Flatbed trailer maintenance and upgrades

[L.R.S.]

I bought this flatbed November 2014.  It is old, built in 1985, and heavy.  It's 1/4" channel frame on top of a 1/4" channel frame.  I weighed it once and I think it was around 3400lbs empty.  The very first thing I did was upgrade the old house car axles to 5500lb 6 lug axles with brakes on all three axles. 

I've done plenty of other upgrades over the years-

built my own ramps and under deck storage

added 20 D rings

tool box 

battery mounted under the deck

solar panel for the battery

5k Harbor Freight winch and cordless remote

electric jack 

I'd figure this trailer has over 50k miles on it now.  It was long overdue for some major maintenance.  My son recently started running transports for me and said he'd help with the maintenance.  But really he was scared that a car was going to fall through the deck because it was falling apart.  In my defense I haul more then just cars.  Sometimes I get a call to haul steel beams and various stuff like that.  Those kinds of loads are hard on the deck so I never upgraded it.  But my son was right-  We can't keep hauling $250k sandrails on this Crapty deck.



The day I bought it in November 2014.  I still have the stake beds for it. They re in bad shape but no reason to toss them out.







Six years later it's time to reinvest in my equipment...

 

[L.R.S.]

Can't find any pictures of how bad the deck was.  Posted a bunch on my IG and a guy asked me if I was going to repurpose the old decking?  I planned to cut it up for firewood but the guy gave me another idea.  My son and I put 10 of the 13 boards in our basement to add storage in the crawl space.  Worked great and gave me a 24' x 8 ' wide 'deck' over the dirt.



The wiring was all bad.  I got cheap and patched it up myself.  Bad call, more on that later.



I bought the new lumber (before the prices sky rocketed) a few months ago.  With running transports and some rainy days the lumber sat for a while.  I finally scheduled a week of maintenance while my son was on spring break.  The original decking had bolts every 24" on center, 2 bolts per cross member, 13 total boards = 312 bolts, which was overkill for 24' long boards.  I went every 48" (or as close as the cross member was to that) for the new lumber which cut it down to just over 100 bolts.  Getting the first board center was crucial.  



I decided to leave all the stake pockets so I had to trim the boards.



I also decided to 'save myself some time' and use the holes that were already drilled in the trailer for mounting the new deck.  In hindsight this didn't save me anytime whatsoever.  I would have been better off snapping a chalk line and drilling all new holes.



We were really happy with the new deck.  The plan was to coat it with some sort of water sealer to protect it.  But duty called and we had transport jobs starting to back up so we put the trailer back in service for a few weeks.

 

[L.R.S.]

Along with the new decking I had a pair of Prodigy brake controllers sitting on the shelf and decided to install them into our two Dmax's.  Fairly simple install and the wiring harness just plugged right in.  Once I hooked it up the brake controller said it was sensing a short.  Eff me.  I installed the other brake controller into my truck and it said the same thing when hooked up to the flatbed.  Dammit.  We hooked up to my enclosed and the controller was working fine.  I guess my patch work wiring repairs on the flatbed were crap.  I called my buddy Chris Johnson, also a board member here but hasn't re-logged in yet, and asked if he had trailer wiring guy.  It was time to have a professional do the job.  Chris hooked me up with his guy in Riverside and I dropped the trailer off the next day.  I asked him to replace all the wiring 100%, whatever he didn't like- just replace it.  We got to talking and I also asked him to check my wheel bearings and brakes.  I pump grease into the wheel bearings regularly but have never pulled them apart.  The trailer brakes also sucked but I figured that was because of the wiring.  I was wrong.

Rigo the trailer guy called me the next day and said my brakes were shot.  I asked if he could order me new brakes and I'd install them myself.  He said sure, he'd order them that day.  Then I checked myself and I called him right back and said he could order the brakes, wheel bearings and whatever else he saw that was bad and make all the repairs.  This is what he does for a living, just have him do it all.  I know what I'm good at so I'll 'stay in my lane' and just do my thing.



Only have a screen shot for the brakes.  They were beyond gone.  All six were replaced and one drum had a race frozen so he replaced that drum as well.  All the wiring from tip to tail is 100% new and my Prodigy brake controller was working great on the drive home and showed no fault codes.  Who knew brake controllers were so advanced that they show codes?  News to me.

 

[L.R.S.]

Been a while for me doing threads so this one is a little out of order.  Going back to after the deck was installed but before the wiring and brakes were replaced my son and I rebuilt the leaf springs.  I ordered replacement hardware on Amazon because it's just so convenient.  Click a few buttons, wait a day or two and a box shows up.  

