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OT Trailer flooring


mickeyw

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Hi all, hope this isn't too O/T...

I'm replacing the floor on my ancient Ifor Williams flat bed trailer.

What's on there is 3/4" ply and was perfectly strong enough to carry a Landy before it rotted out.

I've bought new WPB ply, but I'm wondering what to preserve it with. The old floor had a water based shed n fence paint on it but it didn't last long with all the wear and abrasion a trailer floor sees.

Can anyone suggest a product that won't attack the glue in the ply?

I was considering Sikkens Cetol plus, as my shed was coated with that 10 years ago and still looks good, just not sure about solvents.

I also wondered about decking preservative, as that I'd think that would take a fair bit of wear.

Your thoughts please gents?

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i just replaced the floor on my Indespension beaver tail, i used the proper trailer flooring with the grippy surface on the top side, once it was down on the chassis i went round all the edges & sealed it to the frame with a big bead of silicone that i spread/ pushed into the gaps on the cut edges

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Hmmmm, so I looked up Wisadeck, and for 18mm sheet it costs a mere £100 inc VAT + carriage, give or take. So for my 12' trailer that would be a whopping £300!!! I like the fact that it has a non slip surface, but not at that premium!

The Buffalo board comes in marginally cheaper, but by the time VAT and carriage is added we're back near £300.

When the same thickness WPB ply costs £25/sheet and the merchants is 1 mile from home I can replace it a few times before I have bought Wisadeck.

The ply boards that are on there currently have lasted at least 10 years, so they have done well really. Will I still have this trailer in 30 years time, who knows? Some law will probably have been passed to make its use illegal before then anyway, :lol:

Even by the time I have bought some preservative I won't have spent much more than £100 on materials.

I shall still have to cut and fit the new boards whatever the material, so no savings to be had there.

Oh and did I mention I have already bought the ply? ;) So still looking for the right preservative.

Thanks for the suggestions though gents.

i later found mesh faced plywood at £32/sheet + VAT & carriage, coming in at £160 delivered, doesn't sounds quite so bad and may have been a viable alternative

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i had to put a new floor on a 14ft indespension beaver tail back in june, the fella said he wanted 6x2

treated timber put on it so we did and i seen it a few weeks ago in person and it has held up extremly

well just a bit dirty considering at has been carrying scrap metal, scrap cars and probably alot more.

how long it does last is another question.

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A large tin of roofing liquid rubber is about £30 from B&Q, that is enough for 3 layers on ply. Its intended for flat roof repair so it sticks really well and acts as a non slip surface. If you treat the underside before putting on the trailer you will have a completely sealed panel that will last years. If you screw shallow sacrificial runners either across or along the length of the panel, it will make the surface last even better.

Eric

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Eric, that sounds a good idea, thanks.

I notice that on the sites selling Buffalo board and similar, they talk about resealing the edges if you cut the sheets. Suggested sealing material is an acrylic paint.

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I got phenolic ply board from arnold lavers a couple of years ago for mine, £40 a sheet so £160 for the whole trailer. The old stuff had gone as the person who put it on hadn't sealed the edges they'd just put a bit of silicone on so I used decking edge sealer after I'd cut to size. It is thin and really sinks in.

Not much use if you've bought your timber already? Have you thought of creosote it soaks in to timber pretty well.

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CW, adding a sprinkle of sand would improve grip but sand tends to encourage slime growth. Using some kind of roofing grit would have the effect without the risk of eventual slipperiness.

I intend coating the inner panels of my 110 front doors when I eventually replace them. Cant fault it for waterproofing and air tightness. You can use it to line pools tooo so its pretty useful stuff and non toxic when set.

Eric

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Each to his own I guess. I find chequer cold and slippery. I use my trailer and will use my renovated 110 for camping and metal detecting trips, and use the large internal space as a tent. Wood and rubber are far more comfortable to sleep in and warmer than bare metal. Condensation isnt so much of a problem and padding around in socks or bare feet is not too uncomfortable either.

If your using the floor for carrying loads and messy stuff this wouldnt be a consideration.

Eric

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Gents,

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Eric I am with you on the chequer plate, too slippery, also it woulld need more support than I have due to its relative lack of thickness.

The grit in the varnish idea has been noted, as has the deck varnish.

I would hope any flooring varnish ought to be pretty hard wearing. In fact I remember than I painted my bedroom floor boards with some Ronseal 'diamond hard' or similar varnish. Could also be worth a go.

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  • 4 years later...

Be aware that there is resin coated ply on the market purportedly for trailer flooring that is actually really low grade softwood with the minimum amount of resin coating and NO rot proofing at all internally .

.........Can you tell I got royally ripped off about 5 yrs ago when I re-boarded my 14' x6'6" flat bed - almost £400 lighter and the boarding is now like sponge .......the original boarding lasted around 20years of hard use and living outside all the time . I think I will be using 5mm Al checker plate this time .

Gwaza/Farmpower in Shrops. are good value for lights etc

cheers

 

Steve b

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