Have a 6'6"x16" tandem axel car hauler (not enclosed) in need of new deck. Steel and/or Diamond Plate too heavy. Wish to deck with wood as this is what it is framed for. Anyone have an idea of best wood for use in wet western Oregon and dry Colorado high prairie? All consideration appreciated. Thanx!:)

Just get treated 2X6's and then cover them with that Thompsons water seal. I think that will do the trick. Might want to get some bedliner material to cover the Thompsons with. I have seen that done and it came out pretty nice and lasted quite a while.

redwood.

I suppose pine with a good coat of shellack would do just as well......if it were me, I would get some cheap 2x6's, and then coat them with that DIY truck bedliner. Ive got some in my poop trailer, and its held up real nice.

optigon/aptigon(sp) use it here in OK at the trialer shop I worked at back in the day, harder than a 2x6.

LaBeyn,

It realy depends on how much and how long you plan to use this car-hauler.

For the worst case scenario, stored outdoors, used often, heavy vehicles (i.e. a ditch witch, tracked loader or scraper, gen-set or compressor, etc.) then hard maple is reccommended, then have Line-X or Rhino shop shoot it with bed-liner coating for heavy duty applications, on all asides (top and bottom). Just make shure that you mark them to indicate the heartwood direction first, since this has to be facing down (just like pic-nic tables and decks) to prevent "curling".

Of course, if it is seldom used and covered to prevent sun/snow/rain exposure, you could get away with 3-layers of 3/4" exterior grade plywood glued or deck-screwed together and bed-liner covered also. Importance here, is to prevent moisture from getting between the layers, and keep it away from road salts as much as possible (renders the glue soluble).


RF.

Whe I was a wee lad, ):h we has some family friends that owned a ranch on the Gulf Coast of Texas (Their ranch ended IN Galveson bay!). They normally have around 30 - 45 in of rainfall per year down there IIRC.

Every trailer they had was stored outside or under a pine tree and was constantly in swamp / salt water & in old flooded rice fields. (I have seen them put 4-5 2,000 lb bulls in a 40 ft goose neck trailer & pull that trailer across flooded rice fields with an 8WD John Deere tractor! (the trailer tires would not even roll in the 2-4 ft of mud . . .the trailer slid along with the floor of the trailer acting like the bottom of a sled! Giving the bulls a really neat South Texas sleigh ride!

Anyway . . told that story to illustreate the type of abuse these trailers got. Every trailer on the ranch used 2X6 cypress boards for the floors. (harvested from cypress trees grown in the swamps of East Tx & Louisianna.) My friend's dad swore those boards were the only thing he could get to last for more than 3 yrs on the ranch! I don't know if you can get cypress up where you live, but if it is not too expensive, it might be worth it to try the cypress boards.

Just my $0.02
Aggie91

"Lingnum vitae" if you can find/afford it. You Will have to Drill All Holes.

Idahofox

My Kingston horse trailer is floored with preasure traded lumber over a steel frame. When looking for trailers, I found they (preasure treated wood) held up better than either marine Aluminum or sheet steel, does not need coating and pretty maint free.

White oak is a long lasting wood.
They replaced a bridge that was over 25 yrs old and all the timbers even ones setting in water where still good.
Some RR ties are white oak also.
Whiskey barrels are made out it too.

If you're using /storing the trailer outdoors...

ACQ pressure treated will work good...

IIRC CCA pressure treated will last longer...



We use a certain kind for bulkheads at the camp and the boards are rough cut and a 2x4 is a real 2x4 2x6=2x6 etc...There are different grades though...

2.5 should last you forever regular Home depot stuff is .25 (the # ex. 2.5 has something to do with the amount vacuum psi to draw the treatment material in)

Use some cheap ass douglassfir and brush all sides with one coat of Superdeck.;)

I put a deck on the neck of my gooseneck, we went to a local saw mill where they saw old telephone poles. It has held up great, plus they are already treated. The smell does go away eventually.

So what's the verdict?

Go to Jack Daniels distillery and get some white oak.

So what's the verdict?

I'm running a test on CCA coated with EPL Wood Coating www.ccaplaygroundsolution.com (http://www.ccaplaygroundsolution.com) It it shows promise, will go for the highest rated CCA available in this state of "Greenies". 2x6 and will have a different clamping system built to enable easy removal of boards for occasional coating, replacement of any weak sisters. Thanx for all the suggestions. I'd like the mahogony and/or other exotic type solutions, but not this time.