My mechanic needs decking for his equipment trailer. No oak available but have white ash. Other than rotting sooner any other problems? 3X12 for the sides and thinner in the middle.
White ash will last almost as long as white oak so long as it's not wet all the time such as a post. I would use it anytime for decking. Steve
Better to use the Ash before the bugs get it,
suggest he spray the sawn planks with used oil
before he mounts it, should help the wet condition
Dan
Red elm if you can get it, wont split easily cause of grain . doesn't rot fast #1 choice around here on pipeline trailers. growsers from the iron doesn't tear it up as fast as straight grain wood.
Ash will work fine. I would make the thickness uniform across the trailer. Some oil treatment will extend the life of the deck. Regards, Clark
Well, it appears that you or your friend have a choice of woods to use.
If I may suggest, what we do over here, in addition to the basic decking material, is use a softwood as sacrificial on top of the deck, where the tracks and grouser ride ( two stips,each two ft. wide). It is easier to replace these when damaged and holds the equipment better when chained down...IMHO
Just started milling new float deck boards yesterday. Birch 2-1/2" to 2-1/4" x 7-1/2" to 9-1/2". New float has oak decking. Never seen anyone use birch but from experience it should do well.
I have sawn Beech, R/Oak, Hickory, W/Ash & Elm 2½x8-10 for a couple of my customers!
Seemed to work out well for them!
I do believe that they sprayed it down with some kind of preservative or oil!
We have tons of huge cottonwood. not rot resistant, but intertwined grain holds it together and it crushes instead of splitting. Did some full on 2 x 8 x 18feet for a trailer to haul bulldozer about 4 years ago. sprayed a little tung oil on it to repel water, holding up well and good use for a wood that many do not find useful for many things. the trailer had rows on each side for the tracks, trailer was about 30 feet long.
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Any wood that is stringy when trying to split (I.E. elm,hickory) makes great flooring .
This may be a dumb question, but would SweetGum work as trailer decking? It grows like a weed here.
Boy its stringy enough! But I don't know if your could ever get it to stay flat. I don't remember it being very weather resistant either. let us know what your find.