Help on Upgrading a Trailer

[yooperdave]

I bought a 6.5' x 16' trailer which has a wood deck.

Everything but the wood deck seems to be in good shape.

The wood boards are rotting and/or rotten so I thought I would go and put on a new wood deck /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif. The problem is that I do not see how the deck was installed. It appears that all the boards were placed next to each other, AND THEN a steel plate was welded over the top at the front end. This is great until a board(s) need to be replaced.

Am I missing something here, or do I have to burn off the old welds just to get my new deck boards in, and then weld the plate back over the top?

Is this a standard or typical detail? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

I hope the new boards last for many years. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Thanks for any help.

Yooper Dave

 

[bgott]

"Am I missing something here, or do I have to burn off the old welds just to get my new deck boards in, and then weld the plate back over the top?"

Yes.

Look and see if the back of the boards aren't held by a welded on piece of angle iron. This usually has easier welds to grind or burn off. Once you cut off the angle you change the boards and weld it back on.

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

So you're looking to upgrade from a wood deck to a wood deck? /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Did you ever give any thought to going with a steel diamond plate floor? It would be more of a true 'upgrade' and shouldn't be that big of a project if you're going to be grinding and welding steel, anyhow. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Robert_in_NY]

In his area I would take Wood over steel any day. Winters are terrible and steel decks are extremly slippery. Wood is not as bad and if taken care of the wood deck shold last a long time.

 

[yooperdave]

What do you think of the pvc - wood fiber hybrid decking products?

It looks like wood, but should not rot or weather check.

It is pretty pricy and I do not yet know what kind of loads it can support.

Any other ideas?

Thanks

Yooper Dave

 

[cowboydoc]

I wouldn't use the wood fiber. Not alot of load strength and I'm sure not impressed with the decks I've seen made with it.

Premium grade green treated lumbar should last you a long time. The problem with that deck is that they probably didn't use green treat or used low quality.

As far as the replacement do you have a pic of it? There are a couple ways those were put on.

 

[Bird]

Dave, I agree with Cowboydoc. I checked into using that wood fiber for decking and was told by the lumber yard selling it that it required more floor joists than wood; just not as strong (and of course this is just what I was told by the seller; no personal experience).

As for removing and installing new boards on the trailer, you may need to burn or grind off welds, but there's also another possibility. How wide is that angle iron under which each end of the boards go? Try removing all the bolts first and then see if the angle iron isn't wide enough that you can slide a board all the way forward (or backward) and then lift the other end out. To put new boards in, you simply reverse the process; slide a board all the way forward, cut it to barely fit down, then slide it back half the distance of the width of the angle iron and put the bolts through the other cross members.

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

Robert,

I certainly agree with you on the traction factor of wood over steel but I find that once you introduce ice, snow or slush into the mix whatever surface you have can be dangerous.

I've gotten to the point where I hardly have a reason to be on my deck anyhow. If I'm going to be hauling my tractor I just drive it around to the rear, tilt the trailer deck and let the Warn winch do the "loading" work for me.

 

[Von]

Dave, If you want a tight floor and you are using pressure treated wood, once you get your wood wait at least a 3-4 weeks for it to dry out and shrink. I didn't and put my floor down as tight as it could go. Now I have gaps as big as 1/2" between the boards! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif I didn't think it would shrink that much. Makes it hard to haul sand with those gaps! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[yooperdave]

The existing boards were perfectly fit and wedged between continuous steel plates front and back. There are no other connections between the wood and the steel.

There is not one bolt on this trailer. Everything is welded.

The old boards did not need much coaxing to get them off of the trailer - just a big hammer and a attitude /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif The rot helped in the removal. I just figured that when constructing, SOME CONSIDERATION should have been given to easily replace some boards at a future date.

I noticed that Menards has pressure treated lumber on sale.
The inside dimension is 81.5" - I guess I need to rip a board or get creative for a nice fit.

The cross angles vary in spacing from 24" to 36" o.c. The widest spacing is adjacent to the tandem axles /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

The old wood deck seemed to be ok even when rotted. A new wood deck should hopefully do even better.

Thanks for all the help.

Yooper Dave

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Afternoon Dave,

I've noticed two different techniques for securing two by decking to trailers like the one you're describing. One of course is the angle iron at the back as has been described by another poster.

