot.

 

[2manyrocks]

I haven't priced white oak lately. You can look up oak strength vs pine.

Oak is also more dense and heavier. I think it would be more resistant to damage than PT pine, but the disadvantage is your trailer weight will go up a bit.

 

[ponytug]

White oak, hands down. It is tougher, stronger, and more decay resistant, especially if you add some water repellent, or copper naphthenate, to the deck.

Since you have a small trailer, you might price out recycled semitrailer flooring.

I've heard that locust is quite rot resistant, but I no experience with it in trailers.

All the best,

Peter

 

[JeepHead]

Look around for some telephone poles. It makes for great trailer decking. That's what my 20' trailer has and is is solid! Your local telecom or electric utility will give broken ones away for free, many of which are still long enough for a trailer.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Look around for some telephone poles. It makes for great trailer decking. That's what my 20' trailer has and is is solid! Your local telecom or electric utility will give broken ones away for free, many of which are still long enough for a trailer.

That is not a bad idea and a good buddy of mine is a foreman for a lineman crew. 2 problems I see. First, how many 2x6x16 boards are you getting out of a single pole? My guess is not many, gonna take a lot of poles! Also, those seem kind of nasty to mill with all the chemicals and potential metal. Doesn't seem like the juice is worth the squeeze on that one, for me anyways.

 

[workinonit]

Not sure how old you are but I can say that I will likely not be around when a PT trailer deck rots. LOL.

 

[workinonit]

That is not a bad idea and a good buddy of mine is a foreman for a lineman crew. 2 problems I see. First, how many 2x6x16 boards are you getting out of a single pole? My guess is not many, gonna take a lot of poles! Also, those seem kind of nasty to mill with all the chemicals and potential metal. Doesn't seem like the juice is worth the squeeze on that one, for me anyways.

Yea, and buy you a truck load of saw blades. Or a metal detector.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Not sure how old you are but I can say that I will likely not be around when a PT trailer deck rots. LOL.

I'm 50. But yeah, all of the other options seem like considerably more work or more expensive. I think PT 2x6 with the oil treatment is going to serve me just fine. Especially if you keep the bark and leaves cleaned off of it. I am waiting on a buddy to let me know if he has a white oak log I can have. If not I'm probably taking a trip to Home Depot.

 

[dieselscout80]

I bought my trailer new in 2003 and it has some generic pressure treated wood on it and it’s getting close to needing some new deck boards. I treated it once or twice with diesel and ATF mixed and the deck is still solid enough for my TC45. However, my hay guy quit driving his Kubota 7040 on it a couple years ago as the deck was creaking.

That said my best friend has redecked his trailer two times since about 2011. I think the difference is mine is in a sunny spot daily and leaves never build up on it, so the deck dries out.

Bottom line is I will use PT pine again, but may treat it more often.

 

[Portuguese Farmer]

I used to use apitong on my lowbeds the only thing better was aluminum truck frame rails.

 

[mjonesnh]

I'm 50. But yeah, all of the other options seem like considerably more work or more expensive. I think PT 2x6 with the oil treatment is going to serve me just fine. Especially if you keep the bark and leaves cleaned off of it. I am waiting on a buddy to let me know if he has a white oak log I can have. If not I'm probably taking a trip to Home Depot.

When I refloored my trailer I used 2x8x16 PT. Home Depot had those rated for ground contact. These are lasting much better than ones came on trailer.