Time to re-deck my trailer

[TheTrailerGuy]

Hot dipped galvanized bolts and nuts have a different thread than zinc or regular bolts. That's why your aviation nuts wouldn't thread on without spinning the carriage bolt in the wood.

Yes, galvanized is better if you can get it.

Without that little metal cap on the end of the boards, many people end up catching buckets or attachments on the ends of the boards and splintering their floors up. Good ACQ treated top grade SYP lumber is your best protection against rot. If put in place properly, it will easily last 10 years or more with no maintenance, and with a little water treating starting 12 months from the date of install, once a year, it could last for 20 or more years.

Sorry, but i keep missing the guys while they are flooring a trailer. Here is a shot of a nice 20' 9,990lb GVWR M/T tilt i sold to a man from Adair iowa. By installing board caps after the fact, it actually allows us to press the last two boards into place, which squeezes is all in nice and tight. No outer scrap steel spacers needed.

Here is a shot of the front board cap bolted on with 1/4" Type Torx floor bolts.

Just mark on your side frame where the crossmembers are and then after getting all of the planking cut and fitted nice and tight, simply snap a chalk line across on your reference marks, drill the planks and cross members and install two bolts per plank across in a row. We do this on three different cross members on each trailer, plus the front and rear board caps. All in all, this trailer has about 70 bolts holding this floor in place.

Here is a shot of the rear board cap for reference.

By allowing the boards to be manipulated into place properly and not worry about trying to squeeze the ends under a pre-welded floor cap, you just get a much smoother, flatter, nicer, tighter floor in my opinion.

Anyone have questions or want info, feel free to pop me a message.

Thanks
Craig

 

[clemsonfor]

I see Diamonds way of doing it if you have a fat freind to stand on it and have done it that way. But i must have missed where cutting off the welds on the back and then hitting them with the welder was that much trouble. Maybe another 20 mins. But i too would be working alone and have no loader so maybe you and a buddy could do it in 20 mins but me alone i would never get it done that way, so i would cut the angle out and then just reweld.

Cool idea and easy way though. I also have 2 bolts on 3 crossmembers of the trailer like the trailer guy described.

 

[TheTrailerGuy]

I see Diamonds way of doing it if you have a fat freind to stand on it and have done it that way. But i must have missed where cutting off the welds on the back and then hitting them with the welder was that much trouble. Maybe another 20 mins. But i too would be working alone and have no loader so maybe you and a buddy could do it in 20 mins but me alone i would never get it done that way, so i would cut the angle out and then just reweld.

Cool idea and easy way though. I also have 2 bolts on 3 crossmembers of the trailer like the trailer guy described.

If you want it to fit tight, you have to rip at least one board. We usually rip a little of off two different boards to keep each of the planks as wide and strong as possible. We use old Mr. Bonecutter here... post war Dewalt 5hp model we bought at a Lumber Yard auction over 20 years ago and it still just keeps ripping and cutting like nobodies business. Old stuff really was built better it seems.

 

[dstig1]

You guys that weld after the boards are in place....Don't you char the boards or catch them on fire near the weld? I know I had to squirt some water on the charred board sections near the welds I did when fixing my ramp pockets...Would have been nice to start pulling that while it was smoldering and let the wind whip it into a full scale blaze.

 

[paulwestski]

Since when? :laughing:

For the last 30 years that I've been using them.
Since the bolts have the hot dipped galvanized coating they have to be a deeper cut thread. Go ahead and try to thread a regular zinc plated nut on a hot dipped galvanized bolt next time you're in the hardware store and see if it will thread all the way on.