Rotten Trailer Boards

Kodiak · Nov 7, 2002

I only see one problem. It appears that water could pond in there with no place to go. Maybe drilling a couple of 3/4" drain holes in several places would correct that.

OkieG · Nov 7, 2002

Russ,

I had that same thought. However, the steel is not welded with a continuous weld around the edges. The welds are a few inches long, then there is a stretch of a foot or two before the next weld. I was planning on just drilling drain holes in the corners, like you suggest, but I may just wait and see how water tight (or most likely not water tight) the flooring is. The drill is handy if needed.

In the picture, the broken welds on the wall a couple inches above the bed is where the lip was that held down the boards at the front of the trailer. You can, also, see the intermittent welds securing the new steel bed. Those unwelded areas inbetween might just let water pass.

OkieG

Gary_in_Indiana · Nov 7, 2002

I sure like the looks of that trailer. If you're concerned about the three foot span now you might want to go ahead and weld another support piece in the middle of it while it's still smooth and flat underneath. If it were to sag later you'll have a lot more work involved in supporting it then.

Besides, if you do it now you'll never worry or wonder about it. If you don't, you'll spend way too much time over the coming months and years wondering if and when you'll have to do it. It's part of that ounce of prevention thing. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

em14 · Nov 8, 2002

I don't think you will have any problems with water even if dirt stops up the drainage in some of the "unwelded" areas ... Gary has a good point about the long span bracing ... by correcting this now failure will not occur...

OkieG · Nov 8, 2002

Gary and Leo,

Just bought a length of 2x3x1/4" angle iron for braces. Will probably weld tomorrow. When I'm done, the widest span will be about 2 feet. Is that close enough so there won't be a sag problem? Gary, how far apart is the bracing under your trailer? I haven't looked under a trailer with original steel flooring to see the bracing interval.

OkieG

Moon · Nov 8, 2002

OkieG,
Nice looking trailer. If slipping causes a problem for you, you might consider putting some of that stuff they coat truck beds with (rhino liner is one of the brands). Its pretty tough stuff and sure would help with traction. I'd prefer that option to welding track bars on the floor. JMHO.

Gary_in_Indiana · Nov 8, 2002

Without going out and looking (the trailer is at my property, I'm at my office) I'm going to guess 24" centers. The sheets are 4' x 8' so the only reasonable alternative would be 16" centers and I don't think they're that close together. I'll look tomorrow and, if it's anything other than 24", I'll post the correction. Otherwise, just assume the 24" is correct. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

OkieG · Nov 9, 2002

Moon,

LineX is a popular spray on bed liner company around here. They priced out at $475 for coating a 16' trailer. Another thread mentioned bed liner material is available in spray cans, maybe at Home Depot or Lowes? I cringe at the thought of trying to do a quality job spraying the whole bed with a case of spray cans, but....I might try to seal around the edges of the bed. It could keep water from sitting between the bed and side rails. Doesn't sound like too hard a job.

The commercial spray applications adhere well and are plenty durable. I don't know if you can get the same result out of a can. I'm not really fixated on corrosion control, but I hate to see rust pop up in tough to get at spots. OK, I am semi-fixated. So, now while everything is fairly rust free....? I don't know if sealing the edges with spray is overkill, or a good idea. The trailer shop guys were a little ambivalent about the idea. Maybe I should throttle back a bit. I think RanchMan would say forget it.

You know, I had LineX coat the foot rest panels on my tractor 4 years ago. Great protection and no noticeable wear, but the surface is not particularly slip resistant. Actually, I thought slip resistance would be one of the benefits of bed liner, but it doesn't seem to be. Still, it might be better than gloss enamel on diamond plate.

OkieG

OkieG · Nov 9, 2002

Thanks Gary,

The picture of your trailer seems to show a nice flat bed. If 24" spacing is working for you, all should be well here, too.

OkieG

em14 · Nov 9, 2002

I think that you will have some "sag" but only where you have continuous concentrated load, i.e., where the tires are when you haul your tractor... that's kinda the nature of the beast and if it is not a lot I would not worry about it... if you want to make sure it does not sag then brace (the angle you mentioned should handle that) those areas so that the brace is as near the point of the load (somewhere close) ... now to the slippery part ... Personally, I would not add the spray on bed liner material to the trailer bed and I would not try to seal (or waterproof) the trailer any more than to paint it to slow down the rusting ... remember it's a trailer and trailers live to haul stuff and stuff scratches and marks and tears through paint on trailers ... and given reasonable maintenance and care your trailer will last a long time .... if you seal the edges and cause the water to "pond" then watch out for rust because there is no place for the water to go (unless you drill holes to allow it to escape). If you are in an area where salting of roads is a problem then you may want to seal the edges top and bottom to prevent salt from getting into those small places here rust would form ... but it is hard to get into those very small opening that water can get into and coat the surface of the material but certainly a coat of sealer or paint is probably the best we can reasonably do …
Remember it's a trailer to haul stuff....
Leo