Daft question re trailers with wooden floors

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dumpling

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I have an old trailer with a relatively new wooden floor which is in sound condition. I have thin rubber mats over the top of it as they came with it. Now, my oh and I split up in April so the trailer has been sat stationary since march as I don't have a license to tow it. :(. Now to get to the point(!), I put shavings down in the back end of it ,for travelling ,and since then with the way the rain has fallen , it has managed to get in through the back and soak along the floor of the trailer. Now would it be better to leave the matting down to protect the wood or am I 'trapping' moisture under it and thus rotting the floor?!

Thank you, sorry if that's hard to understand!
 
If you leave the matting down the water just drains to the edge and through the wood. Thats why wooden floors always go first at the back and then the sides.

I would certainly lift the mats to dry underneath but its not going to help that much.

When I had a trailer that let water in, even with top doors at the back, I had a small tarpaulin I used to cover the back with. It stopped the leaking and the floor stayed dry.
 
It's best to lift the mats up so the floor can dry out. When I had a wooden floor in my previous trailer I lifted the mats most weeks to air them off, following advice from the man who services and fixes my trailer. Leaving the mats down will trap in moisture and will rot the floor - quicker than you would think.
 
Fab thanks. It does have a top door but it's so heavy to lift! I'm thinking of doing the tarpaulin thing and also the top door aswell. It's usually fine, it just varies if the rain changes direction and then it manages to find a way in albeit through a slight gap at the side of the ramp!
 
I should also state that they are actually stapled down. :s. . It has just recently been serviced though and the chap said the floor was fab and has a lot of years left in it. Looks like I'll need to get the staples out!
 
If you got heavier rubber matting you don't need to staple/nail it down and you can pull it up and down when you like. I was lucky though because I got some cast offs from the stables where I work. Maybe worth investing in if it helps to keep your floor longer.
 
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