I spent a lot of money on beautiful new stainless self tapping screw in order to secure the new treated wood deck on my aluminum trailer. Vibrations on the road have caused almost all of them to work their way out. Even with red locktite. How do I do it properly?
With washers on the bottom. Another alternative would be to put square "U" brackets to hold the plywood down, which basically staples the plywood to the trailer. I like the idea of the carriage bolts better, though. I've got a nice, stiff 2,400 lb axle on my 300 lb modified sled bed trailer. When there's not any weight on it for the shuttle, that thing bounces all over the place and the Torx bolts work themselves out.
Of course I don't know exactly what type of self taper you used but I'd wonder if you used the wood to metal specific trailer decking screws. I've used them on numerous trailers with no loosening issues at all. I just get them at my local true value but they look very much like this :Trailer Floor Repair Screws
As far as a remedy using what you've got - if you have access to the bottom of the screws, you could retighten them, then tap each enough to bend it. That may keep it from loosening. If you ever want to remove them, just pound them flat and they'll break, then just unscrew. Not the most elegant fix but it might work...???
I second the carriage bolts. I re did all my boards two years ago, pressure treated and added a water seal ontop. Carriage bolts with large washers on the top, and nuts and lock washers on the bottom side. Bolts go through the steel cross members of the trailer. Don't tighten too much! All my boards have a slight U shape to them because they expanded once they got a little weathered....
My carriage bolts bounced out after 2 seasons and maybe 6 idaho multi day trips. Sad face. I used lock washers and nylon nuts. What did I do wrong? Getting under there is unpleasant to re-do it.
My carriage bolts bounced out after 2 seasons and maybe 6 idaho multi day trips. Sad face. I used lock washers and nylon nuts. What did I do wrong? Getting under there is unpleasant to re-do it.
Please don't tell me that! I drilled holes for all my carriage bolts, placed the bolts in the holes, covered the entire board with Grace WaterShield, and then wrapped the boards in blue turfgrass. Underneath, I used a flat washer and a nylon locknut driven with a socket on my cordless drill. The nylon had more resistance than the square of the carriage bolt and they wanted to spin. I had to jam each bolt to keep it from turning while I tightened each nut. I don't want to ever re-do it!! Now I'm afraid to look underneath...
carriage bolts, fender washer, lock washer, and nylon locking nuts. That's the only way to go with bolt on applications on trailers. anything else is just wasting time and money and expecting failure.
I do not agree. I use fasteners specifically designed for attaching wood decks to metal frames on trailers. You will find them, not carriage bolts on nearly every production trailer on the market. I don't have a problem with any means you want to attach a deck, but in my experience wood trailer decking screws work great and last for decades. They're very simple to use and only require access to one side of the deck.
I know this is an old post, but I stumbled upon it looking for a solution. I heartily endorse a product from Lowes called a self tapping screw with wings. Easy and cheap. Use a lot of them.
Red Loctite is where you went wrong! I have always found KY jelly with the warming lotion works way better whenever I screw my trailer. I will have to try it with the vibrations on the road though, sounds intriguing.
You might want to choose a different metal type than stainless steel on an aluminum trailer (if you live where roads are heavily salted for snow), salt plus water plus stainless and aluminum could lead to a higher corrosion rate through galvanic action on your aluminum trailer at the fastener point.
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