metal deck vs. wood deck

[lizardman]

I am looking at a new trailer, and have reached a dilemma over the deck material.

All the trailers I have had in the past were all metal floored, either diamond tread or flat sheet.

To buy a new trailer, the metal decking is a pricy upgrade.

It seems that steel would be a preferable deck on a trailer, but I need some input. What are the pros and cons to having either a steel or wood deck?

So far, my thoughts are:
Steel - lasts longer with little maintenance, except for paint. But, the initial outlay of $ is higher.

Wood - Initial cost is cheaper. Has to be finished. Will rot over time and will need to be replaced which could easily be a $2-300 repair.

Any other things to think of?

Thanks,
Rod

 

[powergod1]

Steel decked trailers are heavier, so you can put less of a load on them and still stay within their rated capacity. I like the fact that you can add hooks and tie points to the metal decks a bit easier also

 

[farmboy12]

I like metal decks for pallets or anything you may have to slide, for equipment it's not as good because it can be very slippery when wet or dirty. Also the weight factor. But it is easier to weld or bolt things onto trailers with metal decks. Our wood deck on our trailer that is about 8 years old shows no sign of needing repair or replacement.


Kyle

 

[TheTrailerGuy]

Steel is always the better bet... but with a caveat. Both of the gentlemen who posted before are making good points except for one. A steel deck trailer usually weighs about the same as a wood floor unit, or within 50lbs on a 20' trailer.

I guess the big question is, how long are you going to keep the trailer? If you plan on keeping it for 30 years and doing axle swaps as the running gear wears out, or you know you will be dragging junk on and off the deck day after day for years, then a steel floor unit is the choice, as long as they are gridding the cross members underneath and actually giving you a steel floor that will last.

the drawbacks are that steel can be slick as snot when wet, while even wet, wood has some traction that can't be replaced at times. A #1 grade ACQ treated wood floor should last 15 years with NO maintenance or upkeep and a good 20 years with some care and treatment.

The other thing i would argue is the ease of mounting to a steel floor compared to wood. Yes... you can weld things to a steel floor easily enough, but a wood floor is an excellent place to drill and mount all sorts of things. Another neat thing about wood is that you can temporarily nail down tire stops or literally screw things down for transport... steel is a no go on that point.

Going rate right now to put a steel floor on anything we offer is only $35 per running foot of trailer and that buys you not only a .100 diamond plate floor, all welded from underneath, but it also buys you gridded crossmembers, which means that we still lay cross members in as if a wood floor was going in and then we place and weld in four different 3" 4.1lb per foot steel 'stringers' lengthwise down the floor.

On an 82" wide deck trailer that is 20 feet long, that gives you another 80 feet of 3" channel spaced under the trailer right where you load will roll on. This gives you only 16 inch spacing between stringers and really adds a lot of torsional rigidity to the unit.

Then we lay on the steel diamond plate and weld everything from underneath. It gives it the appearance that the sheets are just laying on the floor and also eliminates any weld beads to clean around. 20' trailer would only add $700 to the cost of the trailer and definitely makes it commercial grade ready.

In fact, i just got a new 20' steel floor tilt out of the plant for a customer coming in from New Jersey. I will photo some shots of it tomorrow from above and underneath to give you a better idea.

so.. ask yourself. do i haul a lot of sharp and nasty things? do it want to have to throw extra chains and straps on when i tow to keep things from moving around on a steel floor? Am i going to keep this trailer for 30 years?

It's your call. You just have to make the decision for yourself and your situation.

 

[lizardman]

Well, forgive me for being unknowing, but how much weight difference are we talking about?

With a 6.5'x16' trailer, you would have @10 2"x8"x16' boards. For the average joe that has never swung lumber that size, that is a heavy piece of wood. So, the wood alone would weigh at least a several hundred pounds. Not to mention the fasteners needed to secure it.

Do you really mean to say that the same coverage are of diamond plate steel is THAT much heavier?? I mean its only about 1/16-1/18" thick.

As a side note, I know little of the weight and density of metals, so forgive my ignorance.

In any case, can someone give me a difference in weight by square foot or some other measure?

Thanks,
Rod

ETA: I see the post above

 

[TheTrailerGuy]

Well, forgive me for being unknowing, but how much weight difference are we talking about?

With a 6.5'x16' trailer, you would have @10 2"x8"x16' boards. For the average joe that has never swung lumber that size, that is a heavy piece of wood. So, the wood alone would weigh at least a several hundred pounds. Not to mention the fasteners needed to secure it.

Do you really mean to say that the same coverage are of diamond plate steel is THAT much heavier?? I mean its only about 1/16-1/18" thick.

As a side note, I know little of the weight and density of metals, so forgive my ignorance.

In any case, can someone give me a difference in weight by square foot or some other measure?

Thanks,
Rod

ETA: I see the post above

I just found that out from doing this for 20 some years. We build 'em, we weigh 'em... the facts come out.... i thought like you did until I actually saw scale numbers years ago.

It is a journey of enlightenment... always.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I do not like steel. It gets really slick quick. Wood is cheap to replace, ect.

Chris

 

[slowzuki]

Like they have said it depends what you haul. Oily leaking scrap yard motors also make a steel deck deadly slippery.

I have a 2.5" tamarack/hemlock deck on one of my trailers and it weighs much more than steel, about 1/3 of that trailers weight is the deck.

 

[TheTrailerGuy]

Here's a few photos of a 20' M/T tilt we just finished for a gentleman in New Jersey. traded the headache rack for four stake pockets, opted up to the 9,990lb GVWR, bumped up to the LED lighting, removable fenders and a steel floor option. Sell them every day equipped just like this for $4074

One note to put in here... this is the first of the new models with angle lengthwise stringers instead of channel. Same capacity and less weight.

It broke down like this...
20' M/T tilt in standard 7,000lb capacity with treated wood floor $2,499
9,990lb GVWR package, frame, crossmembers, wheels, tires, nicer jack $650
20' steel floor upgrade $700
LED light upgrade $100
Removable fenders, pair $125
$4,074 total price out the door.

I like steel floors... but they CAN be slick.

Purely for reference.. not trying spam here.
Thanks
TheTrailerGuy
Stateline Trailers

 

[Newblue]

Trailer pron, I like it