Treating New Trailer Deck?

Bryce Frazier

Well-known Member
I've got the trailer done, and we are in debate on what to treat it with?

I've read on here that a LOT of guys like used motor oil, and the previous owner of our trailer did that too, and it did fine, but I don't like the look of a dark grey / black deck. I cleaned the trailer up because I like it CLEAN!

Someone mentioned the other day ATF. I have like 20 or 30 gallons of brand new ATF, and I am really thinking I am going to spread 1 gallon of ATF around on the deck, and roll it in with a paint roller. I am concerned what it will do to the paint on the trailer though?

Don't want to spend a whole lot of money on it, because I feel like the wood alone will probably last longer than us tearing it up! :p

Any thoughts?
 
Bryce ... might I suggest you look at some "clear" preservatives like would be used on a deck around your home. I think that would be a lot less messy than used oil, etc.

My trailer was refloored with "treated" 2 x 6's and no additional preservatives added.

(I admire your attitude that shows in your postings!!)

Rick
 
Once the paint is cured the atf should not bother it.
I sprayed atf in the doors and other places on my old Dodge and it did not harm it and actually saved it !
The linseed oil is a good idea as it is made for such things.
 
What ever you use gor oil will turn dark. The only way to p reserve the wood color is with clear deck stain. But I would wait a year to let the wood season anyway. Treating it now won't sink in no matter what you use.
 
You'r not too far from Spokane. If you ever get into town, stop by our Waste-to-Energy plant on Geiger Boulevard. They have a household waste collection site and they give the stuff away for free in an effort to recycle things. Often you can pick up wood stains of all types, plus linseed oil. I collect that stuff to treat my truck and trailer wood decks.
 
Thompson water seal is worthless, we us a product called CFW stain. Protects from the sun and water, seems to help. About 9 flatbed,goosnecks, and lowboys around here and I have tried it all.
 
I used a high quality two stage epoxy resin/paint with grit in it for a stock trailer floor. I precut and predrilled all my holes, removed the boards, and painted them ends, sides, and bottoms, before reinstalling. It worked great and lasted a long time until the thing burned in the Nuns Fire in CA. That epoxy burns very hot and clean. Hardly any ash left, if that matters.

Anyone interested in a charcoal colored trailer?
 
Bryce ...... diesel oil/used motor oil mix on a house deck? Wouldn't that get on the bottom of your shoes and then get tracked into the house?
 
I let mine go one year and then coated it with used oils( Hydraulic , used motor oil) every year.I coat it in summer when we get several days in the 90's and do it in full sun. I have did mine for 6 years and it darkens the wood but if done right there is no film left on wood.
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If you do it on a hot day it takes a day or so but soaks into the wood and is not a problem 👍
 
Another vote for linseed oil. It's certainly not inexpensive, I cut it 50/50 with used oil when applying to the manure spreader after clean-up, but on wagon and trailer decks, I use it straight or maybe 10% new diesel to thin.
 
I know you don't like black.... but I really like using black foundation paint/ tar like substance. I usually thin it with diesel or mineral spirits and paint while warm.
It's as cheap as I can find and once it sets it's hard, works good on the metal too.

But it's black
 

I wouldn't even mess with treating them. I have never had a trailer even show a sign of rot in the 5 years that I normally keep them, in this low humidity area.
 
(quoted from post at 18:47:06 01/17/18) You know I wondered that too?? I power wash the deck several times a year to keep it clean.

I don't even do that. Any dirt that accumulates on it gets shoveled off with the first snow. I shovel the snow off in the winter is all I do....any oils from my equipment just give it character. You might have pine needles to keep off of it, they seem to do the most damage because they hold the moisture in. The wrong finish will do the same.....
 
Nope, I leave mine in the wide open for that reason! Seemed like every time I walked by it I wanted to sweep it off, ain't got time for that! :p
 
Porch paint or a thick opaic deck stain? It would have better UV protection than transparent stain or motor oil, stands up well to high foot traffic, reasonable wet traction especially compared to motor oil (sprinkle on sand for better traction?), tintable to any color you like (two tone trailer?), is easy to touch up when damaged, reapply about every 3 years. About $30 per gallon that covers about 400 sq ft.

Rubberized asphalt driveway sealer - good protection, excellent traction dry or wet, good resistance to vehicle traffic, one color black, heavy (adds weight), slow to dry, easy to touch up when damaged, messy to cleanup even the latex versions. $10 to $30 per 4.74 gallon bucket that covers about 400 sq ft. I would paint onto the lumber on three sides and the ends before installing, leave the bottom untreated so the wood does not hold in moisture. Life 5+ years on a trailer deck.

Pickup bed liner - durable but expensive.
 
(quoted from post at 18:34:53 01/17/18) Not only that oil makes the deck slicker than snot when wet. I would use a deck finish.
Bryce I've been using used atf for years and if you apply it on a warm or hot sunny day rolling it on by the time I get to the end of the trailer the front is already dry. and iv'e loaded my skidsteer and tractors in pouring rain and the deck has never gotten snotty or slippery. just my experience.
 
Why do you WANT to "treat" the deck wood? What wood did you use? Either pressure-treated yellow pine or untreated white oak will do fine in most climates. Now if you used a non-rot resistant wood, such as red oak, all the used motor oil on the planet won't stop it from rotting.

Now if you can seal the end grain, that will help to prevent splitting as the wood dries. But I imagine it's a little late for that now.
 

My wife told me that she liked the look of my trailer deck after the first time that I put used oil on it. Before using the ATF check what you aid for it. Some of the synthetic is very spendy. A year or two ago when the topic of sealing a house deck came up here, the consensus was to use a PENETRATING sealer. Not all of them are sold as such. When I did a new exit stairway at church 10 months after it was built, that is what I went after and the one that I found penetrated very well. Much better than Thompson's
 
If deck is treated right with motor oil it is not slick.I have loaded loaded my tractors a number of times in pouring rain and it is not slippery. The only guys i see that have trouble loading in rain are the one that buy a trailer with a wood covered beaver tail or tilt trailers.
 
(quoted from post at 18:34:53 01/17/18) Not only that oil makes the deck slicker than snot when wet. I would use a deck finish.

So Stephen, you seem to be saying that the many of us who like used motor oil like a slippery deck. I don't think so. What all of us that are happy with used oil say is that it soaks in rapidly and completely if done in hot weather. We like that it penetrates pretty much completely. Maybe you tried applying it in the rain?
 

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