More questions on installing mats in stock trailer

gwece

Member
Getting ready to install the 3/4 inch 4x6 mats in my stock trailer. One side of the mats has a groove cut in them about every inch or so running the 6 foot direction. The grooves are about a quarter inch wide and about 3/16 inch deep. The other side has a little raised oval shaped dimples on it kind of in a diamond plate pattern. Which side should I put up? Looks like the grooved side would provide more traction, but the grooves would be running crossways of the trailer and seems to me would make it harder to wash out the trailer. Also, my trailer floor is 5' - 11 inches wide. Should I trim the mats to fit that size or just force them in and leave a slight curve on the sides. Someone told me that would make kind of like a curb on each side to make it easier washing the trailer out? Thanks! gwece
 
dimples usually go down. I would trim to fit. I presume you are anchoring them down. otherwise the mats will be all over.
 
I agree with the grooves up. The trailer will wash out well, mine does. I also would trim to fit. Mi e are not fastened down and never move. If they do in yours the. You could attach. Moving them is tough. Made much easier if you use a good sized C clamp as a pull handle. You can't believe the difference.
 
I would say dimples down. If for horses, a buddy of mine does not fasten his down. Doesn't seem to have any problems. They can then be romoved for cleaning. I would say grooves are suppose to go from side to side, not front to back. Maybe not for cleaning ease, but for traction for the horses when taking off, and stopping. I would trim them to fit. I would not use the rubber mats for hauling cattle. A trailor load of them will pee and crap to much for rubber mat use. Cracks between the boards allows for the liquid to run through wich you need for a full load of cattle. Otherwise you are going to end up with a heck of a sloppy mess on top of the mat in pretty short order.
 
....and a bunch of forever wet wood to rot! I like heave wire cattle panels or nothing for cattle.
 
Ihave heavy mats in my stock trailer and I cut them to fit in the trailer. and two sit side by side in it. As i recall they are 3-1/2" x 5". so their are four setsI drilleled holes in one end of them and threaded havy baler twine through the holes and thenthrough a couple of 1/4" wahers and knotted the twine. I use these for handles to pull the mats out. (I"m sure are other ways of doing this but that"s what I elected to do.)

When hauling stock (cows and/or calves), I put about 6 inches of saw dust, shavings, or wood chips from leocal mill down. When I"m done with the haul, I then shovel the manure and chips into the compost pile or the blueberry patch, pull the mats and hose them off and clean the inside of the trailer. The trailer is 16 years old and there is no sign of rot in the treated floors and very little rust or corrosion.
 
(quoted from post at 14:38:41 10/19/14) Ihave heavy mats in my stock trailer and I cut them to fit in the trailer. and two sit side by side in it. As i recall they are 3-1/2" x 5". so their are four setsI drilleled holes in one end of them and threaded havy baler twine through the holes and thenthrough a couple of 1/4" wahers and knotted the twine. I use these for handles to pull the mats out. (I"m sure are other ways of doing this but that"s what I elected to do.)

When hauling stock (cows and/or calves), I put about 6 inches of saw dust, shavings, or wood chips from leocal mill down. When I"m done with the haul, I then shovel the manure and chips into the compost pile or the blueberry patch, pull the mats and hose them off and clean the inside of the trailer. The trailer is 16 years old and there is no sign of rot in the treated floors and very little rust or corrosion.
understand. If you put that much time & work into cleaning every time it is used, it ought to stay perfectly good for a long time!
 
It takes about an hour to clean up. It"s about 7 x20 ft of floor and most of the cleanup is on the sidewalls.
I don"t know what"s in that cow nanure butif it dries it takes a scarfing torch to remove!
 
Guys, Here in Texas most all folks fall into 1 of 2 schools!
1st School... Cattle panels nailed to the floor to give cattle some footing when floor is really wet or a lot of manure!
2nd School... Nothing at all, just a bare floor or a bare floor with wooden cleats or boards staggered to give the livestock some footing!
I prefer a bare floor with a couple of three boards nailed down diagonally for traction/footing. I HATE cattle panels when you are hauling Horses! Because all those panels are good for then! Is to Jerk shoes off your horses when unloading.
I had a Neighbor who put a different twist on his trailer floor, He heated up a bunch of Roofing tar, mopped on the tar, then threw on a good healthy layer of road paving gravel! protected the floor and steel from rot, and gave traction to most livestock, except horses with shoes!
Then when He thought he needed a little more gravel he brought out his flame torch .....the one you would use for burning spines off of prickly pear!just heat up the tar, throw on some gravel, push it into the tar by walking on it.
Anyway. My thoughts!
Later,
John A.
 
Hi Jerry, In response about cleaning your trailer after each use and staying in good condition for 16 years. Couple of weeks ago I was viewing a person's trailer and noted the good condition and made a statement that the trailer must not be used for hauling cattle. Owner made the same statement as you . After every use for hauling cattle that the trailer is cleaned, side walls were the hardest to clean. If you let the manure stay on the walls for a few day's that it was impossible to completely remove. Cheers, Murray
 
dimples down, that helps the wood to dry. trim to fit. You don't want humps and valleys. And I have never used water to clean my trailer. just a scoop shovel.
 
Mine are dimple down. They are not not anchored down. Been in the trailer for almost all of the trailers life, and other then right after I was it out, I never have any to the mats slide around. I was the trailer totally out maybe 3 times a year. Most of the time I just use a scoop shovel. Cattle load better with just a thin layer of manure on the floor. The trailer is a 93 model and the floor still has the paint on it. Mine is 6'8"X26', so I have small pieces on 1 side, and a short piece in the middle.
I have hauled lots of cattle and horses, lots of miles and have never had an animal go down.
 

Dimples down

Remove to wash mats and trailer.

Trailer gets washed out after use, dried, put mat back in and put trailer inside. "lifetime trailer" is my goal.
 

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