Metal Screws For Holding Wood Planks To Frame.....

[dstig1]

Home Depot/Menards/Etc have them. Just tell them what you want to do, and they will point you. Many of them are Torx drive, so make sure you know what you have, and get the drivers if needed.

 

[Diamondpilot]

How about a link to these screws or brand & part number?

I get them at Lowes. I will see if I can find a link.

Chris

 

[crazyal]

If the deck is made out of pressure treated wood then you will want to use stainless steel fasteners. In the past arsenic was used as part of the wood preservative but has been phased out. The new formulas rely more on copper that will eat steel. There are some coated screws sold at lumber yards but they just don't last because they assume that the coating will not come off. Stainless and galvanized are the two options that work. However since you're going to be screwing into steel the galvanized coating will be stripped from the threads allowing the decking preservative to attack the steel. Stainless is more work as you will need to either tap the crossmembers or use nuts underneath. Otherwise you'll get about 5 years before the fasteners will start to fail.

 

[BHD]

I use the trailer floor screw, drill the hole and run in the self tapping screw, (if the metal is thick some times one needs to drill a little larger,
Amazon.com: floor screws trailer

 

[EddieWalker]

When I redid the decking on my trailer, half of the screws where broke off when trying to get them out. I hate screws for trailer decking, so I used galvanized 3/8's cairrage bolts instead

Eddie

 

[Soundguy]

If the deck is made out of pressure treated wood then you will want to use stainless steel fasteners. In the past arsenic was used as part of the wood preservative but has been phased out. The new formulas rely more on copper that will eat steel. There are some coated screws sold at lumber yards but they just don't last because they assume that the coating will not come off. Stainless and galvanized are the two options that work. However since you're going to be screwing into steel the galvanized coating will be stripped from the threads allowing the decking preservative to attack the steel. Stainless is more work as you will need to either tap the crossmembers or use nuts underneath. Otherwise you'll get about 5 years before the fasteners will start to fail.

but you are talking about a 52 pickup.

remember..the trailer frame ain't galvanized or stainless... so any damage fromt he wood will possibly be on the frame too.

If I were using small deck screws to put on a porch on my house, a little corrosion is an issue. putting a 5/16 into a trailer web.. not so much.

PS.. there are lots of special bolt coatings available now that make them very very corrosion resistant... look at the gold colored ones.. etc. IE.. zinc chromate..

 

[roadhunter]

Typical semi trailer and straight truck flooring is fastened with what are referred to as "Floor Screws".
They are either 1/4" or 5/16" with a countersinking head with a Torq 30 or 40 drive hole. They are VERY HARD!
For the 1/4" you drill a 7/32" hole and they self tap.
For the 5/16" you drill a 9/32" hole and they self tap.
A good bolt supplier should know what you are looking for.
I have replaced many dozens of semi trailer floors, I would start with a 50 lb box of screws! Sometimes needing more.
I even have a CP Drill that I fabricated a long handle to it so I could stand up and drill the holes.
If the old screws are too rusted to back out easily you just break them off and try not to hit the old screws with the new.
I spent 30 years working on Semi trailers, supervised 3 shops in two states!

This ^^^. Clearly this poster has experience with these.

I used them for boat docks. They work great for attaching lumber to steel and are much better, easier to use, and less expensive than self tappers. All you need is a drill with some oil or grease to dip the bit in and a small impact with a torx bit and you are ready to go. I usually drill through the wood until I hit steel. Then dip the bit in some oil or grease and drill it out. I've noticed if you reduce pressure at the end of the hole as it breaks through the steel the bit is less likely to bind or break.

Most of the torx head floor bolts have a black finish but you can get them with a galvanized like coating that is gray as well.

 

[crazyal]

You can do as you wish. But I'm making plenty of money on the side from people who had newer decks installed only to find they didn't last. A lot of people jumped on the ceramic coated deck screws only to find that they don't last. The part of the screw that is surrounded by the pressure treated wood stays wet. It eventually eats away at the screw narrowing down the diameter to the point where it no longer has any strength. If it was me, for the small extra cost, I would use stainless and avoid having to do it over again in a few years.

As for a 52 pickup, where did that come from. I thought we were talking about a new trailer that had a few of the decking screws fail (probably over tightened). As long as the MFG painted the trailer correctly the steel frame should be protected from the wood. The size of the screw also matters. If you are talking 5/16 you are not talking a self drilling, threading screw. I'm talking about #8/ #10 decking screws. Of course if the wood is white oak then none of this matters.

 

[Eric_Phillips]

e-trailer has ACQ rated screws. I am needing to replace the decking on a manure spreader and was wondering if these would actually self tap into angle iron not just sheet metal?

2-1/4" Long Torx Trailer Floor and Wall Liner Screw for ACQ Treated Wood Redline Accessories and Parts TFX225ACQ

 

[Utopia Texas]

e-trailer has ACQ rated screws. I am needing to replace the decking on a manure spreader and was wondering if these would actually self tap into angle iron not just sheet metal?

2-1/4" Long Torx Trailer Floor and Wall Liner Screw for ACQ Treated Wood Redline Accessories and Parts TFX225ACQ

Those screws look to be the common trailer deck screws and they are NOT self drilling. If you look at the reviews on that page people refer to the drill sizes they used to pre-drill the holes.