Yet another trailer decking question...

[LouNY]

The irony is that I had just pressure-washed the current decking the day before I wiped out on it. Yeah, it was probably even worse before. There's only so much you can do with 10 year old pressure treated lumber that's been sitting under trees all its life.

In addition to the white oak decking, I'm giving strong thought to building a roof that I can set onto the trailer when not in use. I've already done this for other pieces of equipment. The tailgate ramp will probably need to be removed each time I set the roof onto the trailer, which was one of the primary reasons I didn't ever get to this before, it seemed like a PITA. But given how quickly the trailer is aging, I think it's a PITA that's worth the effort now.

Instead of a lift off "roof" you could make on skids that could be slide in and pulled off.

 

[newbury]

Talking of removable roofs.
For my 18' Hudson trailer I put PT uprights in the stake pockets and 2x6 spaced up the side.

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The picture shows an early version. Which was used for transporting a lot of stuff from Va. to Ms. Had a DIY plywood top. But I got the major big items transported so it went back to being a parking lot queen in reserve for hauling my tractor if it broke down..
Then since Covid it's primary use on road use has been a very occasional use by my BIL.
But I found it very handy for temporary storage - long pieces of lumber, large empty cardboard boxes for the burn pile, fencing, etc. Things I just want to keep out of the rain.
SO, I put some 2x4's across the top and just laid long sheets of used roofing metal I had (like these ) across the top. I hold them down with just a rope, so they don't blow off in storms.
Then I park it in one of my sheds when I'm away for a long time and take it out when I need the space. The couple of times my BIL needed it for road transport it took about half an hour to empty it and take the roof off.

 

[WinterDeere]

Instead of a lift off "roof" you could make on skids that could be slide in and pulled off.

Good idea. That has the advantage of being able to be installed or removed without use of my loader, or if the loader has insufficient reach and height.

I have a winch on the front of the trailer, that could easily pull a roof on skids onto the trailer, and it could be pulled off with any vehicle or even by tying skids to a tree while driving trailer forward.

It might even be possible to build a cantelever tail section to the roof to cover the tailgate, such that it need not be removed. The only disadvantage I can see to your plan is it still results in wood on wood contact on the trailer deck, so any moisture or leaves may still keep things damp and rotting in those areas.

My original plan was probably something like a 6:12 pitch roof with ridge right down the centerline of the trailer, with the narrow edge of 5/4x6 cedar rafters sit right on the round tube railing, with collar ties a foot up from there to keep rafters from splaying. Cover it in cedar shakes to make the neighbors happy (it's parked right along neighbor's primary driveway approach), or brown corrugated metal if I want to save money, just keeping it light. If rafters were squared off at the ends, the whole rig could be safely set on the ground without damage to the roofing material, but it would require quite a bit of reach and height from my loader to get it on/off.

I've built similar roofs for other equipment in the past, in fact my 3-point plug aerator is sitting under one right now, but never one this big.

 

[LouNY]

OK, wheels?

 

[WinterDeere]

Nah... I think skids would be fine, if I go with your plan.

And I think I'd do removable tailgate either way, so I can keep roof plan low. In order to clear the tailgate, I'd have to raise the roof at least 2 feet higher, which is just going to let more rain and leaves blow in between the roof and railing, not to mention making it more of an eyesore to the neighbors.

I really just need the whole thing to be about 30" tall at the eves, to clear the railings.

Speaking of which, if I could find a folding tailgate, it'd resolve that problem and others. I don't feel like building one, but maybe I should just bite the bullet and do that. A tailgate that folds like you see with most lift gates on the backs of trucks, would solve a lot of problems for me.

 

[WinterDeere]

This is the current tailgate, albeit mine is mostly destroyed due to dragging hundreds (thousands?) of logs over that corrugated metal:

I could cut it at the mid-length point, weld in square tubes and hinges, to make it fold back on itself after raising.

The frame on mine is in good shape, but the corrugated metal is all bent to hell, so finding something better to weld in it's place wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

 

[2manyrocks]

One of the issues is figuring out how rigid to make the roof frame so the roof metal doesn't flex and start leaking versus how light the roof needs to be in order to be taken on and off.

Have you looked into a metal carport?

Seems like everytime I need my trailer, I have to spend an hour finding a place for the junk that's on it. Having to take a roof off just seems like an additional situation where later down the road, you're going to be asking yourself why you didn't get a carport or built a shed for it.

 

[WinterDeere]

Yes, I have considered the carport, but I'm trying to make the thing less of an eyesore for the neighbor along the property line where I keep it, and I think the carport would be step in the wrong direction there. A low roof in cedar shake or matte brown finish would help it disappear in the woods that run along that neighbors driveway where I keep the trailer, whereas most carports are going to be much bigger and visually "louder".

I never keep anything on my trailer, it's always ready to go, so I can't relate to that problem. The roof would indeed add a step to remove, but I always have to get the tractor out to retrieve it from the woods anyway. So it really wouldn't be a huge deal to turn around and use the loader to lift the roof off, at that point.

As to stiffness vs. weight, I've always built roofs for equipment like this using all cedar framing and then either cedar shake or corrugated roofing. This would be the largest and heaviest one, but the weight should not be any problem for the loader on my 3033r. I'm a little concerned about height and reach, but not at all with weight.

 

[2manyrocks]

Build a shed to look like a classic New England covered bridge.

 

[WinterDeere]

Well, I picked up my new decking this morning. A dozen planks of 6/4 x 8" x 16' white oak, freshly rough-sawn. They'll go on stickers in a sunny spot on the driveway for a few weeks, with a clear plastic tent arranged around them as a solar kiln, to dry while I remove the old planking and do some refurb and modifications on the trailer.