Stock trailer

My stock trailer is due for some tlc this winter. It needs tires, brakes, and flooring. That said I'm trying to decide if it's worth putting 1500 bucks in a 15 year old 16' WW or if I should bite the bullet and upgrade. If I do replace the flooring my plan was to try and find some good oak. Is this the best plan or is their another material more suited to the job?

Having my own mill and an almost unlimited supply of used creosoted utility poles, I floored pretty much everything with 2, 2 1/2 or 3 inch lumber sawn from them.....trailer decking, bridge plank, cattle guards, corral walls, etc. Howsomeever, it's a known carcinogin, so one must be CAREFUL with it; second choice (of the lumber available around 'here'), would be white oak.

Can you replace it for 1500? Is it adequate for your
needs?is the rest of it 'sound'?How long till a
'new' used trailer will need the same repairs?Ask
yourself these kind of questions....Good luck.Steve

I used treated tongue and groove 2x6 on my 16 footer. That was about 10 years ago and I have had no problems with it. I too have been kind of looking to replace my trailer. Would really like an aluminum one but can't justify the 9-10 grand price tag. I have replaced both axles, tires,brakes and rewired the one I got. Not to mention repainting it everyother year and fighting the rust on it.

You ever sell any poles or lumber?

I just re-did my trailer last year. I went with green treated lumber from Menards. I thought about taking in some white oak logs to get sawn up, but the green treated lumber is so cheap it was hard to be bothered. Also, it's a lot less weight added to the trailer.

The lumber was the cheapest part of my project. If your trailer is anything like mine, once you start ripping it up you'll see you have to replace every steel cross-member that the wood attaches to and then you'll need new brake assemblies (at least).

No........bought the mill strictly for my own use, many years ago. Got to know a foreman for the MAJOR power distributing company in much of the South East and he was glad to have a place to drop off his used poles. I'm long-retired, out of the cattle business and no longer get the poles, though I've still got a bunch of 'em. You might check over on the Forestry Forum for a source for lumber. The local utility companies usta sell (CHEAPLY) their used poles (I bought from 2 different ones of them before I got tied up with T*A), you might check with your local companies.

Not sure what kind of oak you had in mind, but the Red Oak that is plentiful around here can get very slippery when wet.

I re-did my own car hauler. Sandbalst/weld in additional cross members, paint and re-deck.

I used green treat lumber that was rated for underground foundations, guaranteed for 100 years, but we'll see if I really care when that time comes.

D.

Thurlow, do you ever find much "hardware" in those poles? On average, how big of cant can you get out of the average pole? How are they for strength...say when used for trailer decking/braces for decking? Could you use a 8x8 treated cant for the runners for a wagon bed?

is it goose or bumper and is it rusty? If it is rusted or a bumper hitch I doubt I would put that much into it, I just bought a pretty decent 16' Blair goose with good tires for $600, most older steel 20' goose necks around here will bring $1200 to $2000, the road salt really destroys them

I first starting buying 'em from a large 'crane and rigging' company in Memphis; a big percent of their business was with Memphis Light, Gas and Water. When I first drove onto their yard, I saw more poles than I thought existed. They sold a lot of their smaller....6-10 inch....poles to farmers, contractors, etc. What they had were HUGE......some as much as 24 inch diameter. They were a dollar a running foot; they cut 'em to your specification and what you got was GOOD. They wouldn't cut 'em 'til I was sitting on the yard and sometimes I had to wait. After a few loads, when the owner figured out that I was gonna show up, he'd cut 'em ahead of time and they were waiting on me when I showed up. (they always loaded 'em). I also bought one trailer truck load; an independent trucker that he knew delivered 'em to me. I got to know the owner a little bit and when he found out what I was doing with them, lo and behold, one time when I showed up, he had bought a band mill, set it up in a shed and his employees were sawing 'em up in their 'down' time. I eventually found out that the P & L company in a small town about 25 miles North of me would sell 'em for 10 cents a running foot, but I had to drag 'em out, cut 'em up and load 'em. Carried a farm tractor w/fel and hauled several loads from there. (the office guy wouldn't even come out to see what I had......would just ask how many feet I had). I eventually got tied up with T*A and never bought any more. The ones from the cities ALWAYS had hardware in them.......usually staples from yard sale signs, but occasionally something bigger. Only thing in the free ones was the large bolts used to tie cross members to 'em. They're not as strong as oak or something similar, but I don't think I ever broke one. At one time, I had 21 cattle guards made from 'em; 8 x 16s on the ground on each end; 8 x 8 or 10 x 10 as 'runners' and 3 bys for flooring. Depending on the length, I think they'd work fine for a wagon bed. I've got a 7 x 14 ft trailer bed on 2 of 'em.......3 x 10s, I think.

if it were me, would pull the floor ,weld in a brace underneath every foot or so and refloor it with that flooring made of old recycled tires.much better flooring for hauling livestock ,and it should be there when we are gone. as for tires and brakes ,whatever you can find that will serve you well. on mine the tires dry rot more than i wear them out,since it sets outside.

I have the 3x3 rubber mats with lots of holes in them in my Alpaca stock trailers(15 years)look like new. Easy to clean and I do keep it cleaned out. 15 year old flat bed I used green treated 2x10's, and I ran two 1" angle iron between the boards. One facing left one right. Easy to slide equipment on and off.

