Stock Trailer lumber

[Bill Gaiche]

What would be the best logs in my area to saw into lumber that will last the longest for a stock trailer? Post Oak, Bur Oak, Red Oak, Elm, Hackberry, Ash, Walnut, and Locust is scarce. Northeast Ok. Thanks, bg

[drobertson]

anything that is somewhat rot resistant should do. Keeping as much heart as possible in any of these would help, but not completely necessary.  Find the bed width, make a cant to cover the necessary boards, and saw away.  Expect some side lumber if done properly,(my way of sawing) relieving stress in logs as much as possible with a few 1" boards.  White oak is the most common requested around here.  Not sure on the northern species, I'm sure there are equivalents that will more than do the job. 

[Den-Den]

Post oak would be very durable if you have some good logs.  It is not easy to dry but a few checks won't bother the cattle.

[ozarkgem]

What would be the best logs in my area to saw into lumber that will last the longest for a stock trailer? Post Oak, Bur Oak, Red Oak, Elm, Hackberry, Ash, Walnut, and Locust is scarce. Northeast Ok. Thanks, bg

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They use a lot of bur oak for trailer floors here. Post oak would be my second. The rest are not something I would use in a trailer floor.

[Andy White]

Bill,
You can do like the cowboys do down here. Use SYP and do it every three or four years. The cows will have it looking like Walnut in a trip or two anyway! :-\ :-\ >:(  I'll keep a lookout for some White Oak for you. Maybe trade for some of that rotimus wood!   Andy

[drobertson]

Post oak would be very durable if you have some good logs.  It is not easy to dry but a few checks won't bother the cattle.{/quote:}
Post oak makes real good decking, a white oak species.  It does have some weird inclusions in the lumber, it does
twist a bit more than the white oak with a more flakey bark.  I have cut many using post oak, but now prefer the flakey  barked  white oak, not sure of the proper name, just know the bark and grain,

[WDH]

One of the white oaks, for sure. 

[backwoods sawyer]

For the last stock trailer I milled white oak and he wanted it 3" as he had a bull to haul down south. The deck he was replacing was just 2 years old presure treated doug fir.

[redprospector]

You can use just about anything on a utility trailer, or equipment trailer, but use the very best available to you on a stock trailer, and then inspect it regularly.
If you break a board in any other kind of trailer it's probably not the end of the world.
But in a stock trailer you have a living animal that is depending on YOU to keep it safe, and get it to where you want it to be in one piece.
I'm not familiar enough with your wood to recommend anything other than to only use good lumber. I once had a good horse step through a bad board going down a highway. That was one of the toughest things I've ever had to face up to, and take care of.

[woodhick]

You can use just about anything on a utility trailer, or equipment trailer, but use the very best available to you on a stock trailer, and then inspect it regularly.
If you break a board in any other kind of trailer it's probably not the end of the world.
But in a stock trailer you have a living animal that is depending on YOU to keep it safe, and get it to where you want it to be in one piece.
I'm not familiar enough with your wood to recommend anything other than to only use good lumber. I once had a good horse step through a bad board going down a highway. That was one of the toughest things I've ever had to face up to, and take care of.

I have a friend that is a vet and told me the worst thing he ever had to treat as a vet was a horse that broke through a trailer and had its hoof drug almost completely off.   Said horse did recover but took a long time.

[redprospector]

I have a friend that is a vet and told me the worst thing he ever had to treat as a vet was a horse that broke through a trailer and had its hoof drug almost completely off.   Said horse did recover but took a long time.

This horse didn't recover.
I was 17 at the time. I learned a lot that day.
1. Pay attention to what you are doing, especially when driving.
2. Check on the livestock in your possession often.
3. Never! Never! Never! Cheap out on the floor between your livestock and the
    endless grinding strip we call a hiway.
4. Putting down a horse that was more like a friend is not as easy as it looks in the
    movies.

And that's all I have to say about that.

[Chuck White]

Most farmers in this area used to use Elm for flooring in their horses box stalls!

Elm is very resistant to rot!

[diesel pap]

on flat bed trailers we use cucumber.

[dboyt]

As much as the species, make sure it is straight-grained and free of serious knots.  I believe the flaky barked white oak Drobertson refers to is white oak (Quercus alba).  That would be my #1 choice-- all heartwood.  I have milled it for heavy equipment trailers.  Crawler treads tear anything up, but it is tough wood.  3" thick seems a bit excessive, but hey, give the customer what he wants.

[goose63]

Would hackberry work and should it be tongue and groove ?

[tmarch]

Would hackberry work and should it be tongue and groove ?

No matter which you choose I wouldn't use tongue and groove, leave a small gap between the boards to allow moisture to drain.

[goose63]

thanks tmarch that's what I needed to know 8)

[chevytaHOE5674]

Just about any species will last if you take care of it. I see too many guys that leave manure in there for extended periods of time and it rots the wood in a hurry. My stock trailer has just treated lumber and has got to be at least 10 years old and it still looks like new. But every time I haul animals it gets hosed out with hot water and soap as soon as its empty again.

Edit: Forgot to mention if I ever have to replace the floor in my current trailer it is going to get an aluminum floor (or better yet an aluminum trailer), that way you never have to even think about it. Just hose it out and forget about it.

[Knute]

White oak would be my first choice.