Trailer decking

[joe48]

Most new trailers use PT yellow pine. OK, but not outstanding.

Best, longest lasting, strongest I've seen is rough sawn white oak. Slightly heavier, but much stronger.

Even the best PT lumber doesn't last forever when left outside. It needs further protection. Old farmers trick, "paint" it with a mixture of 2/3rds used motor oil, 1/3rd diesel fuel. (reducing w/ diesel helps with better penetration.) In a matter of a few hours, it'll absorb into the wood. You DON'T have an oily mess as some might think. At first application, you might need a couple coats. Then simply a maintenance coat every year or so, and your wood trailer deck will last MUCH longer. I've got hay racks that have been around for 25 years and still look like new where I've kept them oiled. Worried about oil spilling onto the ground while applying? Don't. You CAN put down a sheet of plastic if you think some will drip, but applied slowly, the oil mix absorbs almost instantly and nothing drips.

DITTO TO FWJ !! What I did was visit a sawmill run by a very nice Mennonite fellow, and ask him what he would recommend for the greatest strenght and longevity. There many types of wood that can be used including the PT pine, but the white oak is twice as strong and will last longer than PT even without treatment. He also recommended the 2/3 used motor oil/ 1/3 diesel -or kerosnene mix. Best applied before assembly so a good coat is on all surfaces. Then recoat when a test patch will adsorb the mix readily, (maybe between 2-5yrs). Do your oil coat over your gravel drive if you have one and ,it helps bond the surface, of course your local DEC may not think highly of that practice!!! Up to you.
One thing he cautioned ,was DO NOT use red oak as it has open pores and will adsorb moisture and will rot faster than plain pine.

 

[joe48]

PS: the rough cut white pine I bought was 1 1/2", don't really need 2" unless you're hauling a full size dozer or BHL. It was cheaper than PT pine at HD by almost half. That should help you make up your mind too. If you have sideboards on the trailer get extra planks for that, they will last a life time too.
Be sure to ask if the oak is cured or dry, probably won't be and a green white oak will SHRINK. My 8" wide planks shrank 1/4 to 3/8", in width lenght doesn't seem to shrink much.

 

[GeneD14]

My H & H trailer has a pressure treated yellow pine deck. Every 2 years I roll on a coat of deck stain and after 6 years it still looks like new. I think that part of the credit is due to the fact that the stain is specifically formulated to protect treated wood.

 

[Soundguy]

It does work.. ( great even ).. but you can get a little leaching problem. Thats why I like the asphalt coating.. works near as good as the oil/diesel mix, and cures fairly environmentally inert.. though does cost alot more... especialyl since the waste oil is essentially free.. etc. both have their pro / con.

soundguy

Most new trailers use PT yellow pine. OK, but not outstanding.

Best, longest lasting, strongest I've seen is rough sawn white oak. Slightly heavier, but much stronger.

Even the best PT lumber doesn't last forever when left outside. It needs further protection. Old farmers trick, "paint" it with a mixture of 2/3rds used motor oil, 1/3rd diesel fuel. (reducing w/ diesel helps with better penetration.) In a matter of a few hours, it'll absorb into the wood. You DON'T have an oily mess as some might think. At first application, you might need a couple coats. Then simply a maintenance coat every year or so, and your wood trailer deck will last MUCH longer. I've got hay racks that have been around for 25 years and still look like new where I've kept them oiled. Worried about oil spilling onto the ground while applying? Don't. You CAN put down a sheet of plastic if you think some will drip, but applied slowly, the oil mix absorbs almost instantly and nothing drips.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

It does work.. ( great even ).. but you can get a little leaching problem. Thats why I like the asphalt coating.. works near as good as the oil/diesel mix, and cures fairly environmentally inert.. though does cost alot more... especialyl since the waste oil is essentially free.. etc. both have their pro / con.

soundguy

Leaching problem? Not in the near 40 years I've been doing it on hay racks, trailer decks, and a couple wood sheds. Oil soaks in to the wood and stays there.

 

[daBear]

My utility trailer came with untreated wood and I have used the oil/diesel mix with great success. I am amazed how well it soaks in and after a couple of days it's dry to the touch. Works for me but I like some of the other ideals also. Thanks.

 

[weldingisfun]

Anyone in Central Texas know where one can get their hands on rough cut lumber? I need to redeck a 16 foot utility trailer.

 

[Soundguy]

Leaching problem? Not in the near 40 years I've been doing it on hay racks, trailer decks, and a couple wood sheds. Oil soaks in to the wood and stays there.

Technically ( chemically).. it does leach. How much it leaches will depend on the wood, the amount applied, and environmental conditions, age, etc... My college thesis for my civil engineering degree was in water systes..e tc. i got to do plenty of field work going around and checking test wells on old vacant county property looking for various things.. like leached chemicals.. or even weird stuff like benzene contamination from leaky "superfund' burried gas tanks.. etc.. It's all hit or miss. I tested wells that had 55g drums of oil wast oil stacked around with brown patches ont he ground of 'dark' sand... sometimes I found nothing... other times I drove into these pristine beautiful areas and would find a well that wouldn't pass a DOH test to get a potable water permit... makes ya wonder.

Worse place I ever tested near was an old unlined landfill.. one side more or less was an old dumping site for a paper mill.. other side havd goodies like refer units and old batteries burried there... mercury and lead were WAY high there... that one was actually a county owned site.. and is their little step child.. so far it has sat for decades out int he middle of no where as nobody wants to do anything about it ( IE.. excavate it... etc. ).. local area sourounding it came up with bad water.. counties answer was to hook up citizens inthat are to county utility for no hookup fee... IE.. they bandaided the situation instead of fixing it...

