Cleaning stock trailer floor

[Calhoun Farm]

Anybody got any tips on keeping your trailer floor clean? We have cattle panel down and after every trip I have to pressure wash the floor (wood), its not a big deal but with winter coming it takes me about 25mins to get it clean and then I'm soaked and freezing. I was just wondering if you guys had any tips on something I could spray on it (thats not going to cause slip issues for cattle) that would allow me to hose off the manure instead of having to use high pressure.

 

[M5farm]

Anybody got any tips on keeping your trailer floor clean? We have cattle panel down and after every trip I have to pressure wash the floor (wood), its not a big deal but with winter coming it takes me about 25mins to get it clean and then I'm soaked and freezing. I was just wondering if you guys had any tips on something I could spray on it (thats not going to cause slip issues for cattle) that would allow me to hose off the manure instead of having to use high pressure.

put the cows on fresh green grass! before you haul them

 

[ALACOWMAN]

gonna be hard to do with the panel there, and anything like that would be to slick when they turned their bowls loose.. which is the exact moment they step on... the stress makes em squirt

 

[Anonymous]

Dare I say you are doing more damage pressure washing it every trip than if you were to do it less often. You soak every inch of the frame, deck and axle each time. The manure and urine only gets to smaller areas on the decking and frame.

 

[denvermartinfarms]

Dare I say you are doing more damage pressure washing it every trip than if you were to do it less often. You soak every inch of the frame, deck and axle each time. The manure and urine only gets to smaller areas on the decking and frame.

I never wash a trailer, I haul sevarel days a week so there's no way I would wash every load anyway, but still I don't think I wash but maybe once a year. Worst part of a clean trailer is the first time after washing it nothing wants to go in it.

 

[kenny thomas]

Dare I say you are doing more damage pressure washing it every trip than if you were to do it less often. You soak every inch of the frame, deck and axle each time. The manure and urine only gets to smaller areas on the decking and frame.

I never wash a trailer, I haul sevarel days a week so there's no way I would wash every load anyway, but still I don't think I wash but maybe once a year. Worst part of a clean trailer is the first time after washing it nothing wants to go in it.

I agree with both. I tell everyone that unless you are hauling a lot you don't need a trailer. Hire your hauling done and it will be lots cheaper.
Mine usually gets cleaned once a year also. But it is a Wilson aluminum so not as big an issue.

 

[denvermartinfarms]

Mine is not aluminum, but like i said in the last 5 years I've washed it 5 times at the very most and it hasn't rusted away yet, and doesn't look like it's going to any time soon.

 

[EastTxBrushCattle]

I gave up on pressure washing mine, seemed like I was relocating the manure from the floor onto my face. I use a nozzle on the water hose and do it while it's still semi fresh and it cleans it up just fine. I have a cattle panel down in front of the cut gate on my 20 ft trailer and it will clean it off no problem. If done while the stuff is still fresh, it might take all of 20 minutes. Honestly if it took much longer, it probably wouldn't get done.

I agree that if you haul frequently, it's a losing battle. I move my cows twice a year, take calves to the sale in small groups 4-5 times a year plus the odd trip to the vet or whatever when necessary. So it's not that hard for me to get it cleaned up after using it. I won't argue that it will rust out any faster than if you never cleaned it but it took me a few years to even be able to afford a decent trailer so if nothing else it makes me feel better.

 

[runningr]

I agree with not washing due to causing more problems especially on a treated floor using a pressure washer breaks down wood faster. While its not our main trailer we still have and use a 1973 model gooseneck brand bar top my dad bought brand new its been painted several times, and had angle iorn replaced once along sides and at the front around 2000 may have been washed once a year and hauled on a lot. She is still doing fine.