Bolts with zerk fitting

Bronze bushings

Leaf spring shackle hangers

Equalizers (wrong ones, make sure you measure first!)



This is the fourth set of shackle links I've installed on this flatbed.  The hardware is original and had plastic bushings.  Plastic?  WTF?  I honestly didn't know that.  Hopefully the new bronze bushings and greaseable bolts will last. 

More screen shots-







New bolts with zerk fittings.  Kinda cool, if they work.



New bronze bushings.  They have to be better than the plastic bushings.







The equalizers were all shot!  I ordered new ones on Amazon but didn't measure my old set first.  The new ones were 5 3/4" and I needed 7".  I Googled 'trailer parts' and my zip code and a local trailer supply/maintenance place popped up about 5 miles from my house.  I called and they said they had what I needed in stock.  I jammed over with an old equalizer in hand and they matched it up.  They had four in stock for about $100 (vs. the $26 set I got on Amazon, but were the wrong size).  No arguments from me- found myself a new local trailer place and some super nice guys own it.  I'll  be back for sure. 





These pics were taken before the new equalizers were installed.  So all new hardware, new bushings, new leaf spring links, new equalizers.  This trailer is ready for another 50k miles.  And over the next couple of weeks we put a few thousand miles on it.  Just need to set aside a few days to finally finish the deck coating.

 

[L.R.S.]

I really like the look of the fresh wood deck but I know it won't last and it needs to be protected.  I looked into water sealers and stains, paint and even hit up some places about a Line X type truck bed coating.  It was expensive and as soon as I said '...brand new wood deck flatbed trailer..." most places didn't have a clue what I was talking about.  Eff em, I'll DIY this one.  Time for some YouTube University- found tons of videos on using a truck bed liner on wood deck trailers.  An hour of videos later and I decided on Herculiner Bed Liner from Walmart. $36 per quart and $13 for an aerosol can so I picked up two quarts and one can.  I had 200 sq/ft of trailer deck to cover and no idea if I'd need multiple coats or how much one quart would cover.  In one video the dude sanded the deck, applied an exterior primer, then did three coats of Herculiner.  Uh, no thanks.



We pressure washed the deck a month ago but then it rained on/off for a full week and I park under an Oak tree at my house.  On top of all that it's Spring and the Oak is dropping leaves and Crap all over my new deck.  So we pressure washed it again and could really see a difference.  I parked on the street over night and being 85* out it was dry pretty quickly.



We, meaning my son, used a broom to dry scrub and left over debris then we hit it with the leaf blower.  Of course a breeze was blowing and the stupid Oak tree was dropping Crap all over it again so we moved to the street where there isn't a tree.





We did a little test spot and I realized we needed to paint the seams first or it would look like Crap later.  I grabbed the can of Herculiner spray paint and got to work.  That can was gone in minutes and had hardly covered any of the seams.  I had 4 cans of flat black Rusteoluem that's supposed to be good for wood so I hit all the seams with that.  







Once the seams were done my son got to work with the roller.

 

[L.R.S.]

Not knowing what the coverage would be like with 2 quarts I picked up a gallon of the Herculiner just in case.  Once the first can was empty we had covered 4 1/2 boards.  Not bad at all for a $36 quart.  Two quarts would be a little shy of coating all 13 boards so I'm glad I had the gallon as a backup.  





So that's done, and honestly I was not impressed at all.  Actually I was pretty bummed.  The Herculiner looked like regular paint and didn't seem like a bed liner at all.  Whatever, it was coated and the wood would be protected.  We called it a day and let it dry over night.

This morning we looked at the deck and it was dry.  I was surprised to feel it and it definitely is a bed liner, or at least has the texture and roughness of a bed liner coating. I take back what I said yesterday about being bummed and it looking like regular paint.  It just needed time to cure, soak into the wood, or whatever.  It's all good now.  We still had almost a full gallon of Herculiner so my son did a second coat which is drying overnight.  Looking forward to seeing how it turned out tomorrow.     

 

[Jmhanson]

Nice write up. When I replaced the deck on my little trailer I used self tapping screws for the boards. I meant to coat it but never did and that was 4 years ago or so. 

 

[jareddustin]

im going to redo the deck on my 12' this summer and i have been watching youtube and reading things like this.

would coating the boards before you put them down be any better, or does that make it harder to set the boards correctly on the trailer? i was just thinking using a water seal, but the bedliner idea is pretty cool. 

is there any way to get to your battery without removing the boards? i like that idea but also not sure my trailer has enough room. 

