I bought a trailer a couple years ago. Made by Mennonites so it’s solid. The floor boards are ash. Wondering if I should take them out and put in pressure treated. I would be more willing to store the trailer outside, freeing up room in the shop. And I’d also get some ash boards for wood projects.
do not use pressure treated lumber it is corrosive. https://www.fpl.fs.usda.gov/documnts/pdf2008/fpl_2008_zelinka001.pdf
I was thinking that there’s a better use for nice ash lumber. I’m just getting into woodworking and have bought a bit of hardwood lumber and it’s not cheap!
Good to know. Sounds like it’s not as bad on aluminum though. Gonna have to sell this trailer in a couple years, though. For a bigger one.
What's the cost comparison between the two? How much for the pressure treated vs the ash? Maybe you could just by new ash boards, they won't have holes you'll have to work around. In the Pines has a good point on corrosion though i would think a barrier of some sort between the board and frame should fix that. Roofing rubber, thin plastic, ect....
the last link I gave with aluminum states just that, to use ice and water shield over the wood to create a barrier between the aluminum and the wood. Tar paper would work as well, we always used that on PT lumber that touches concrete. ice&water is pretty pricey though and would just be cheaper to buy rough cut hardwood and seal it.
I wouldn’t pay much mind to storing it outside. I grew up around flatbed trailers and dump trucks with wooden boards on top. The only time we replaced one was from catching it with a machine or when they broke from a knot. As long as it’s empty and no dirt, leaves, wood fodder…anything that holds water and keeps the sun from drying it out after a rain
We treat wooden trailer/truck bed floors with used motor oil...brush it on, let it soak in, repeat as needed. Some spots can be a little slick at first, but that doesn't last long usually.
I'd use the ash until they started to fail. I think I'd use white oak before PT, if I could find them.
Floor doesn't look bad. I don't replace deck boards until they fail. I'm redecking a 16' car trailer this spring. I wanted to use a hard wood but couldn't find anyone local cutting 16'. I decided to go with pressure treated pine. I'm ordering the old style using CCA for critical structure use. I don't want to use the new style that causes advanced corrosion of steel components.
