Re-decking Gooseneck Trailer

[bungerag]

Howdy folks. I am pretty much completely restoring a 24ft gooseneck flatbed that's been sitting on the farm for nearly 10yrs unused. As the subject line suggests, I am going to be putting a new deck on the trailer and need some assistance hunting down some lumber.

The crossmembers on the trailer are in 24in intervals and is currently configured with a 2x10x18 and a 2x10x6 on each row (no dovetail). The crossmembers are too thin everywhere else for board seams -- basically only wide enough for a single row of screws with the exception of the crossmembers 6ft from either edge of the flatbed. This locks me into using the same 18ft + 6ft configuration (or single 24ft boards) without having to make modifications to the crossmembers.

The issue is that in my region, 2x10x18ft is non-existent in the pressure treated format. I can find regular dimensional lumber, but not the pressure treated yellow pine or otherwise. Oak seems to be pretty rare in that length as well. I have two questions:

1. Does anybody have a source in the south where I can obtain those 2x10x18's
2. If not, is there any way I can utilize the regular non-treated dimensional lumber and still make it last?

Unfortunately I do not have a welder, nor the knowledge to do so even if I did. I'd rather avoid that route if possible. Thanks for reading my long-winded post!

 

[Rustyiron]

White Oak is pretty much the decided (here) to best the material for this.....
but you need to find someone with a sawmill and has access to white oak logs.
If this is out of the question, you could always bolt a PT 4x4 to a cross member to support a joint between, say a 8' & a 10'.

 

[EddieWalker]

What part of Texas are you in? McCoys has stores all over Texas and their website shows that they sell PT 2x10x20 boards for $54 each

2 x 10 x 20 (Actual: 1-1/2"x9-1/4") #1 Ground

 

[alexpops]

Any 2x6 8 or 4 PT in those lengths near you? Would need to drill a few holes in the cross members to line them up but that should work. Just be sure the metal cross members are sound or you'll need to weld/bolt in new metal anyway. If you want the same 2x10 layout and can get the sizes you want in a suitable non-PT wood you could multi coat with a preservative like bora care & copper/naphthenate then diesel/used oil mix for waterproofing.

 

[arto98607]

For most trailers a used motor oil & diesel fuel mixture is pretty good alternative, if no pressure treated boards available.
Couple of applications with a broom works good.

I think it works better...

 

[Williy]

My dad built a frame for a porch for his trailer in northern WI
but; he never put any boards on top so just the frame and every
time they would go there he painted the frame with drain oil and
and no rotten boards after over 40 years

willy

 

[4570Man]

I redecked a trailer a while ago with 20ft lumber. None of the local places stocked 20ft but they were able to order it without issue. It’s a lot of work to strip one off and put it back. I kinda regretted ever messing with it by the time it was done. After completely redoing the first trailer I decided just to spot repair the second one.

 

[nyone]

A real lumber yard can order 24' lumber.

 

[Needville]

I've ordered 20 footers from HomeDepot/Lowes before--although this was pre-covid.

 

[5030]

Apitong if you want it to last..

 

[Bootstrap]

Deck is 24' long, right? At the 12' mark have welder weld in metal to widen the mounting point to the crossmember, use 12' PT lumber, personally I'd go 2x6 from each side and trim center board to fit. To remove current floor, use a sawzall on cut boards at each crossmember on each side. Use a hammer to break the screw/board left on top of the crossmembers. Go back with 5/16" diameter trailer deck screws, 2 per board on each crossmember, its worth the effort. As far as the, oil/diesel board treatment, waste of time.

 

[arto98607]

Maybe used motor oil/diesel fuel use for trailer decking is waste of time with the weather down TX, but up here on the wet coast in the Pacific Northwest where it reins on and on during the four winter months it works pretty good on a trailer with older decking!

IE. It's almost no cost and delays the inevitable board replacement many years.

Your mileage may differ.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

I use used tractor hydraulic fluid mixed with diesel fuel and have had good luck on trailer decks, I re-decked my gooseneck last year because I failed to treat the deck with the diesel mix but as fate would have it I treated it this morning and plan on doing my tilt deck tomorrow , but the best deck protection by far is to keep it under a shelter or barn when not in use.

 

[Redbug]

My 24 foot tilt bed had boards rotting. I needed 2x8x18 foot treated boards. I guess you can order from Lowes but I found a really good lumber yard nearby that had the wood. Not all the boards were bad so I got what I needed.

I unscrewed the T-40 torx screws (used a ratchet), and lifted the bad boards out. Then placed the bad boards on top of the new boards and drilled new holes in them using the old boards as templates. New ones went in and the torx screws went into the original holes. I did not want to drill more holes in the trailer cross members. I also greased the torx screws when putting them back in.

And that's my story.

 

[5030]

When I re-decked my GN, I used Apitong. You don't need to treat it with anything and unlike oak or PT pine planks, it will last the life of the GN. One and done.

Why commercial flat bed trailers all have Apitong floors, simply because they last the life of the trailer.

 

[5030]

Maybe used motor oil/diesel fuel use for trailer decking is waste of time with the weather down TX, but up here on the wet coast in the Pacific Northwest where it reins on and on during the four winter months it works pretty good on a trailer with older decking!

IE. It's almost no cost and delays the inevitable board replacement many years.

Your mileage may differ.

Best mileage Arto is Apitong. One and done for the life of the trailer. It ain't cheap but longevity is never cheap.

 

[Renze]

My dad built a frame for a porch for his trailer in northern WI
but; he never put any boards on top so just the frame and every
time they would go there he painted the frame with drain oil and
and no rotten boards after over 40 years

willy

Thats how i did my manure spreader. Let drip out at the manure pit.

 

[sandman2234]

Second replacement of wood gave way under my M7040 when 100 miles from home so I went a different route.
David from jax

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Second replacement of wood gave way under my M7040 when 100 miles from home so I went a different route.
David from jax

That beats wood decking everytime, probably considerably lighter as well, which is good for trailer capacity.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Second replacement of wood gave way under my M7040 when 100 miles from home so I went a different route.
David from jax

What are we looking at there? Looks like aluminum. But what is it? And is it a readily available product? This is a timely post as I need to redeck my 16'er.