need new deck boards on trailer

My very limited wood experience- hemlock lasts hanging vertically on the barns. I even used it to build up the end of a loading dock, but I doused it with used diesel engine oil. Where the bottoms of boards stay wet, they rot away pretty quickly. I think it would be weak in your application. But the one thing I really know from experience, is after it ages, it gets very splintery!
 

Just go to your local building center and get some pressure treated pine. That is what was on the trailer originally. Pour used motor oil on it at least once per year and that new floor will last longer than you do.
 
Steve,

I don't know anything about hemlock. My only knowledge of it is from reading the poem "Evangeline". But, just for a matter of interest, a friend of mine just re-decked an equipment trailer for a man who owns a used equipment lot. The owner of the trailer procured sassafras wood from somewhere. It is as hard as a rock, has very close grain, and is very heavy.

Who knew sassafras was good for anything other than making tea (and sasparilla)?

Tom in TN
 
Rusty I oiled my trailer and thought it was great till I tried to load a tractor when the deck was wet. Not pretty but did not get hurt,just real slippery

Bob
 
If you can get white oak, that's hard to beat. If you're considering red oak, fuhgetaboutit! Red oak has very poor rot resistance.

I have no experience with hemlock, but I believe its rot resistance is only so-so. Either white oak or pressure-treated southern yellow pine would be better choices, rot-wise.
 
I've had rough cut hemlock 2x6's on my trailer deck for 15 years, no preservative and sits out side here on the coast, still there.
 
When my trailer was new, it was decked with untreated pine boards butted tightly together. ,,,,After a few years, the deck boards rotted.

I replaced the deck with pressure-treated 2x8's, but left a 1/2" gap between the boards. ....The trailer sits outside, and the replacement deck has lasted over 10 years, so far.
 
I also hear it's best to install them with the crown side of the board up.

Looking at the end grain, you want the curve of the growth rings to be up, like a frowney face. That way when the boards dry they will curl up in the middle, shed water instead of pooling and soaking in.
 
old time sawmills used Hemlock to make the sawbox (the wood that the mandrel & gearing ride on). It held up good to the constant vibration & slamming of the mill, was strong & weather-proof & dimensionally stable over the years under a shed or in the open. Right now an aphid is killing Hemlock in massive amounts so timber should be cheap & easy to find.
 
I have coated mine twice a summer and coat it when I get several 90 degree days. The picture is getting home from a pull that it was pouring down rain when we loaded tractor and no trouble with slippery floor.
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(quoted from post at 16:26:18 11/11/16) Rusty I oiled my trailer and thought it was great till I tried to load a tractor when the deck was wet. Not pretty but did not get hurt,just real slippery

Bob

A rain soaked wooden deck will be slippery. Applying oil to that deck doesn't change things very much. Always approach with caution.
 
Mu trailer came with a Hemlock deck on it 13 years ago. I have given it a coat of used oil every year since new except for the years I've done it twice. It still has the original deck. I always do it on the hottest day of the year, and it soaks it right up. When laying a deck , or putting board and batten siding on I always put the side of the board that was towards the outside of the tree up or to the outside of the building. An old guy who is not around anymore told me that.
 
I just used the 1-1/2" pressure treated from the local lumber yard.

I don't transport heavy loads as the trailer is rated at 10K gvw, but the trailer empty is 1500+ pounds.

I installed the boards with the crown up, as advised in another post.
 
My 16' tandem, 3500# axles, bumper pull, utility trailer came with 2x10 untreated yellow pine. I replaced with much cheaper 2x6 treated yellow pine. Periodically, about every 5 years, I dump a gallon of Linseed oil on it from Home Depot and brush in in. Trailer is 35 years old, sits out in the yard, and I'm still on that replacement deck suitable to put my 2000 or 3000 Ford on it without hesitating. On my second set of running gear. Tires were takeoffs from my P/U so I don't remember how many times they were replaced. Current are 700x15 8 ply bias and I can't remember when I put them on. Brand is Shield and still no visible weather cracking; strong tread left. I do "shield" them from the sun.
 
I live up in WA state and you ain't gonna find anykind of decking type lumber other that Douglas Fir. The local lumber places have never heard or seen any of the species you all refer to. I would think there should be more choices, but there isn't. bjr
 
> I live up in WA state and you ain't gonna find anykind of decking type lumber other that Douglas Fir. The local lumber places have never heard or seen any of the species you all refer to. I would think there should be more choices, but there isn't. bjr

Hmm. If you have Douglas fir available, why would you want anything else? That stuff is like gold in the rest of the country.
 
I agree--its one of the most preferred structural timbers--and if it is incised it can be pressure treated
 
I was advised to use flashing tape on my metal surfaces before bolting down the pressure treated southern yellow pine. Supposedly prevents the steel from getting eaten up by the pressure treated wood. I used stainless 1/4-20 bolts from Fastenal that were 2 1/4 inches long. If you get the cheap stainless (18-8), they are quite reasonable on the wallet. The job turned out well. The manufacturer only bolted the deck in three places so the trailer wasn't very solid. Lots of bolts tore through on the tail end. Bolting to every crossbeam really tightened things up. Nothing here is by a professional. Just how I did it based on the people I talked to. Your results may vary. I also threw some waterproofing on it after I was done with my deck. Not sure if it helps, but it sure looks good.

Aaron
 

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