Trailer Flooring ??

[bama20a]

Hey all: Very new to this.I was thinking about flooring a trailer(semi),& using oak. Could I do this with fresh sawed wood,being that they are screwed down close or should it be dried lumber,If air dried how long should it be dried first? Thanks,,,,

[scsmith42]

Hi Bama.  Oak is commonly used for trailer decking; with white oak preferred due to it's rot resistance.

If you deck the trailer with green boards, expect them to open up 1/2" - 1" or so between the boards as they dry.  Presuming that you're using 8/4 boards, you're better off air drying for 6 months or so before installing (stacked and stickered boards).  A year is even better, but 6 months should take care of 75% of the shrinking.

Once the oak is dried, you will need to pre-drill the holes through the wood or the friction may shear off your decking screws.

Regards,

Scott

[Warren]

Bama,

If you go to a commercial trailer manufacturer / repair facility, they will have large flat head, torx drive screws to bolt down the decking. (1/4" x 2.5" or 5/16" x 2.5" tempered)  Two styles: (a) Self tapping and (b) self drilling + self tapping.  Get the self drilling + self tapping.  I replaced the deck on a large equipment roll back last year.  The trailer shop was out of drilling + tapping type.  I went thru quite a few bits putting the holes in the frame rails.  Get a 1/2" drive torx driver to drive the screws and use a 1/2" drive impact to do the work.  Recess the heads enough that they don't stand up when the lumber dries and shrinks.

I think oak is like 5% to 10% shrinkage from green to dry, so 6" wide green oak will shrink from 1/4" to over 1/2".  Not certain the expectation on a semi trailer.  Around here on equipment trailers, the cracks are never a concern. They are just some place for the water and slop to drain thru.

BTW,  I made good money on the job because no one else wanted to do it.

Warren