wagon bottoms (floors) wood???

Anonymous-0 · Oct 8, 2011

Hey folks,
Sidewall on one of my wagons is about 4ft high. Climbed up the side and jumped onto the bed which was actually INTO the bed because I went thru the floor.... Needs replaced... This is a wagon that had horse poo stored on it til it was full then emptied. I'll be using it to clean stalls/paddocks but not leaving anything on it for more than a day. Wood part is 5'4" wide and 9' long with crossmembers 3'OC. Wood is T&G 4"x 3/4" ran lengthwise. Brainstorm today was deck boards made from recycled PVC (?) until I saw the price. Best deal I find is on douglas fir, larch, and spruce. Spruce is T&G, rest is normal boards. 3 wagons, one is the floor, another the same size is the floor and sides, and a bigger hay wagon is just the floor which will be 5'4" running across with 2 supports just under 2ft. Dont really want to fool with Oak so which of the wood I mentioned would be the best choice? All will be heavilly stained (treated).

douglas fir
larch (told NOT to treat the larch???)
spruce (T&G)

Larch is rough, rest is planed...
Thanks, Dave

bo · Oct 8, 2011

The fir is more resistant then the others.

Mike (WA) · Oct 8, 2011

3/4 inch marine plywood. Spendy to start with, but much easier to install, and should last forever, especially if you don't leave wet stuff in it.

Anonymous-0 · Oct 8, 2011

(quoted from post at 13:00:45 10/08/11) 3/4 inch marine plywood. Spendy to start with, but much easier to install, and should last forever, especially if you don't leave wet stuff in it.

The recycled PVC (??) boards would be cheaper...... Just can't justify the expense (5x price of the 3 mentioned.....
Thanks....

Anonymous-0 · Oct 8, 2011

(quoted from post at 13:00:43 10/08/11) The fir is more resistant then the others.

the fir is my pick because it's got a nonslip surface (kinda like a broom finish on concrete)... Should I leave a small gap or butt it together tight?

bo · Oct 8, 2011

Marine plywood means 5 plys with no voids and nothing special after that. It will rot. Fir will resist rot. Take a sheet of fir plywood and regular CDX or marine ply, pitch them in the river for a while and see which survives.

oj · Oct 8, 2011

Marine ply in Europe (Dave is in Germany) is designed for boat building, I won"t go so far as to say it never rots, but it WILL last under wet conditions.

Zachary Hoyt · Oct 8, 2011

If it is fresh cut from the tree then it will shrink, so if you butt it
tight you will end up with a gap, if you leave gaps you'll get big
gaps. If it is dry then whatever you thought would be handier. On
a hay wagon I like to have 1" gaps between the boards so the chaff
or dust or whatever it is can fall through more easily. On a manure
wagon I would think you would want it tighter.
Zach

2 Cyl partsinfo · Oct 8, 2011

I get the material for wagon floors from a "mom and pop" company that dismantles old boxcars from a railroad. It is tongue and groove lumber about 1 1/2" thick.
Don't know if anybody in your area does this kind of work but it is worth asking around.

Jason the Red · Oct 8, 2011

I don't know if longleaf pine is available to you, but I would try to find some. I used some on a wagon of mine, hard to tear it up.

RwEny · Oct 8, 2011

I would use the larch. It is a very durable wood.

Anonymous-0 · Oct 8, 2011

(quoted from post at 17:27:14 10/08/11) What is wrong with Oak that you dont want to fool with it ?

price and distance to get it.....

TGIN · Oct 8, 2011

What is wrong with Oak that you dont want to fool with it ?

fixerupper · Oct 8, 2011

Maybe go with a non-tongue and groove and space the boards 1/8" or so, don't know the metric equivalent. Water can drip through instead of just sitting there in the bottom of the wagon. Jim

Old Roy · Oct 8, 2011

Let me see if I can confuse you more than me??

to make any kind of wood more durable it is best to get the "heartwood" (described in link) look for end grain to be "crowned'.. arch like pattern. Pine "hemlock" almost the same can be made durable only used above/ off ground as in your application.

When you attach the individual boards allow a 1/8 in spacing.( to make a tool, You can use a couple of spikes in a piece of board to act as a handle to be able to remove between boards being mounted as you go measurement... Center your first board in the center of project work bot ways to the out side.. everything will come out even .. you may want to change a width so last board will be as wide as you need ..( attaching hindges or what ever )
Thing to remember is always place each attached boards with "crown up" this will resist the curling affect looking at the end of the board the crown should always have the highest part of the arch to the top.
Untitled URL Link

randy hall · Oct 8, 2011

southern yellow pine is very rot resistant and it is stronger than oak. it is what was used in all of the old manure spreaders.

MarkB_MI · Oct 9, 2011

Spruce has poor rot resistance and is quite a bit weaker than Douglas fir or larch. Douglas fir would be my first choice. I'm told that in some parts of the country larch is sold as Douglas fir. At any rate it's a good second choice.

wagon bottoms (floors) wood???

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

bo

Well-known Member

Mike (WA)

Well-known Member

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

bo

Well-known Member

oj

Member

Zachary Hoyt

Well-known Member

2 Cyl partsinfo

New User

Jason the Red

Member

RwEny

Member

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

TGIN

Well-known Member

fixerupper

Well-known Member

Old Roy

Well-known Member

randy hall

Member

MarkB_MI

Well-known Member

Similar threads