New decking on my trailer

[dieselcrawler]

Removed rotten decking from my trailer about a week ago... original boards, about 10 years old. Seemed to be oak.






Finished product... PT 2x12's I've had stored for about 3 or 4 years, ironicly, longer than I've had the trailer.

No pictures while in progress... sanded the hidden/covered crossmembers and primed and painted before decking install.

 

[dieselcrawler]

Noticed a crack in the frame/tounge once I got decking off...




Welded crack both top and bottom, then added gusset plate. Also added spare tire carrier while I had the welder out.

 

[mikehaugen]

looks good! only 10 years from oak boards? That seems premature, but i guess i wouldn't know. Did you go ahead and add the reinforcement to the other side as well?

 

[Knight9]

Greg,

Were you able to drop in the boards or did you have to do the whole "bend the middle up" to fit the ends in?

 

[dieselcrawler]

I did gusset both sides of the frame. The other side was starting to crack as well.

Here is the spare tire



Tire holder... one on each side. Hindsight... wish they didn't hang so low, I can foresee them dragging while crossing creeks in and outta hay fields.




All the boards I had were 8' and only the dovetail boards are captive on one end.

 

[terryknight]

looks good greg

 

[dieselcrawler]

Thanks Terry...

Now that the deck is so nice I hope I can paint the parts you can see... really starting to look sad.

 

[JKR]

Nice. I like the two spare tire holders

 

[5030]

I believe I would have sandblasted the frame when the deck was off and repainted it. I bet you have issues with rusting underneath where the suspension mouts to the frame. I did. I flipped mine over on it's side and blasted it and I had to do sone fish plating and welding on the underside where the suspension mounts to the frame rails from water/salt corrosion.

Whatever you do, never use that bed liner stuff on a frame. Looks nice but if you ever have to weld anything it becomes a PITA to remove and it must be removed to weld.

Trailer renovation is always a job. Looks good. I prefer green white oak over PT. If you allow the green oak to dry and then seal it, it will last for decades. I had our Talbert 48 foot single drop redecked with PT and I'm sorry I did. I should have used oak or apitong. The PT is not strong enough to resist puncture even with crossmembers on 12" centers. I have to be real careful where I set machinety and how I crib it.....

 

[dieselcrawler]

I completely agree with oak being better... but having the stack of PT, being short on time and funds... I was only able to do what I did. It will last a few years, and handle the hay and equipment I haul well enough. I will be stockpiling oak or other suitable lumber as I fell and mill logs from my property in the future.

I do need to check the axle mounts more closely, but overall, aside from the crack I found, the trailer seems very sound structurally. Much easier to inspect while deck-less! And I gave it a good look from end to end.