P500 Utility trailer floor

[lowrider]

Where did you buy the composite boards from? Home Depot sells it for decking not sure if it is thick enough.

I tried that stuff...not so good. I think it is made from recycled Walmart bags. It's designed to be supported by joist at no more than 16" OC. My cross braces are 24" OC and the stuff sagged in the center under weight and stayed that way when I took my 700 off it. Suggest 2x6 pressure treated yellow pine, not fir which you should be able to find in FL.

 

[Steve123]

The mesh floors let everything on the road through onto your machine. Go with the solid floor and pressure treated.

 

[WagginTail]

The mesh floors let everything on the road through onto your machine. Go with the solid floor and pressure treated.

Never thought of this

 

[driller]

driller, nice crap deflector! I also have 2x10's that I put on for tractor hauling because it's a plywood deck and not boards.

Thanks. The 2x10s on the deck are for the race car so the doors clear the fenders.

The deflector is a custom creation of mine. I actually modeled it with 3D software and 3D printed different iterations of it before settling on the final design. Bought the aluminum tread plate, cut, rolled and welded it together at our weld shop at work.

The trailer is slightly oversized for the P520, but it works well, LOL.

We actually have a heavy duty trailer at work with composite decking. They are NOT the same as typical residential deck boards. I'm thinking they are 1-1/2" thick and 8-10 inches wide and they are virtually indestructible.

 

[lowrider]

Thanks. The 2x10s on the deck are for the race car so the doors clear the fenders.

View attachment 335041

The deflector is a custom creation of mine. I actually modeled it with 3D software and 3D printed different iterations of it before settling on the final design. Bought the aluminum tread plate, cut, rolled and welded it together at our weld shop at work.

The trailer is slightly oversized for the P520, but it works well, LOL.

We actually have a heavy duty trailer at work with composite decking. They are NOT the same as typical residential deck boards. I'm thinking they are 1-1/2" thick and 8-10 inches wide and they are virtually indestructible.

Very nice!!

I miss my 68 GTO and 36 Plymouth coupe with a 409 and 12" M&T's...but my Bandit is faster.

 

[BrianM]

Just a couple of comments. Composite lumber is heavy and sags a lot. You will likely have to have some extra cross members welded into the frame to shorten the span distance if you go this route. It you went with steel mesh you could strategically have some angle iron welded underneath to provide support where the wheels will be.

If you go with treated lumber and you want to make it last longer, only put one screw per 'joist' in each piece of wood and allow it to dry and shrink. Be consistent on which side of the board you place the screws. After it dries out for a couple of months or so go back and add the second screw. The reason? With only 1 screw the wood is allowed to shrink with the screw holding it in place. If you were to use 2 screws, the wood shrinks and the screws won't let it move freely and the wood then splits around the screws leaving big cracks which makes it deteriorate much faster. I do this when building decks with great results.

I know we don't stain decks for about 6 months after building because of the moisture in the wood will make it blotchy however you are trying to do the underside and you certainly don't want to take up the wood to treat it after the fact. I have a neighbor that put this really thick gooey paint on his walkway and boat dock because it was so sun damaged and splintering that he didn't want to have the expense of replacing it all. 6 years later and it still looks great. It was called Deck Correct and he bought it at Ace Hardware. Not sure how it would work on the underside but probably pretty well but not until the wood is dry. If I had a wood deck trailer I would use om top it if the wood was splintering a lot but not wood rotted to get a few more years out of it.

 

[Mudder]

Don’t paint it. Paint will peel and look like ass. Use an outdoor stain, they come in colors and go on just like paint. The finish will wear, but not peel. When it looks bad just throw another coat on it.

X2, stained my barn only twice in 16 years. That second coat is still looking 10 years later. And agree on the expanded mesh bending, I ended up putting marine plywood over it on my open trailer.

 

[Gswanson89]

I've read about people using used motor oil mixed with diesel to seal trailer decks. I plan on doing it to mine when I get a chance.

 

[Bomersteve35]

Best little trailer we had was marine grade plywood then I painted the bottom with some scrap enamel paint from work and on top it was painted with roll on bed liner and we mixed in some large grain sand blast media. The stuff was hard and stayed on the wood never chipped off and the grit was like sandpaper.

 

[usanglure]

I switched from Wood floor to Mesh floor to allow Mud (took up Duck Hunting some) too be cleaned up easily . It has plenty of bracing and mesh is holding up well.... i've drilled (bracing, not mesh) and installed HD D rings to clip hook from HD strap to pioneer 500 frame. and rear hitch assembly. 6x10 dove tail (which i've decided i do not like, drags driveways too much).