What would you use to replace this utility trailer deck?

[ebinmaine 63,073]

I have a 5 foot by 8 foot single axle utility trailer.

Brand and age is unknown but I would say 30 years or more is not out of the question.

The original 5 quarter by 6 pressure treated deck was partially rotted and simply covered over with 1 inch thick OSB maybe 4 or 5 Years Ago by a PO.

That, too, is now past its useful life.

I need to make this trailer as light as possible and replace all of that wood.

 

The usage of this trailer is dump runs maybe once a month and tractor hauling maybe twice a year and occasional mulch or dirt or stone.

 

Here is my quandary.

I don't know what kind of material to use because the pressure-treated boards available nowadays are well known for eating Steel. That's what the trailer is made of.

I'm thinking I might be better off just using a couple of sheets of advantech house flooring.

 

 

Any thoughts?

 

[SPINJIM 1,978]

My steel trailer has 3/4" marine plywood.   It's about 12 years old, and the deck should still have another few years in it.

    Jim

[Achto 26,538]

31 minutes ago, SPINJIM said:

My steel trailer has 3/4" marine plywood.   It's about 12 years old, and the deck should still have another few years in it.

 

Marine plywood would be excellent, only down side is that it is around $90 per sheet in my area & you would need two of them. I would go with the 5 quarter X 6 deck boards again. Maybe clean up your metal support rails & spray them with Flex Seal or a good under coat before laying the boards down on them.

I usually treat the deck boards on my trailer with a sealer every other year. They are about 6yrs old & have rarely been under a roof. They seem to be holding up well.

[Racinbob 10,276]

It's not cheap but I like the idea of the composite decking. Stable and no rot. 

[JoeM 7,620]

If your spending that kind of money, 11ga steel. I think you can order an 5 x 8 one piece.

2 cents!

[ebinmaine 63,073]

I like the idea of going with plate steel but I really don't have any good way to purchase it around here that I'm aware of.

 

I asked a guy I know at the LumberYard I normally deal with and he actually suggested Cedar instead of pressure-treated. They've been selling more and more and more of it. Naturally rot-resistant and the bugs in the Northeast here don't like to eat it. Only thing is it would be nearly 40% higher than the price of pressure-treated.

 

Then I asked him about the composite decking and he piped right up - yeah! He said they actually have a pile that is damaged for about $4 per board. That might actually be the way I end up going...

[953 nut 51,624]

8 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

have a pile that is damaged for about $4 per board.

              If they have enough you are in like Flinn!             

          I covered a flat trailer with 3/4" pressure treated plywood over twenty years back and it is still good.

[rjg854 10,720]

I used 3/4"  pressure treated plywood on my trailer 5 or 6 years ago and seal it with Thompsons every year. It is always sitting out in all kinds of weather and is holding up well. I haul stone for the driveway and move equipment. My trailer is made with galvanized steel, I can't say if that makes a difference or not but the metal looks fine. 

[Marv 845]

if you use the composite be sure the supports for the boards are relativity close together. This material does not have a lot of anti flex. Tractors can be a bit heavy.

Marv

[EricF 589]

I bought a rolling frame from Tractor Supply about 10 years ago -- just a frame with axle, wheels, lights -- no deck, and built my own stake sides. The deck is a sheet of pressure treated plywood. Before I attached it, I painted both sides with some non-skid stair paint I found at Lowes. It's held up pretty well against the weather; the underside is still protected, although the top is due for a new coat someday what with the wear from hauling all kinds of stuff. Even with the top worn thin, it still has some roughness to it that helps stuff stay put even in the rain. Wet wood, especially a smooth plywood deck, can be slippery as heck, so the coating makes a difference.

[SylvanLakeWH 24,107]

6 minutes ago, Marv said:

if you use the composite be sure the supports for the boards are relativity close together. This material does not have a lot of anti flex. Tractors can be a bit heavy.

Marv

 

 

I have some left-over Trex deck board that I was looking at for the same thing. No way it would work due to the flexibility and lack of strength given my 5 x 8 trailer's support frame spacing. It would not hold a tractor... I will be using the trex to create side boards though...

 

[WHX?? 46,725]

They don't exactly give that stuff away Sylvan. .. good repurpose 

[WVHillbilly520H 10,369]

I vote for the 5/4" treated, try to find the driest ones you can, when I redone the deck on our home I bought extras and let them "dry" out over the summer before I got around to installing them over the expanded metal floor (which is not a heavy enough floor) on my TSC special, I left extra spacing between my boards so water/snow will drain faster(a tarp could be put down for mulch hauling) as well as added 8 "D" rings for extra tie down points, Jeff.

[Jerry77 1,218]

2 hours ago, rjg854 said:

and seal it with Thompsons every year.

The problem with that is :  the gov got into it and the new stuff is junk - water based instead of oil base like the original.. I have used the new stuff  and won't buy anymore....if the gov touches it it is a goner...........epa??....

[roadapples 6,981]

I used 5/4 on mine. Need to go back and coat the under side to keep the wood borer bees out...

[MoreyToo 68]

I went to a local sawmill and had him cut White Oak planks for my trailer. They are heavier and harder than treated pine boards but are very resistant to water, abrasion, rot and insects. I treated mine with used motor oil/fuel oil mixture. Most commercial flat bed trailers that have a wood deck are made of white oak.