A few quick soil tests can show leach levels of petro products.. but again.. as I said.. might be a drop inthe bucket depending on the conditions. I imagine a good thirsty wood with tight fibre's holds it pretty well.

I wish i had a good reliable source of rough cut timber in my area.. especially oak.

We have a guy that does part time runs with a portable saw mill.. usually when someone does a big clearing project... he doesn't stock anything though.. he just come sin cuts it all then sells it.. etc.

That reminds me.. I almost forgot.. Copepr napthenate.. that green stuff.. it makes a good preservative.. many people here use it as a post 'dip' before 'planting' them.

soundguy

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Technically ( chemically).. it does leach. How much it leaches will depend on the wood, the amount applied, and environmental conditions, age, etc... My college thesis for my civil engineering degree was in water systes..e tc. i got to do plenty of field work going around and checking test wells on old vacant county property looking for various things.. like leached chemicals.. or even weird stuff like benzene contamination from leaky "superfund' burried gas tanks.. etc.. It's all hit or miss. I tested wells that had 55g drums of oil wast oil stacked around with brown patches ont he ground of 'dark' sand... sometimes I found nothing... other times I drove into these pristine beautiful areas and would find a well that wouldn't pass a DOH test to get a potable water permit... makes ya wonder.

Worse place I ever tested near was an old unlined landfill.. one side more or less was an old dumping site for a paper mill.. other side havd goodies like refer units and old batteries burried there... mercury and lead were WAY high there... that one was actually a county owned site.. and is their little step child.. so far it has sat for decades out int he middle of no where as nobody wants to do anything about it ( IE.. excavate it... etc. ).. local area sourounding it came up with bad water.. counties answer was to hook up citizens inthat are to county utility for no hookup fee... IE.. they bandaided the situation instead of fixing it...

A few quick soil tests can show leach levels of petro products.. but again.. as I said.. might be a drop inthe bucket depending on the conditions. I imagine a good thirsty wood with tight fibre's holds it pretty well.

I wish i had a good reliable source of rough cut timber in my area.. especially oak.

We have a guy that does part time runs with a portable saw mill.. usually when someone does a big clearing project... he doesn't stock anything though.. he just come sin cuts it all then sells it.. etc.

That reminds me.. I almost forgot.. Copepr napthenate.. that green stuff.. it makes a good preservative.. many people here use it as a post 'dip' before 'planting' them.

soundguy

If you put oil on the ground it leaches. I'm not pouring it in/on the ground. With not the first drop hitting the ground, it doesn't leach into the soil any more than if it were in an oil pan on a running engine. I apply the oil mix in the shop, on a clean concrete floor. It's not slopped on, but put on judiciously with a paint brush or paint roller. We're not talking about throwing buckets full on the trailer deck and letting it run off.

A very big part of farming is learning to be a good steward of the land. It's akin to suicide to contaminate the land that puts bread on your table. Before it was "politically correct", I learned to respect the land. Once this planet is trashed, where do we go to find another one like it?

My last thesis was on live load dynamics. Essentially it was calculating the likelyhood and possible causes of bridge or high rise buildings collapsing during routine use. After sorting through reams of information, it's absolutely amazing that we don't have more bridge disasters like the Mississippi River bridge colapse in Minn. last year.

 

[Soundguy]

Leaching from spills ont he soil are one of the largest factors.. however impregnated porous materials that come into contact with water ( rain for instance ), can cause leaching into the environment. Again... the drip from the cotter key under an old ford or massey ferguson likely introduces more oil directly into the environment thatn we are talking about from some incidental film lifting off of trailer decking.

If you want some reading that will put you to sleep about leaching characteristics of wood, hit the epa site and read the reams of data that led them to pull CCA treated lumber from kids playgrounds and picnic tables at publicly funded sites. A few PPM of arsenic showed up in the dirt around the playground... way under 'safe exposure' levels from what I understand.

I'm not criticizing your practice.. just saying that from a chemistry standpoint.. a porus substance like wood will allow chemical migration both ways.. even if it has a high affinity to keep the material entrained. One thing I should clarify. When i refer to leaching.. I'm not only refering to the hydrocarbons.. I'm also refering to the residual and trace heavy metals and other goodies you can find in waster oil.. lead, mercury among the largest.. etc. Whereas a hydrocarbon may stay entrained in the wood, the metals can migrate.. Even lead, in nature, can form lead sulfate.. etc Used oil can also contain halogenated compounds, and goodies like benzene from gasolene engines. emulsified coolant from trace leaks inside the engine can also show up.. these emulsions will likely leach out of the wood much easier thant he hydrocarbons. Any remaining VOC's won't hang around int he wood too long either.

As for bridge inspection.. We've got some overhead railroad bridges that, when viewed from the bottom.. look pretty scarry... exposed metal reinforcement in areas the prestressed concrete, or poured-in-place slabs have cracked over the years.

soundguy

If you put oil on the ground it leaches. I'm not pouring it in/on the ground. With not the first drop hitting the ground, it doesn't leach into the soil any more than if it were in an oil pan on a running engine. I apply the oil mix in the shop, on a clean concrete floor. It's not slopped on, but put on judiciously with a paint brush or paint roller. We're not talking about throwing buckets full on the trailer deck and letting it run off.

.