Re-decking M871, what material?

[Bighurt]

Alright I have my M871 in for Mx, lets call it an annual.

Anyways while I have it in the drive for PMCS, I am considering re-decking it.

The deck is in horrible shape so it's not a bad idea. Only problem is I can't get white oak at least not without breaking the bank. So I'm considering using AC2 treated lumber. Anyone been down this road before? Is it a bad idea? Should I save my pennies and order in a load of white oak? Just trying to get a second opinion.

Thanks

 

[swbradley1]

I would think if you could get treated yellow pine that would work. Don't use treated white pine. Yellow is dense and heavy and although it isn't a hardwood it is a good wood.

Or just get white oak.

 

[papabear]

I've had a 25' equipment trailer decked with treated yellow 2X6 pine for about 6 years and the deck is still in very good condition. Stays outside in the elements year round.

We soak the deck about twice a year with diesel which makes it kind of slick for awhile but it sure helps. We also only haul wheeled equipment on it.

Of course if you want to haul tracked equipment like we do on the RGN then oak is the way to go. Check with local saw mills to see if they can sell you some rough cut oak.
I got enough rough cut oak from a saw mill 40 miles away to re-deck 2 Landolls and an RGN for $406.00 bucks.

 

[123mack]

If you want spend a lot, and use what the army uses, use apitong. http://www.woodsunlimited.com/

 

[porkysplace]

I would go with oak , seal it before installing . I re-decked my equipment hauler 12 years ago and it is still as solid as when installed . But it depends on what you haul if inch and a half pine will hold up .

 

[Fredo Corleone]

The most durable is Apitong, in Vermont I see alot of Hemlock beds.

 

[zebedee]

What the army uses or not - I've seen first hand the devistation in the far East from rain forest logging.... Heart breaking.

I'd go with domestic treated pine - go thick enough and if possible, tongue and grooved (or biscuited as appropriate). I've done oak before but after it got rained on, it cupped so bad, broke all the carriage bolts...

 

[patracy]

I too need to re-deck my 871. I was planning on going with a rough cut oak. There's a guy near my house (literally 6 houses down) that has a sawmill. I need to check with him to see what he can get. I need to take a look at home depot the next time I'm there to see if they have any decking screws that can thread themselves into a metal hole. I assume that's what everyone does. (Drills a hole then runs a threading screw in)

 

[patracy]

I've done oak before but after it got rained on, it cupped so bad, broke all the carriage bolts...

Hmm, didn't think about the carriage bolt idea. Thanks!

 

[Castle Bravo]

You guys are lucky, I think I'm like 600 miles from the nearest sawmill...

 

[patracy]

You guys are lucky, I think I'm like 600 miles from the nearest sawmill...

At least you can't get board there.

Ok, that was pathetic, I admit it.

 

[swbradley1]

You guys are lucky, I think I'm like 600 miles from the nearest sawmill...

Wrong, they cut up the petrified forest pieces don't they?




At least on par with as bad as Drew's.

 

[Castle Bravo]

Well at least it doesn't snow here...

 

[maddawg308]

Lots of equipment trailer owners around here go with locust boards, rough cut from the sawmill, instead of oak. Locust is very hard, sometimes called ironwood. A lot of the old fences around here are locust wood, the fences built 50-60 years ago and the posts are still standing. Not cheap, but cheaper than oak, and will last a long time.

 

[Bighurt]

You guys are lucky, I think I'm like 600 miles from the nearest sawmill...

That's what it is for me to.

I called the trailer places in the state they all order it in on a case by case basis.

Apitong or Oak.

White oak is $4.50 a ft Apitong is $8.86, treated pine is $1.20...guess which I'll be using.

And I can't get Yellow Pine unless I drive south again.

White Pine it is.

I'm a carpenter if I have to re-deck so be it. The hardware is going to be more expensive than the wood...

 

[maddawg308]

If you use white pine, try getting a 5-gallon bucket of linseed oil or tung oil, and coat the heck out of it, giving the stuff plenty of time to soak in, before you recoat. When that stuff dries it hardens like noones business. Might make the pine last a LOT longer than normal.

 

[topo]

I redecked my m269 wrecker trailer . I bought some used oak 3x12 lumber and used it on the sides where the tires would be on the trucks I would load on it . I used pine in the middle of the trailer because the heavy front axle would not be on them . It has worked fine . when using 1/4 self threading bolts I found it was best to use a number 1 drill bit because some times when tighting them down if the steel support is thin they will strip the hole but you can put a nut on the bolt and nothing wasted.With a smaller drill bit you may have problems the bolt snapping off or stripping trying to get through the steel and wasting a bolt.

 

[tim292stro]

A bit late in the thread but, have you thought about Greenheart?

Probably the stiffest wood in the world, fire resistant, rot and insect resistant. This is popular as piling, or decking. I believe the NJ boardwalk was rebuilt out of Greenheart - when they had a fire recently the Redwood burned but the Greenheart didn't.

 

[m16ty]

It amazes me what people have to pay for good hardwood lumber in certain parts of the country. I can get all the oak I want for around $1 a board ft but I am very good friends with a sawmill owner.

Around here, I can think of 7 sawmills in a 10 mile radius and the woods are full of red and white oak.

We had Apitong flooring on a new civilian trailer we bought and I wasn't too happy with it. It is very strong but it didn't seem to hold up to the weather any better than oak. It's good wood but not worth the price IMO. You will also get nasty splinters from it by just laying your hand on the wood after it gets some age on it.

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

It's kind of funny looking at the different responses on this thread, and seeing where people live. Guys like Mike (and me) live where locust is easy to come by, so we think of locust. Others who live where there are hardwood forests think nothing of recommending oak. Some of us have access to yellow pine, so that's easy to recommend.

But the OP lives where hardwoods are shipped in, and expensive! Our oak & locust doesn't do him much good!


Treated pine isn't going to hold up more than a few years, but I agree with the oil recommendation. Linseed or tung. Even dosing it with diesel will help prolong its life.

There might be one way to make oak affordable, but it's some work. Reclaim some pallets. The rails are usually oak. There are a couple of tools seen on Youtube that make it easy to disassemble them. Here are a few:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vs5qsWfGLf0


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqAlmRiQi8A


This one is homemade.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkKFGIjPSvI




Once you have the rails separated, run them on a table saw to trim them down (to get rid of the cutouts) and you've got some very stout oak boards.