Trailer Flooring Question(s)

[GAGoober]

I have two equipment trailers that need new flooring. Gonna do the smaller one first. I know oak is the best way to go but I don't know which is the best, white or red. So does anyone out there have any experience in this ? I can get either one but I want the one that will gives me the best bang for my buck.

Also, does any one have any suggestions on how to treat the wood before or after installation or what type of fastners work best. I had planned on using carriage bolts.

Thanks

Goober

[Barnyard]

White oak is just slightly harder than red but not much to matter for your floor. Is this going to be rough cut with no paint? If no paint, I would just treat it with Thompson's water seal or something equal. I would use carriage bolts.

[Eugene]

I replace the flooring/deck of my 18 foot tandem axled trailer with pressure treated pine. Cheaper than oak.

The small 2 wheeled trailer, I covered the floor with old oak boards found in the hog barn. I brushed on waste engine oil on the decking.

[GAGoober]

Yep, I'm sure that the plywood is cheaper. I carry my bobcat on it so for me I'm looking at the rough sawn timber. My price so far for white oak is $462.00. The trailer is 18 feet long. Not sure how wide but it is a standard wideth. It has pine on it now and its so far gone that I'm afraid to walk on it.

Thanks for the responses.

Goober

[ricky racer]

I suggest using galvanized carriage bolts when you bolt the boards down.

[Secesh]

White Oak has a waterproof grain structure, it will deteriorate in the weather, but does so from the outside in. Whiskey barrels were made from white oak. Red Oak is naturally porous and will season much faster and soak up paint or preservatives. However, if left exposed to the elements it rots through and through.
The places where the most deterioration will occur will be those that dry out slowest, such as where boards are fastened to one another or to a frame member.
A white oak hay wagon floor, untreated, will hold up well for many years provided the lumber was sound to begin with. We easily get a decade out of one.

[Denny Clayton]

Yep, I'm sure that the plywood is cheaper. I carry my bobcat on it so for me I'm looking at the rough sawn timber. My price so far for white oak is $462.00. The trailer is 18 feet long. Not sure how wide but it is a standard wideth. It has pine on it now and its so far gone that I'm afraid to walk on it.

Thanks for the responses.

Goober

Who said anything about plywood? I don't think anyone would recommend that for an equipment trailer.

[BIGHOSS]

Here in TN oak is pretty easy to get at a fairly good price. That being said, I still prefer 2X treated pine. The wider the plank the better. I try to get the width that matches the width of my trailer.

Galvanized carriage bolts are the way to go. Drill the hole through wood and steel, drive in bolt to lock in head and reach under and install the nut. You only have to get under the trailer to fasten the last board. I have tried the countersunk head bolts that are self drilling. Too expensive and too hard to install, because you still have to drill through the steel before driving the "self drilling self tapping" bolts.

[Barnyard]

Yep, I'm sure that the plywood is cheaper. I carry my bobcat on it so for me I'm looking at the rough sawn timber. My price so far for white oak is $462.00. The trailer is 18 feet long. Not sure how wide but it is a standard wideth. It has pine on it now and its so far gone that I'm afraid to walk on it.

Thanks for the responses.

Goober

Who said anything about plywood? I don't think anyone would recommend that for an equipment trailer.

Made me wonder too.

[Eugene]

Flooring on my 18 foot trailer is held in place with channel at the front and rear of the trailer.

Old flooring removal was simple, saws all.

To install new flooring I cut the lip of the rear channel, about 1 1/2 of the floor boards width. Bent the top of the lip back. Installed the decking, then beat the lip back in place.

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

Don't forget, the new lumber, even though it is supposedly cured will still be pretty green, and will shrink with time. In about 1 or 2 years time you will have room for another 3 inch plank, but the existing boards will be crooked unless you keep putting in spacers to keep them straight as they cure.

[GAGoober]

Well apparently I can't read and am duly embarrased about the plywood comment. I completely goofed here after reading the recommendation about using pine for the floor. Not much gets by here on this forum.

Ga"GAG-Choke"Goober

[Bus Driver]

My second to the white oak comments. White oak has more rot resistance than most untreated pine. Red oak rots faster than does most pine. So the difference is rather dramatic. Surface treatments for preserving wood are not very effective-- but are a little better than nothing. Now absolutely unavailable to do-it-yourselfers is pentachlorophenol which was probably the best brush-on type available.

[clintmo]

Great thread! I'm about to tackle this project myself. I love this forum.

Clint

[AllanD]

White oak is the best option but could be quite expensive. Oak boards are surprisingly strong. Where I usually buy my hardwoods sell 8/4 kiln dried white oak for $4.90 a board foot so a two by six would run you about five dollars a foot. You might find a local sawyer that could sell you some air dried white oak cheaper. There are several companies that make portable sawmills and can provide you contact info on a sawmill owner in your area. One such is Woodmizer:
http://woodmizer.com/us/Services/Find-a-Local-Sawyer

If you get green wood the general rule of thumb for air drying is a year per inch of thickness so you would need to stack and sticker it for 2 years then would probably need to correct bowing and crooks to make it fit well. If you tried to put it on the trailer green you would get a lot of shrinkage. On the other hand Lowes has 2 by 6 pressure treated pine for $11 for a whole 16 ft. board. It will shrink some too when it dries.