I'm refinishing a little trailer(5x9) the plywood is rotted off after 10 years, i'm thinking of getting some of the plastic deck boards for the new floor. the habitat for humanity ReStore has some new and used stuff i'm going to look at this afternoon. anyone else used this or thought of it? If it works good here, I may use it on the 18' car trailer in 5 ish years...
kent

 

sounds like a real good idea man i would say go for it

do they make that in Sheet form or just the planks??

 

never thought of the good idea

 

not sure if it comes in sheets, only seen it in deck boards... with boards I can get the trailer covered with less waste.

 

The only thing I would be concerned with is a slippery surface. You could maybe rough it up with a sander or spray like a mixture of sand and epoxy. That is a great idea though. I have a small utility trailer that needs a new deck and getting it at Habitat restore is a great idea. I need to check into that.

 

The synthetic boards are not slippery at all. In fact they are a little rough. Trex boards are made from polyethylene and wood fibers so they are never shiny smooth. The surface gradually wears and sheds from UV, so they never get buffed smooth from use. But they cannot span very far as they bend much easier than wood boards. That's OK if you have closely spaced cross members underneath, something like one foot max instead of 16 or 24 inches for wood 2X8s. They also won't swell when wet so there will be even spacing all the time. Get the thickest ones and they should work fine for many years. No rot or drying out and splitting.

 

post some pics ide love to see it

 

You need your cross members real close like a foot to 16" max and even then you will see them bow. but if you have supports under the load its great.

 

If it bends easier, and needs closer spacing, that means it's weaker and can carry less weight. I don't know what you plan to load into the trailer. But I would check specs before using it. If it meets your use, it would make a perfect bed material.

 

its a little trailer couldnt haul a lot of weight

 

It's heavy, bents too easily, costs too much, (at least here) and you would have to add extra braces. A cheaper solution would be checker plate steel, plain steel or wood 2X8. These are used by trailer manufacturers who have done their homework.

 

I plan to go with treated lumber, plus maybe some linseed oil on both sides.
My trailer came with plain pine, now dry rot city.