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substitute for trailer decking?

Started by getoverit, September 07, 2006, 12:28:45 AM

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getoverit

I have a customer who wants to deck out quite a number of trailer decks that haul heavy equipment like bulldozers and excavators. The original decking on his trailers was pressure treated pine, but they didnt last long and rotted out. He replaced it with red oak, but that rotted out almost as soon as it was installed.

We generally dont have much white oak down here in Florida. Is there another substitute for trailer decking that is weather resistant and also capable of handling the abuse of heavy equiment tacks?  Will Hickory or sweetgum hold up good?
I'm a lumberjack and I'm ok, I work all night and sleep all day

4woody


DanG

Hickory/pecan or sweet gum will not hold up to the weather.  They will rot quicker than the red oak.  Live oak would be much better, but not as good as white oak.  Longleaf heart pine is about as good as you can get down in these parts without treating.  Look around for a treat plant in your area.  Many of them will treat wood for you for a pretty reasonable rate.  Some will treat heavier than what you can commonly buy.  You could cut the decking out of quality SYP and have it treated for them.  That would probably be your best bet.

The ironic thing is, those dozers and excavators that are tearing up the decks are probably used to push many tons of good decking materials into burn piles every day.
"I don't feel like an old man.  I feel like a young man who has something wrong with him."  Dick Cavett
"Beat not thy sword into a plowshare, rather beat the sword of thine enemy into a plowshare."

4woody

wood pecon work if you had it preashertreted

pineywoods

Ditto Dang's comments.  My preference is post oak, which I doubt you have available. It's a close relative of white oak, rot resistant and tuff. I've done several trailers this summer. After installing the decking, I park the trailer out in the hot sun for several hours, then soak the wood with a mixture of diesel fuel and used motor oil. Lest I raise the ire of the EPA types, apply just enough to wet the wood, but not enough to run off on the ground. Lets face it, equipment trailers will likely get thoroughly soaked from normal use...
1995 Wood Mizer LT 40, Liquid cooled kawasaki,homebuilt hydraulics. Homebuilt solar dry kiln.  Woodmaster 718 planner, Kubota M4700 with homemade forks and winch, stihl  028, 029, Ms390
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DanG

I'm not sure, 4woody. ???  Pecan is very dense wood, and I sorta doubt if the treating agent would penetrate well enough to make it effective.  If the treatment did work, it would sure be a tough trailer deck. :)
"I don't feel like an old man.  I feel like a young man who has something wrong with him."  Dick Cavett
"Beat not thy sword into a plowshare, rather beat the sword of thine enemy into a plowshare."

4woody

thank you DanG I have alot of it mabe bathroom floor with lenseed oil & two coats poly

Fla._Deadheader


Believe I would go with the Live Oak and drain oil. Swinger is the best way to cut that Live Oak.
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

getoverit

I have plenty of live oak available, but hadnt thought of it as trailer decking :) The only problem is that I dont have logs of it 16' long.... this may or may not be a problem but I'll give it a shot with the suggested oil soaking and see how it does.  Thanks guys!
I'm a lumberjack and I'm ok, I work all night and sleep all day

tcsmpsi

GOI

In line with DanG's comments, most likely the 'pressure treated' pine which was on their trailers, was of poor quality (less expense).  I know the trailers I have seen, when ordered with treated floors, are hardly worth the difference in plain flooring. 

Good  pressure treated syp will be there longer than anything else.  Up until recently, had a pressure treating plant up the road.  Never took any of my own, but I had ordered a bunch over the years special treated.  No comparison to 'over the counter'.   Especially with 'rough cut' material. 
\\\"In the end, it is a moral question as to whether man applies what he has learned or not.\\\" - C. Jung

beenthere

GOI
Keeping in mind that pressure treating pine only works for the sapwood. The heartwood doesn't take a treatment, but has some natural resistance to decay. Live oak is known as quite decay resistant.

I'm curious as to how long the previous deckings have lasted. I'd think years, but not familiar with the longevity of treated pine in Florida (maybe our snow and cold has some advantages  :) ). 

I think tcsmpsi hit on the likely problem. Poor quality wood, and poor treatment. To some, if they can get a color added to the wood, they sell it as treated.
FDH and DanG have my votes too. 
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

jpgreen

-95 Wood-Mizer LT40HD 27 Hp Kawasaki water cooled engine-

getoverit

the pressure treated stuff that came on the trailers they had lasted less than 4 years. It is quite possible that it was inferrior treatment that did the dirty deed on it. The customer is adament about not using pressure treated lumber any more but wants a better solution.

Here in Florida we have high humidity, mud, and long spells of rain. If it isnt raining, the sun is beating down on it and warping it. Decking of any kind doesnt last that long down here and from my experience even the best pressure treated stuff only lasts 10 to 12 years. Creosote fence posts last a little longer, maybe lasting 20 years.