 

[Jmhanson]

Yeah I’m thinking the next time I redo the boards I’ll coat and then put them on. Shouldn’t be an issue setting them after coated, at least none that I could think of. 

 

[Realbadlarry]

I used the Behr deck coating with the sand on my 24" flatbed...still looks great and holds up great to sxs and jeep. I picked the grey to keep the heat down.

 

[SuperHunky]

im going to redo the deck on my 12' this summer and i have been watching youtube and reading things like this.

would coating the boards before you put them down be any better, or does that make it harder to set the boards correctly on the trailer? i was just thinking using a water seal, but the bedliner idea is pretty cool. 

is there any way to get to your battery without removing the boards? i like that idea but also not sure my trailer has enough room. 

Best way is to coat all sides of the wood once it is cut to fit then give the top another coat once installed...Ask how I know...also Home Depot has this nasty smelling wood preservative/termite proof sealer that does an excellent job then finish coat the top with paint,etc.

 

[Looney Duner]

When re did a flatbed I had a few years back, I did a bunch of reading online, and then, um accidentally, spilled a 50/50 mixture of diesel and motor oil all over the deck.... it was super hot outside and it soaked in as fast as I could mop it up...

Years later it still beads water, and looked great. And amazingly, a week after coating it, it was clean. I could sit on it with out my clothes getting oil on them. Still looking great when I sold it......for too cheap......should have kept it... 

 

[BONES]

When re did a flatbed I had a few years back, I did a bunch of reading online, and then, um accidentally, spilled a 50/50 mixture of diesel and motor oil all over the deck.... it was super hot outside and it soaked in as fast as I could mop it up...

Years later it still beads water, and looked great. And amazingly, a week after coating it, it was clean. I could sit on it with out my clothes getting oil on them. Still looking great when I sold it......for too cheap......should have kept it... 

used or fresh oil? I’ve done used oil but never a 50/50 mix. 
 

also really nice write up Jeff. I redid a trailer not long ago and wish I had paid someone to do the brakes and bearings, it wasnt overly difficult just very time consuming. 

 

[Sinverguenza]

When I redid my trailer with new wood I also used Behr from Home Depot. They have lots of colors they can make and it’s grainy. Loved that stuff. It’s on the thick side and not watery. 

 

[Looney Duner]

used or fresh oil? I’ve done used oil but never a 50/50 mix. 
 

Used, from my diesel truck, gave it a nice dark color.

Mixed with diesel to thin it, so it soaks in.

 

[honEXduner]

Used, from my diesel truck, gave it a nice dark color.

Mixed with diesel to thin it, so it soaks in.

I'm thinking the thinning it out is the trick. I applied some used oil to my deck two going on three years ago and it is still shedding dirt onto clothes. It's about due for another  coat this summer so I may try the 50/50 mix this time. 

 

[L.R.S.]

Nice write up. When I replaced the deck on my little trailer I used self tapping screws for the boards. I meant to coat it but never did and that was 4 years ago or so. 

I owned a flatbed that had self tappers for the decking.  They were constantly pulling out or stripping the holes.  Having a transport business my trailers see lots of miles and these California roads suck.  I'm sure that had a significant effect.

 

[L.R.S.]

im going to redo the deck on my 12' this summer and i have been watching youtube and reading things like this.

would coating the boards before you put them down be any better, or does that make it harder to set the boards correctly on the trailer? i was just thinking using a water seal, but the bedliner idea is pretty cool. 

is there any way to get to your battery without removing the boards? i like that idea but also not sure my trailer has enough room. 

Coating them before would be easier then after they're installed.  I considered this but needed to upgrade my trailer in stages so as not to shut down my business for an extended time period.  The battery is fully accessible from under the deck.  I used 1.5" X 1.5" angle iron to make a tray and some all thread for a hold down.  You can't see in the pic but there is 6" of clearance between the top of the battery and the deck so plenty of room to remove it, which I've done several times.

 

[azyxzer]

I finally figured out that it is a good idea to tack-weld the heads of the bolts to the shackles to keep them from spinning in the shackles and force the rotation to take place between the bolt and the bushing like it is supposed to do. The little splines that are supposed to dig into the metal and keep them from turning don't last too long on rough roads (mine always looked like your old ones). If you do that, together with your new greaseable bolts I bet they will last a really long time.

I need to put a new deck on my trailer and will have to try the bedliner, sounds very good.