Trailer Project

I finally decided I was going to do some work to my 16 foot trailer that I picked up 4 years ago off Craigslist for a steal. So far it has been good to me and when I bought it it had new trailer brakes and bearings as well as a new break away box. I didn't think the boards would last as long as they have but the time came to replace them so I started on it tonight.

I cut the boards off with the best tool known to man and got the frame washed and scrubbed down. Tomorrow I hope to prep the frame under the floor then paint it. After that I am going to put down a new pressure treated deck on it and build some side rails to aid in firewood hauling.

Everything still looks good and solid and nothing is bent or twisted so I am happy about that. Here area few pics to get started including some new wood for the bonfire.

 

Nice work certified! Looks good.

 

Looks good so far. She'll be brand spankin when you get'r done. Good size trailer frame...

 

Looking good, post pics of her when you get it done.

 

Quick question, the trailer is 78" wide where the decking will be. I was planning on going with 2x12x16 boards since I will only have to take 2" off the last board. If I go with those boards it is about $130 for new decking.

The other option is to go with something like a that isn't quite as wide but end up with a smaller last board.

Is there any other reason to go with smaller boards width wise?

 

Wider planks. Should be good and rugged.

 

I would not use 12" boards as my experience is that wider boards are more prone to splitting. When I rebuilt my trailer 7-8 years went with 2x8's on the outside and 2 2x6's in the middle. No ripping was required.

 

Looks like a naked trailer The wider the board the more it will cup, , crack, split, twist, crook and wang, expecially treated wood

 

Yep, gotta lock down your deck or it'll take off on ya. Pressure treated sure does crack and split over time. I screw the planks down with lots of these deck screws. Fast and easy... drill pilot hole and drive the screw. Cuts it's own thread going thru the steel. 3 across a 12" plank, on every rail.

 

Add some angle as a railing about 12" up and you will be amazed how much it will stiffen up that trailer. That whole Ix^4 + A*d^2 thing....

 

Yup tube is better than angle, most don't seem to want to spring for the extra cost.

 

I get that and I had thought about it but I haul stuff that at times needs to hang over the side a bit and it is nice to be able to slide pallets straight on the bed from the side which is why I was thinking removable sideboards.

 

I got the underside of the frame wire brushed with an angle grinder yesterday. It took about three hours and just about destroyed my back and maybe my lungs lol. I even wore a paper mask and still managed to breathe the crap.

After I got done I had to go out to my parents and now for 4 hours so nothing else got done. If my back holds out I would like to start painting the underside today.

 

If you don't wear your watch the contrast won't be that bad.

 

Got the whole underside of the trailer frame painted. I even had some help even though it probably added some time lol. She had fun though.

I need to go figure out what boards I am going to go with so I can get them purchased.

 

looking good!

 

So I spent a bunch of time trying to figure out what and how much lumber to buy. I ended up going with 2 2x8x16's and 11 2x6x16's. I figured that when they were all placed on the deck and pushed tight together it would give 1.25" of gap on one side and allow me to space them all out to between 1/16" and 1/8". I bought the lumber and started on the deck tonight and figured this wouldn't take more than an hour or two (lol yeah right)

Right off the bat I realized all the boards are soaking wet and swelled up which meant that none of them want to fit under the lip on the back side of the trailer. I then had to cut each board to 16 feet and sand a slight taper into the board so that it would slide in to the lip on the trailer. Everything was going ok until I got to the last two boards and realized they aren't going to fit .
Turns out all the 2x6's (which should be 5.5") are actually closer to 5.75" so when you add up all the boards I lost right at close to 2.5". I now have a final opening that is roughly 3.5' wide and an extra 2x6 that doesn't fit. I now have 2 options go get a 2x4 which would drop in with a bit of coaxing or remove another 2x6 and drop a 2x10 in. I am leaning towards the 2x4 unless someone talks me out of it as I can split the 2x6's and put 5 on one side and 5 on the other and drop the 2x4 right in the center to keep everything all nice and symmetrical (yes I can be a bit OCD).

 

Rip the 2'x6' and git 'er dun

 

That though crossed my mind more than once but the tight wad in me says I can save $5 by returning it

although it's probably not worth my time........