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Best Decking Material for a Trailer?

61K views 15 replies 9 participants last post by  Rex Piscatore 
#1 ·
I have read several posts regarding decking material for trailers, but it seems there really isn't a consensus on which is best. I don't mind paying more for the material if I don't ever have to work on it again or at least if it will last quite a few years. I liked the idea of plastic decking, but looking at the price at Lowes and HomeDepot sure changes that opinion. So what is my best option if I want to pay up to $150 to deck a 8' by 12' trailer? CDX plywood? Pressure treated? Best water sealer?

Thanks for any info.
 
#2 ·
CDX, just seal it on all sides/edges. Maintain it on the exposed side/edges once every year or two with an exterior semi-transparent deck stain such as Sikkins, or SuperDeck. Same goes for pressure treated--I've had both over the years and you should still seal it periodically. One thing to also keep an eye on is the screw fasteners as they tend to back out over time because of the vibration going down the road, and the wood swelling and shrinking.
 
#4 ·
I used Herculiner to coat my decking...

I used Herculiner truck bed lining material to coat the decking for both my trailer and the wooden platforms on my cat when it's set up for fishing with thigh braces. The trailer folds up and I store it and the outrigger platforms on the south side of my house in Littleton, Colorado, so they get plenty of weathering from sun and snow. The Herculiner is non-slip and applies with a brush and roller that comes in the gallon kit, usually available on ebay for less than $75. One gallon will do two coats on the trailer (top and bottom) and has lasted since 2005. I just noticed some very fine cracking developing as I put the trailer together a few weeks ago, and I may hit it with another coat when I take it down this fall...
 

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#7 ·
BullSCit,
The Herculiner product has something approximating little rubber granules suspended in the mix that give it a very rough, non-slip finish when dry, but the granules can be compressed with a thumbnail, so they don't scratch painted surfaces. The directions recommend that you keep stirring the liquid mix when applying to make sure the suspended particles are evenly distibuted in the application. When dry, however, the rough surface grips felted and rubber wading shoes like crazy, but will also do a number on skin. My PVC (JPW Daddy-Cat tubes) cat tubes, if they are fully inflated, slide very easily. Of course, my hard cat (AAA Inflatable tubes) cat tubes slide even easier, both wet or dry. I think Hypalon would do just as well, but I don't have any experience with it. I do have boat rollers on the rear of my trailer, just to make solo recoveries easier.
 
#8 ·
Did you prep the wood at all? My deck is quite a bit larger than yours, 8' by 12', and looks like a gallon is only good for 25 square feet. Does that sound right, as I would need 8 gallons to roughly do both sides, and that will almost cost more than the trailer.
 
#9 ·
Kit Trailer

Topbud,
The frame is a kit tailer from Northern Tool, FREE SHIPPING — Northern Industrial 4ft. x 8ft. Folding Trailer Kit with 4.80-12in. Tires | Trailers | Northern Tool + Equipment
that I modified by adding a longer tongue, wench and drop-down tongue support, and then 3/4" CDX decking and pontoon support outriggers supported by 2" X 6"s. When the first set of 4.8" tires wore out after 5 years, I ordered 8" wide tire and wheel replacements last year, hoping to get better mileage and better floatation at sandy launch and retrieve ramps (although I've never had any sinking problems, so this was out of an abundance of prophylactic caution). I use clevis pins to hold the pontoon outrigger assembly together so that I can assemble and dismantle quicker than using bolts. I hold it all together with 2,000 lb. cam straps over the boat and attached to the frame, so its very secure.
I travel a lot in my job, and just happened to be in Taiwan when I was thinking about using the Northern Tool kit trailer. I had seen that it was manufactured by the "Long Chih Industrial Company, Ltd." in Taipei, so on a free afternoon, I decided to visit it between business meetings. Below is a picture of the place where the trailers are produced. the employees were working in bare feet cutting and drilling the parts in that warehouse. I kid you not. I know I freaked the owner out when I showed up in a suit as an American businessman wanting to look at a single trailer. My Mandarin interpreter/friend told me the owner thought I had flown to Taiwan just to inspect the trailer. It was pretty funny, and I could tell by his looks at me that he either thought I was crazy, or just had more money than sense...
Anyway, I think you can now get an equivalent trailer from Harbor Freight for less than the current Northern Tool prices.
 

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#11 ·
I did something similar to Rex. I have a similar trailer that I got from Harbor Freight. Decking is CDX and I coated it with Automotive rubberized coating. Available at auto stores, walmart etc. Just $4 a can I coated all edges and sides. Then put outdoor carpet on the top surface (not the fake green grass stuff). Also put 4 roller bars on the back also available from Harbor Freight. Loading and unloading is a breeze, rigged for day trips it is a one man job. I also made some modifications to make the deck wider. I can post some pics in a couple of weeks until then it is still folded up.
 
#14 ·
So like you guys I have a harbor freight foldup trailer. I replaced the tongue with one that was about 3' longer. Then I laid 4x4s along the length of the frame (to get the deck to clear the wheel fenders) and notched 2x4s onto the 4x4s and extended them beyond the frame as outriggers. Then I ran a 2x4 around the outriggers much like the sub facia on a house. Decked it in 1/2" and covered it with jobsite leftover carpet. Not heavy duty and not my dream trailer but it was cheap and fast.
The trailer and deck have worked awesome. However the tiny 8" tires, 4 lug wheels make me nervous. Has anybody found a larger diameter 4 lug wheel for these trailers?
 
#15 ·
I used CDX on mine, but I don't carry my boat on the decking. I think a CDX base with indoor/outdoor carpet (astroturf) would be a good way to go if you were carrying your rig right on the deck.
 

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