Erik - I set out to replace the floor in an old gooseneck last year. After I got the flooring out, I hit one of the joists with a hammer, and it fell out on the ground. It turned into a major project that I still haven't finished, and it might be too heavy to pull when I do get it done. I don't have much money in the repair, but lots of time and welding rods and paint. The material I'm using for the repair had a scrap value, so mebbe it cost me a lot after all, ha. I haven't gotten to the tires or brakes, or the wiring that suffered from the welding/cutting. I hope yours turns out better, whatever you decide.

(quoted from post at 16:22:48 12/17/12) I used treated tongue and groove 2x6 on my 16 footer. That was about 10 years ago and I have had no problems with it. I too have been kind of looking to replace my trailer. Would really like an aluminum one but can't justify the 9-10 grand price tag.

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My 16' Featherlite has a factory treated 2x6 floor. I keep a mat on it and it still looks new. Not t&g however, need spaces for the urine to go through. That's one reason I didn't like the solid aluminum floor, no or poor drainage. I know $9-10 grand doesn't sound good, I believe they are well north of that new now. I had a friend who was getting out of the llama business who sold me his for $7,500, two yrs. old and a spare. I had to take out a loan quickly on the home equity line of credit but I knew that chance would never come up again. I just don't see the aluminum bumper pulls come up for sale much at all. This one weighed the same as a 12' steel Corn Pro (it had a wood floor too) so the license was the same annual cost with 4 more ft. of space, plus the V nose adds about a 1 1/2 ft. and an internal divider. It was a cramp on things until it was paid off but looking back it was well worth it. It's something we'll have about forever with good care.

Yep, it's a bumper and it's rusty. I'll crawl underneath and see what the cross members look like, I'm probably best off to take it to the News Years consignment sale and start over. I'd like a 20' or 24' gooseneck.

T Where are you located// I to have a guy that brings me the light poles and I have a wood-mizer
mill but nothings cheap about sawing those poles. I will not do it for the public but cut a lot of lumber and poles for myself and nothing like it. Really get some good cheap lumber. I run a mixture of water and soap on the blade as I cut the poles seems to help. Also scan them with a metal detector before sawing.

You want to be like this guy with not one but two brand new
trailers!... He pulled into Fergusons restaurant on the 65 in MO
when I was over there in September. By law, we are not allowed
wooden floors in our stock trailers. Our trailers have to be all
aluminium chequer plate and galvanised frames with alloy cladding
Sam

Here is a video at a mart in North Wales, showing the type of trailer we are allowed.....
http://youtu.be/3z8R-fQDA3E

I think I would look for a better one, my dad's Keifer is the same way, new in 79 and just used up, used alot for hauling cull cows in, often in the winter on salty slushy roads, tires alone are going to be at least 6 or 700 dollars if they are 7.00-15's, I think if you look hard you can find a good trailer for $2500 or less, a goose is more stable for hauling big cows, I was looking for a 20 and this 16 came along, it will get me by for awhile and maybe I will come across a deal someday, at least I don't have to worry about a cows foot going through it

jm. I'm in West Tennessee; the consensus on the Forestry Forum is don't saw 'em; not worth the trouble or the risk. Mine's a circle mill and will saw them as easily as anything else. I recommend a GOOD mask (not a simple dust mask) and covering up completely when sawing anything with creosote.

Erik: I know you are just starting out so you maybe on a tight budget. IF you use a stock trailer very much and plan on being in the livestock business than get a good trailer now. It will last for years and you will have one less head ache.

I have a 30 x 8 x 6 1/2 foot Eby Ruff Neck gooseneck trailer. It is the second one I have had in the last twenty years. The first was a 24 foot one and I sold it to buy the one I have now. I got $2500 more than I had paid for the one I sold. It looked almost like new. I wash my trailer out every time it hauls livestock. It is like protecting your investment moeny in the bank. You take care of it and it will hold its value.

I posted a picture of what they look like.

Erik, Older WWs were more made to sell than longevity. As long as the bottom angles hasn't rotted out and needs a new piece of 2x2 or 3x3 angle iron to half sole the edges, and it hasn't started to really come apart at the seams from metal fatigue. Neither of the axles are sprung. And you haven't rolled the trailer and it looks like a beat up mess.
$1500 should be more than enough to add any extra bracing, cross members. re-floor, wire and lights, brakes. and a good used set of tires from a local tire shop.
Sand blast and prime and paint will add a good bit more. But you shouldn't need to do anything much but drag it for a few yrs before it needs anything. Even if you crowd up on the $2500 mark you are only about 1/2 price of a new trailer. Hope this helps.
Later,
John A.

Nice looking rig Sam, but it wouldn't be legal where I live.
At least not for the normal person.
Might be with the right commercial license.
Dual trailers of any type require a special license.

Erik, Hoffpauir Outdoor Superstore @ Golthwaite Tx has new S&H 24 ft Goosenecks (S#,,P1622) for about $11600. On their web site!
some models/sizes they only have 1 or 2 left. call Jody @ 866-522-8793
Later,
John A.
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PS found the above info on www.hpolaris.com hope this helps.

Sam that guy was just delivering the new trailer to a dealer some where. That is a common way to transport them when they are new. You would not use them that way when hauling livestock.

I also found it different that you trailers set up so high. That is the big advantage of the trailers here in that they are low and easy to load livestock into. I don't miss fighting to get livestock into the bed of the old straight trucks.

I know they looked like they had fold down rear gates but that still seems harder than the style we use.

Like Thurlow and JM, we have a woodmizer sawmill so I saw my own. Instead of utility poles, I use railroad ties (minus the metal hardware lol). I also use a mix of soap and water to keep the blade clean. They have lasted in my stock trailer for over 10 years and still going strong. I never clean it out either.