Wood or Rubber floor

[agcntry]

Looking at Travalong advantage trailers in 20' or 24' and wondering if the rubber is worth the extra money? Also does the rubber make the trailer that much heavier and pull harder? I wash my trailer after every use, so not sure the rubber is worth the extra.

 

[pdfangus]

I just rebuilt my old trailer and I bought some rubber mats for the floor.

I just put em down over the board floor.

I wish I had done it years ago.

do not have to worry about bedding at all for traction. Horses and cattle ride better. Hauled a stifled ton bull about 80 miles to market a couple weeks ago and figured it would be a bumpy ride and he rode like a champ cause his footing was solid.

I just put mine in loose so that I can pull out and wash after hauling. don't have to wash after the horses but sure do after the cattle.

 

[dun]

I just rebuilt my old trailer and I bought some rubber mats for the floor.

What kind of mats, where did you get them?

 

[skyline]

We've got a 16 foot long stock trailer that I haul horses and cattle in. Has a wooden floor. I was afraid to put the 6x6 grid metal panels in like you see some folks do for fear that my shod horses would get hurt on it. Went to TSC (I do hate that place, but that's another story) and bought their heavy duty rubber stall mats - about 1/2 to 3/4" thick. Just laid them in there and they have done a great job for both the cattle and horses. Good traction and easy to hose out. They do move just a little and I intend to stop that with some screws and flat washers.

 

[oscar p]

I have rubber mats in my trailer,I bought them at the co/op.They are 4x6 and have a rough surface for traction.If I have a load of cows or calves, it is a slippery mess,rubber or not.I or 2 cows are fine. I keep a heavy wire hog panel handy to slide in mine if I haul a load of cows. I slide the wire panel out to haul horses, it will pull the shoes off a horse.

 

[hillrancher]

We used old gravel screen conveyor belting and screwed it down to the wood flooring, has worked real well.

 

[MrBilly]

I have a Gooseneck brand cattle trailer in which I had them place the Rumber (rubber) boards - these are not mats. The boards are heavy, but they will last forever and clean up easily. They are slick and I had to place a cattle panel on them to keep the cattle from skating around on them. I had the option of the boards butting on each other or leaving a 1/4 inch space between them. I chose the latter option which makes cleaning the trailer out after every use even easier. They do cost more, but then I am not about to put in another lumber floor - I opted for the rubber

Billy

 

[novatech]

The rubber boards sound like a good idea. The problem is that they hold moisture urine, and manure between the board and angle iron that supports them. Wood will do the same but when you replace the wood it is an opportunity to inspect the angle iron support. It may be necessary to repair rusted places and repaint each time.

 

[Caustic Burno]

The rubber boards sound like a good idea. The problem is that they hold moisture urine, and manure between the board and angle iron that supports them. Wood will do the same but when you replace the wood it is an opportunity to inspect the angle iron support. It may be necessary to repair rusted places and repaint each time.

I agree and prefer wood as well I also soak the wood down a couple times a year with diesel.

 

[Jogeephus]

I got a wood floor in mine but I went by the dairy and the owner gave me some rubber mats that were damaged and they fit right in place. True, they do have some holes in them but hey they are free. He two large piles of old ones and told me to take as many as I wanted. I imagine other dairies would do the same.

 

[cfpinz]

I just rebuilt my old trailer and I bought some rubber mats for the floor.

What kind of mats, where did you get them?

I'm not pdf but...

I covered the whole floor of a 20' steel trailer one time in them. 4x6 and 3/4" thick I believe, heavy as crap. Make sure you throw some hay or something on top of them before using them the first time, cows will balk at the solid black surface. Mine came from TSC. They run around 40 bucks but you can catch them on sale for $35 or even less sometimes. They almost always put them on sale the day after Thanksgiving. I've got one in the back of my aluminum trailer now where every cow thinks it's a good idea to spin their wheels before they exit the ride. Been meaning to buy enough to cover the whole trailer but hate to part with the green.

 

[pdfangus]

Mine are rubber stall mats as others have described and about 34 inch thick.

I got them at my local feed store.

Mine are not slick like some folks have described. All the stock rides well on them. Now you can get enough juicy cow crap on em to slided in but that would be the case with any floor that didn't have a lot of drains holes.

I have not experienced any increased problem with loading cattle and most of mine are loaded at a gate.

I did not fasten mine down as I pull them and wash everything down after hauling cattle. failure to do so on a consistent basis is why I had to rebuild the trailer in the first place. Not having to use bedding makes cleanout a snap. Park the trailer on a slight incline for drainage and hose it out. pull the mats and hose again and let em dry and pop em back in. Mats are heavy and awkward to handle but I have found that with two pair of vice grips I can do about what I want to with them pretty easily. vice grips give me a handle. My mats are over a rough cut oak floor and i treat the oak with linseed oil about once a year. this year I even pulled em out and treated the bottom sides. did a little maintenance welding while I had the floor out. I don't have the floor fastened down either but my floor does not have any tilt ability and is supported on all four sides and then the mats on top anchor everything. Alll built for ease of cleaning.

 

[novatech]

We used the prefab picket fence when I was a kid to keep cattle from slipping. I think it is called snow fence in some areas. Can't find the stuff anymore, it don't snow here.
pdfangus; Pulling those mats out and cleaning is great. Letting the boards dry before putting the mats back is essential to keep them from rotting. I oil mine with used motor oil. I have been using it on my flat bed trailers for years. Used hydraulic oil heated up is even better.

 

[klintdog]

I bought a new 24' Travalong trailer 2 years ago and went through the same debate. We ended up going with the wood flood and just put rubber mats on top of it. My logic is that I can pull the mats out of the trailer and clean them up and get any excess manure off the sidewalls and get it good and clean, something you can't do with the rubber floor. Plus I thought the factory rubber floor looked like it might get a little slick when wet.

We bought some 24' stall mats from Sullivans when we got our last trailer back in 1993. Put two of those side by side and used that for 13 years. When we traded that trailer in we pulled the mats out and put them in this trailer and you'd never know they're as old as they are. They have the diamond tread pattern on them and are pretty decent for trailer mats. A heck of a lot cheaper and more flexible than permanent flooring.