Slick Trailer Floor

[tsmaxx47]

yes put the rubber mat on the floor.cant say that ive ever had to deal with slick floor in a trailer.i hate to see cattle trailers with cattle panels nailed down in them.

i went with the cattle panels, -poor choice... for that semi circucler area in front, you're better off with a cardboard pattern.

 

[stocky]

Looks like I am the lone dissenter, here. I bought a trailer a year ago and it had only been used a few times to haul a couple horses. It is a 24x7. It had the rubber mats from TSC that are very heavy. The first load of cattle, they were slipping and sliding everywhere once it got wet. I unloaded them and loaded the second load, it was already wet and when the first cows hit it, they started slipping and sliding and went down. I got them out, got those mats out, put in cattle panels and have never had another problem. I went to TSC and examined their 40 dollar mats and they are the exact some ones. What could have been wrong? Is it possible they were upside down? I never noticed whether there is a difference in one side or the other. I was so angry at those cows slipping and falling that I nearly jerked my back out getting those heavy things out of the trailer. They are still laying on the ground where I left them.

 

[highgrit]

I use cattle panels, how about spray in bed liner put on thick?? Have ya'll tried that yet circlew?

 

[circlew]

Highgrit- We don't do the bed liner ourselves, but a lot of our customers have it done. Never heard of any problems with cows sliding. Also the trailers we get in trades with the bed liner are in awesome shape. It will pay for itself on trade in and selling.

 

[novatech]

I have always used the rubber floor mats with no trouble. They can be a heavy bugger to remove.

One of the worst used trailers I ever bought is one that the previous owner had used rubber mats on the floor. He pressure washed it on a regular basis. Problem is he never removed the mats to let it completely dry. The entire perimeter was rotted out along with the supporting angle iron being rusted out.
The best material I ever found was the picket fence used for snow drift. We had to replace it every year but it was cheap and easy. We don't get snow down here and don't know if they even still make it but it works very well.

 

[Caustic Burno]

I appreciate all the replies and would love to put the rubber matts down, but won't I have a problem with moisture between them and the wood floor??? I'm not meaning to be a problem but I want to make sure I do it right the first time so I don't go wasting money...Thanks Again

I pull the mats out in the inwter and let everything dry up. Very little gets between the mats and the floor anyway. It's been about 5 years now and the floor (and the rest of the inside of the trailer) looks like new. We clean it after every use.

That's the key to making a trailer last. It's what you can't see that will ruin the trailer. Like under the boards at the edges. I've seen some otherwise good looking trailers rusted out under them.

I wash mine down after every trip and spray the floor down with diesel after it dries. The original floor is still in there after 20+ years and solid.

 

[BCShorthorn]

I use rubber mats but then also put a bale of the bedding pellets on top . If you wet them a little they fluff up and then will absorb liquid and dry out solids. It keeps the floor dry and then if I'm useing trailer alot I will pull mats out and clean floor and let it dry before putting mats back in. I have even went in and "picked" it like I would a stall and didn't have to clean it completely out as often. I bought some stuff at Rural King to put on the floor. Its pretty thin and comes in a long roll, (you buy however long you need), it's 4 ft. wide, so I just had to do some figuring how much for a 16ft trailer. I think I ended up getting 28ft, measuring 7ft sections to fit across the trailer with 4 total sections. It isn't very heavy so I can get it in and out by myself. I do pull mats in the winter and clean it all out, then lay a couple of 2x4 on their side and lay the mats on top of them. This way air can get under them if you leave trailer outside where snow and rain blows in. I also would put a bale of shavings or the pellets (unopened) in the nose of the trailer in case I needed to haul something quick to the vet, that way they would be handy.

 

[novatech]

I use rubber mats but then also put a bale of the bedding pellets on top . If you wet them a little they fluff up and then will absorb liquid and dry out solids. It keeps the floor dry and then if I'm useing trailer alot I will pull mats out and clean floor and let it dry before putting mats back in. I have even went in and "picked" it like I would a stall and didn't have to clean it completely out as often. I bought some stuff at Rural King to put on the floor. Its pretty thin and comes in a long roll, (you buy however long you need), it's 4 ft. wide, so I just had to do some figuring how much for a 16ft trailer. I think I ended up getting 28ft, measuring 7ft sections to fit across the trailer with 4 total sections. It isn't very heavy so I can get it in and out by myself. I do pull mats in the winter and clean it all out, then lay a couple of 2x4 on their side and lay the mats on top of them. This way air can get under them if you leave trailer outside where snow and rain blows in. I also would put a bale of shavings or the pellets (unopened) in the nose of the trailer in case I needed to haul something quick to the vet, that way they would be handy.

That probably does a good job but water/urine can run down the sides and get trapped between the metal and wood. ( Urine has a high nitrogen content, like fertilizer. Fecal Matter is like compost holding the nitrogen allowing it to slowly eat away the metal.) It is also wicked into the end grain of the wood which will eventually rot even treated wood. It's what you don't or cannot see that will get to the trailer in the long run. Using diesel like Caustic suggested puts oil down into those places and prevents the water/urine from getting to the metal and end grain of the wood.

 

[Chevy]

Do the rubber mats move around? We had them truck bed lined before and they are pain in the butt if your hauling stuff. They always get twisted up and move all over the place. It was a mess!

 

[James T]

I have a cattle panel in mine and it works extremely well. If I had to do it all over again, I would oil the wood floor first with used engine oil and then use the heavy TSC rubber mats (screw them down). BTW, those mats are very heavy and not easy to move around.

 

[mlazyj]

We've used mats for years with no problems , get the heavy mats they stay put , the light duty one twist and go all over the place . We throw in some shavings , helps loads with slipping . Several folks around here have had bed liner put in their trailers , so far no complaints . I would just make sure it's of a type that has a bit of rubber feel to it , if it is hard you'll be right back were you started.

 

[Esker-J]

I use cattle panels, cattle and horses do fine.

And a tip for those who use rubber mats, they are really easy to drag around if you grab onto them with a pair of pliers.

 

[James T]

I wash mine down after every trip and spray the floor down with diesel after it dries. The original floor is still in there after 20+ years and solid.

Now, that 's a fun job isn't it Caustic? I used to rent a cow trailer before I got my own. The renter would charge a few dollars more if wan't clean upon return. After spraying it out at a car wash, I understood completely why he charged more. Could have fertilized a nice garden with what what left on my clothes, face and hair. :shock:

 

[Caustic Burno]

I wash mine down after every trip and spray the floor down with diesel after it dries. The original floor is still in there after 20+ years and solid.

Now, that 's a fun job isn't it Caustic? I used to rent a cow trailer before I got my own. The renter would charge a few dollars more if wan't clean upon return. After spraying it out at a car wash, I understood completely why he charged more. Could have fertilized a nice garden with what what left on my clothes, face and hair. :shock:

In all these years I have never hauled a constipated cow. It amazes me where all that crap can get. I just put on a slicker suit and rubber boot's and wade in.

 

[tsmaxx47]

I wash mine down after every trip and spray the floor down with diesel after it dries. The original floor is still in there after 20+ years and solid.

Now, that 's a fun job isn't it Caustic? I used to rent a cow trailer before I got my own. The renter would charge a few dollars more if wan't clean upon return. After spraying it out at a car wash, I understood completely why he charged more. Could have fertilized a nice garden with what what left on my clothes, face and hair. :shock:

i was cordially invited by the carwash not to come back.........now go figure?