I'm a lumberjack and I'm ok, I work all night and sleep all day

Tom

Steel tracks are death on wood trailer beds.  I've cut Live Oak for low-boys that were used for bulldozers and track hoes.

The owners requested that I cut it 3 inches thick.  They said that it doesn't necessarily last longer than treated pine but it wears better.   It will rot and usuallly from underneath.  It has to be put down green and with strong fasteners.

I didn't do the trailer building, just the log sawing.  :)

DanG

Typical PT SYP is from Loblolly pines with very wide growth rings.  It is the summer wood that absorbs treatment, and the winter wood that does not.  However, the summer wood is very soft and doesn't wear well.  Longleaf, however, grows more slowly and it's growth rings are much closer, making it much more durable.  Also, Longleaf will develop heart wood in a mature tree.  This wood is saturated with sap that has hardened, and is one of the most durable and rot-resistant woods around.  There are fence posts of heart pine on my place that have been in service for 60 years, and they're still solid.  The siding on my mule barn has been unprotected for 60+ years, and is still good.  It hasn't had that many bulldozers driven over it, however. :D :D :D

In the other SYPs, Loblolly, Slash, and Shortleaf, the only discernable difference in sapwood and heartwood is in the juvenile wood in the center.  It is of lesser quality than the rest of the log, but takes treatment well, and is commonly cut into 4x4s for fence posts.

GOI, if I had a customer like that, I'd be looking for some close-grained Longleaf, or at least Slash, and having them treated at .60 or .80 with CCA.  I think you'd have a happy customer. :)

"I don't feel like an old man.  I feel like a young man who has something wrong with him."  Dick Cavett
"Beat not thy sword into a plowshare, rather beat the sword of thine enemy into a plowshare."

Frank_Pender

We do not have all of those species out here on the Left Coast, but I have been marketing quite a bit of Cottonwood for decking and the fellas seem to really like the results.  I know that they appreciate that the grousers can grabe into the material when trying to climb onto the trailers.
Frank Pender

thurlow

I have used lumber from utility poles ever since I've had a mill.  Coupla problems;  you have to have a supply of poles and the creosote is carcinogenic, so some special care must be taken while sawing.  It's somewhat softer than white oak, typically syp or some such.  When I first used it, I assumed it would last indefinitely, but not so.  Floors for cattle trailers and decking for equipment trailers typically last 10-12 years before the first planks begin to go bad.  When that happens, it's often better to refloor the whole thing rather than piece at a time.  I (usually) cut mine 2 1/2 (10/4 ;D) inches thick.
Here's to us and those like us; DanG few of us left!

logwalker

Up here in the NW several hardwood suppliers are stocking green (wet) purple heart just for truck and trailer decks. It sells for about 2.80 and is 2.5 or 3 inches thick. It last for almost as long as the trailer does. Nothing can attack it much. LW
Let's all be careful out there tomorrow. Lt40hd, 22' Kenworth Flatbed rollback dump, MM45B Mitsubishi trackhoe, Clark5000lb Forklift, Kubota L2850 tractor

joelmar10

Osage Orange (bois de arc, hedgewood).  Stable, rot resistant, and hard as nails.
I used to think I could fix DanG near anything...now I know I can...or I think I can...or maybe I can?

DanG

Quote from: joelmar10 on September 07, 2006, 05:51:01 PM
Osage Orange (bois de arc, hedgewood).  Stable, rot resistant, and hard as nails.

Also, not available in Florida. :-\
"I don't feel like an old man.  I feel like a young man who has something wrong with him."  Dick Cavett
"Beat not thy sword into a plowshare, rather beat the sword of thine enemy into a plowshare."

Mooseherder

This is where that north south lumber exchange idea you had would fit.
Up there, we use Tamarac for Trailer Decking.  Best put down Green.

getoverit

I have heard that osage orange is good for this, but as DanG stated, it aint from around these parts. I dont think I have ever even seen this tree or lumber.We don't have purleheart either.

Moosehearder, you are correct in your thoughts... this is a prime example of how a north/south lumber exchange would work out good.
I'm a lumberjack and I'm ok, I work all night and sleep all day

Fla._Deadheader


I can arrange for you to HAVE Purpleheart in Florida  ;) :D :D 8)
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

DanG

Hey Harold!  Fax me a trailer load of it and I'll sell it to Getoverit and he can sell it to his customer and we'll all be happy. 8) 8)
"I don't feel like an old man.  I feel like a young man who has something wrong with him."  Dick Cavett
"Beat not thy sword into a plowshare, rather beat the sword of thine enemy into a plowshare."

getoverit

 :D :D :D :D

OK, here is the funny part:

I did some checking last night on the web and found that Osage Orange wll grow down here in sunny Florida. It is really fast growing according to the info on it and likes just about any type of soil.

I found a company that will ship out trees 3' tall for a reasonable price, and they ship in November. I think I'll order a few trees and see how they do.. who knows, I might have the only Osage Orange plantation in Florida soon :P

I'm a lumberjack and I'm ok, I work all night and sleep all day

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