Covering 8'x16' flat dump bed made out of heavy 2x8's

[Gale Hawkins]

In putting in the acre parking lot and hauling all of that sandy gravel from two miles up the road I want to stop all the cracks so dirt and sand stay off of the twin cylinder hoist and the rest under the bed and make heavy dirt stick less.

Four sheets of 3/4" treated plywood is $36 a sheet. Since at Lowes it is very wet and heavy I was thinking about letting it air dry for a few weeks with 2x4's for spacing and to prevent warping if possible.

Has any one used this for a truck or trailer with an wooden bed? It is shrink after it dried out?

Lowes sign states to use stainless steel or hot dipped fasteners but I have never used stainless steel? I just plan to screw into the current 2x8 decking.

The truck sets out. Thanks

 

[mikehaugen]

I'm not sure I would want to do that, Seems a lot of moisture would get trapped between the two layers of wood and rot them quickly. Is this just temporary for this project or are you going to leave it like that forever?

 

[oosik]

View attachment 384469View attachment 384468

Two years ago I built a 8x12 farm wagon with a 5/4 exterior T&G plywood deck. The plywood I got at Lowes was bone dry so I've had no shrinkage problems. I would let the plywood dry, in the shade, so it - hopefully - dries slowly. The minuet it starts to show warpage, screw it down. I just used standard 3" trumpet head wood screws. I painted the deck with roofing goop and it took about two weeks to dry. I've had no problems with shrinkage, of course. We are somewhat less than bone dry here so I've never worried about rot and the wagon has been out in the weather since day one. If the treated plywood you have is exterior - then unless the truck sits in the rain all the time - the contact surfaces between the 2x8 deck and the plywood will dry long before you have to worry about rot.

I've got another photo of the wagon that's bustin my chops trying to downsize and upload. I'll keep at it and get on this thread soon. What a real PITA the second photo became - persistence prevailed

 

[Gale Hawkins]

oosik that is one nice job on that wagon.

Mike I thought about that but the plywood should help keep the old flooring dry and I could hit the old deep with Tompson Water sealer again. The dump has 2.5' pipe stands built in that can be flipped up to keep the bed a enough angle to drain in a rain.

I am leaning towards putting them end to end on each side so there is only one cross seam when dumping. On the other hand if I put them on cross ways when the rear edge gets messed up I would just have to replace one piece.

Going with 1/2" would be another thought but at Lowes it looked like it warped worse and the cost difference is less than $40 on the job. Since the bed inside the sideboards is less than 8' we will have to cut each piece or just notch out of the stand holes and let the sides set on the plywood decking.

OK. I think I will notch out for the standards. They are steel for the 2' sides and when dumping the standards will help prevent them from wanting to slide off so the screws would just be holding it in place.

 

[hslogger]

Just use the doggone wood bed and hose the rig down good when you are done. You can go nuts trying to keep everything tidy clean. Gravel aint gonna hurt anything .

 

[bigtiller]

A couple tubes of silicone to fill the gaps with should hold up pretty well after it cures for a few hours.

 

[Bengineer]

... Lowes sign states to use stainless steel or hot dipped fasteners but I have never used stainless steel? I just plan to screw into the current 2x8 decking...

Some of the newer preservative treatments are much more corrosive than chromated copper arsenate. First google that I looked at: Simpson strong-tie FAQ.

I'm in the hose-er down when you're done camp as well. Boards will let the water run off and be tougher than plywood.

 

[roadhunter]

I used great stuff to fill gaps between timbers on a barge we used to haul some dirt. Seemed to work pretty well. Or just throw something like and old piece of carpet down and put a few nails to hold it down.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

In the process of getting on end on grade and widening the drive some may take about 50 loads of dirt and maybe a 100 loads of gravel to do one acre 8" deep so I need something slick if possible. I do not like the sand on the two three stage cylinders. Most likely I will get the dirt work done and one 4' size 30' long sewer in this year and get started with the gravel for maybe 20 cars along the ditch bank.

I need it prepped so I can see what I need to do to make sure it drains well. One end is low because years ago someone pushed up a levee along the creek which I will take back to the low area because it the highway culvert got stopped up I would want the water to take to the parking lot vs the side where the church is located . One end is shaping up to be a good building site and not swampy like a lot of the area.

I will try to get some photos. It has taken about a month most evenings and all day on Saturdays. Working on it on Sunday would not be cool.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

http://www.menards.com/main/building-materials/panel-products/construction-panels/concrete-forming/3-4-x-4-x-8-greencore-plyform-concrete-forming-plywood/p-1501365-c-13341.htm

The treated at Lowes did not have even one smooth side so I checked with a lumber yard in town and decided to go with 3/4" plyform that has sealed edges and is water proof and it is not soaking wet and needs drying. The price is about the same too.