Help with rebuilding a dump wagon need floor

   / Help with rebuilding a dump wagon need floor #1  

badbowtie

Bronze Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2009
Messages
69
Location
brookville Indiana
Tractor
B7100 gear drive
I just picked up running gear with a dump hoist. I am trying to beable to load dirt on it with backhoe and move it about 600 feet with my other tractor and dump it. The 2 main rails are like 3x7 rotten wood and they need to be replaced. I am thinking of using 4x6x12 for my main rails then using 4x4 for crossmembers then lay my 2x6's on them. I am not sure if this sounds good to anybody that has done this. Or has anybody done something that would be cheaper with the prices of pressure treated lumber right know. Any pictures you could post would help.
 
   / Help with rebuilding a dump wagon need floor #2  
If you have a saw mill close enough to drive to, I would use rough sawn oak. Rough sawn will give you a deck with a lot more traction than smooth pine. White is strongest and most rot resistant then Red, Black or Post oak. Any oak is much stronger than pine so you can use a smaller size. In the beginning it will also be much heavier however a lot of that is water and will evaporate, that’s why you wait to put the oil on. When it’s all done the tare weight will be higher, but it will last much longer.
After its aged a year or so pour some used engine oil on it.
Bob
 
   / Help with rebuilding a dump wagon need floor #3  
A friend of mine's hobby is to rebuild utility trailers.

His pet trick is to dismantle used 200 gallon heating oil tanks* and use the flattened metal as trailer floors.
Once ends cut off he drives his small Kuboto back and forth to flatten the steel into a usable floor plate.

One year he refurbished about 20 or so and made himself some nice hobby $$'s.

* lots available usually for free and as a bonus he uses any residual heating oil in his tractor (well filtered).
 
   / Help with rebuilding a dump wagon need floor #4  
I built a utility trailer in 2010. Its got 20K Horst running gear. The running gear cost $1800 - brand new. The entire trailer cost - $2500. I seriously considered sheet steel for the bed. That was until I priced it. Around $1100 back in 2010. I went with 5/4 T&G plywood. I figured - easy to instal, easy to replace. I use it extensive in the summer to haul rock and chunks of tree trunks. Every year I roll down a new coat of paint. So far the plywood is still in great shape. View attachment 686389
 
 
Top