The other and probably the one you're facing is a flat bar, usually three sixteenths or a quarter by one and a half inch at the front. This method allows you to remove the bar by breaking the welds and then lift out the boards.

If it's done like most of them are you'll notice the welds are spotted across the front of the trailer and not welded at the ends. This allows the retainer bar to be removed very easily.

Keep in mind your average weld is strong in one to three directions but weak in at least one line of pull. We call taking advantage of that trait "breaking the back of the weld."

The retainer bar is strong going down and sideways. It's also strong in shear. But it's weak if you pull it up. So chances are you don't need to cut the welds or even grind on them. Use a breaker bar or wrecking bar and force the retainer bar up. When it's as high as you can get it with the bar get out a two pound hammer and bring the bar to vertical. A push back down to horizontal should free it. Of course this won't work if the ends are welded to the sides along with the front.

If you can't easily weld it back in place after you get the new wood in consider using some bolts. I would double nut them and not try to bind down the boards, just retain them. Retaining them allows them to shrink and expand at their own rate which is quite different from the rate of the steel.

I don't like pine two bys for trailer or truck bed flooring. Treated is not any better in my experience. As I understand it the treated is for bugs and exposure to the stuff in the soil. It doesn't do squat for extending the life of wood beyond that.

I might be wrong, have been before, will be again.

Check with your circle of friends and acquaintenances. One of them surely knows a place to get oak timbers from a mill. It is worth the investment.

While you have the trailer neked go over the welds. What you're looking for is cracks. You can see them by the rust line when you brush the area clean. Welds screw up the metallurgy of the steel. It never takes vibration the same again. Your trailer is one vibrating son of a gun whose mother was a pistol. It's much better to find a bad place now than going down the road with a load of your wife's finest in tow and have a failure.

 

[yooperdave]

Hi Harv,

The fabricator of my trailer used the retainer plate in the front as you have described, but also decided to weld a couple of inches at each end /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

I just bought a few abrasive discs to put on my 4.5" hand grinder for next weekend.

I am also going to investigate some 3/4" galvanized steel grating. I am going to get some price information for 2 pieces - 40.75" x 16'-0". I have some peeps in the steel fab industry. Let's see how much this will cost.

Yooper Dave

 

[Inspector507]

Just a thought........will the new boards flex enough in the middle to slip the ends in.......?? Stick one end in and bow the board in the middle and slip the other end in maybe.

Jerry

 

[bgott]

Having to rip a board isn't such a bad deal. Stick the ripped board in the center, that way when you load the tractor you can line up the center of the hood with the odd board and drive on up without worrying about getting off to the side. My TN 65 has a little chrome piece in the center of the hood and I think that this is why they put it there. I used to drive the tilt bed lowboy when I worked at an IH dealer when I was a kid. When you had to load a swather or a combine or an 875 Versitile that was the only way to load it. The trailer would disappear when you were 20' away so it was line it up on the center line and cross your fingers.

 

[Hambone]

I purchased my lumber from a local saw mill, was not treated but I sprayed when I got it home. It is six years old and still looks good. The rough cut lumber also gave some traction because it wasn't so smooth.
Also might not have to rip a board as rough cut is dimensional lumber.

 

[yooperdave]

Hi Steve,

I figure if I put 4- 2x10's on either side of a 2x8, I should end up with 81.25" which is only .25" less than the frame width /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif. The .25" will be dispersed throughout the width of the trailer.

The 2x8 will be centered, and should give a good guide for loading.

The back slot is also about 1.5" high, so I need to have a material 1.5" thick or less, or dap the ends of all the members or grind off all the welds at the back of the trailer also /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif.

I also bought some wire sanding discs so I can take off any surface rust, and repaint as required.

Yooper Dave

 

[Hambone]

I would stick with a thicker board and fix the ends or the holddowns at the end of the trailer.
Don't want sagging boards in the middle!

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

Look at the ends of your boards when you're building your deck. Make sure you put them in with the arc of the grain marks on the end with the high point in the middle like a frown, not like a smile. As your boards age and dry, you'll have them raised slightly in the middle instead of lower in the middle for drainage purposes.

I hope my explanation makes sense. It's a lot easier to show than to tell, I'm afraid. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif