Replacing floor in a rice trailer

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myprincess

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My old rice trailer has been parked on the drive all winter and I didnt realise it had a leak in the roof, I think the floor has rotted and I'll need a new floor,
My fiance is a construction worker so could we buy the materials and do a DIY job or is it safer to take it to a proffesional?

If anyone has replaced their floor themselves or had it done by a pro could you let me know how you went on a roughly how much it cost? Thanks in advance
 
Im in the same position as you, and for the life of me cant find anyone to do it. So I now have a lovely, but redundant Rice trailer :-( Saying that, I have got a chap coming out to service it soon, so maybe he may know who can replace the floor. No-one seems interested in working on a Rice
 
I sold my lovely old Rice because I just couldn't find anyone who could do servicing and repairs, the person who bought it was able to do all that kind of thing himself. It was frustrating.
 
Hate to say it but I ended up selling my rice trailer for scrap as it was going to cost more for the floor replacement than what I'd paid for my trailer. It served me well for 4 years, but then I actually got more in scrap metal price than I initially paid for it...

Another livery's carpenter husband tried to do it himself, spent a fortune on wood. Horse actually put his foot through it stamping when just loaded. Get a pro out to do it/give you quotes or change to something with an aluminium floor. It's so sad. I loved my rice trailer, favourite one of all time but because of their age now nobody seems interested in them :(
 
Aw no this makes me sad! Id hate to scrap it but if I have to then so be it I can't afford a new one at the moment was hoping to have an aluminium floor down this time but will have to make some enquiries
 
If you want an aluminium floor, I know Devizes Trailer Centre (Wilts) could do it. I was looking to replace the existing wooden floor in my Rice, with another wooden one, and phoned them to enquire. They specialise in Ifors (as does the rest of the world it seems!) but said they could probably fit an aluminium floor in my Rice, but not a timber floor. So that wasnt much help to me as I want a traditional timber floor. No idea where youre based, but this wont be much help to you unless youre somewhere near Wilts, but just thought it was worth mentioning :-)
 
buy some 6" by 1" (150mm by 25mm) keruin timber , remove the old flooring ,rub down and repaint all the metal crossmembers of the floor.lay the timber running front to back butted up to each other ,drill through the timber and crosspieces,using coachbolts secure these timbers down tight .Now with the remaining timber put a little champher on the long edges (1/4" or 6mm), starting at the back lay this timber left side to right side ,with the champher showing on the top (this forms a V in the flooring to aid grip) drill through both timbers and bolt together , or screw down with thick stainless screws.Because the timber is cross layed it is extemely strong.The keruin is very strong and long lasting . PS measure the thicknes of your current floor ,the new floor needs to be the same thickness,or your partitions wont fit back in (you may need to have the timber planed a little thinner). Maple is another good timber choice but dearer and harder to source.DO NOT PUT PLY BOARDS DOWN AS A FLOORING .
 
can be done over a couple of weekends ,google keruing for prices ,or ask your local artic lorry trailer people if they have any ,10/ 12 ft ?for the long ones, 6/7 ft ? for the cross pieces for the top layer .
 
Good evening all.

The wife has "informed" me that I am to replace the floor on her Rice trailer we can't find anyone around here who can do it.

I don't know much about horse trailers however I am pretty good at the handyman side of life. If anyone is able to answer any of these questions I would be very appreciative.

I am not being lazy however the trailer floor currently has carpet and rubber matting fitted so i can't see the wood.

From reading the posts within the topic it seems that Keruing wood is a favourite. Other forums suggest phenolic resin flooring such as http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/18mm-Phen...iler-Floors-Horse-Box-Walkways-/221158739563?

The other forums don't however state if this is a complete solution or if this is to be fitted on top of tongue and groove or keruing flooring. I am unsure of the thickness of the Rice trailer flooring as mentioned I haven't looked at it yet.

For those who have replaced the flooring did you choose full length timber planks for the trailer or is there sufficient structural framework in the trailer chasis to join two smaller lengths?

Just to recap please. If people here recommend a layer of keruing wood coach bolted to the trailer chasis, what do you put on top of the keruing if anything?

Any comments, replies or feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks
 
Hi, we inadverantly rang Mr Grice himself and asked for advice which he very kindly gave us.
We went with keruing which was tongue and groove, didn't treat on advice of wood merchants and have thin rubber matting on top. Have had several services with this floor now and always has good reviews. I can't get you exact specifics of what measurements and thickness of wood until I'm back home in a week or so, but have pictures of its restoration in progress if it's any help?
 
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My OH has replaced several Rice trailer floors (and when he has any spare time, would probably be prepared to do it again, for anyone wanting it, for a consideration!)

The original floors were double planked keruing but it does make the trailer even heavier. The last trailer he did, we put longitudinal planks the length of the trailer, and then topped them with lateral keruing, cut to size and shaped. The longitudinal rested on the underframe, the laterals are screwed with stainless screws to the planks below.

(he only ever uses stainless screws, says non stainless are a false economy)

If you would like full technical details, let me know and I can get them from him =D

He's a bit of a Rice fanatic (we have 4 at the last count and he's showing a deep reluctance to sell the two that he's promised to!)
 
I had a new wooden floor fitted in my Rice 4-5 years ago, done by Bearts at Stowbridge in Norfolk. Cost was about £300
 
baileymoo said:
Hi, we inadverantly rang Mr Grice himself and asked for advice which he very kindly gave us.
We went with keruing which was tongue and groove, didn't treat on advice of wood merchants and have thin rubber matting on top. Have had several services with this floor now and always has good reviews. I can't get you exact specifics of what measurements and thickness of wood until I'm back home in a week or so, but have pictures of its restoration in progress if it's any help?
Click to expand...

That would be very much appreciated if you don't mind.

Very many thanks for the very quick reply.
 
We had our old floor replaced by Mr Vincent near Headley (Hampshire) who services Rice trailers. He fitted thick single planking - similar to scaffolding planks - along the length of the trailer. It felt absolutely solid and was ideal as our horse pees like a leaky water main as soon as he loads, and then fairly frequently through the day. There were very small gaps between each plank so the pee drained out easily. It also meant that we could see all the floor all the time - easy to inspect. We usually put in a little fresh straw for each journey and removed it at the end. I only ever washed it on warm breezy days when the floor could dry quickly, and also picked out any bits of hay, staw etc that were between the planks with a hoofpick or screwdriver. I only sold the trailer last summer because I had the opportunity to buy a small lorry.
 
spacefaer said:
The original floors were double planked keruing but it does make the trailer even heavier. The last trailer he did, we put longitudinal planks the length of the trailer, and then topped them with lateral keruing, cut to size and shaped. The longitudinal rested on the underframe, the laterals are screwed with stainless screws to the planks below.

(he only ever uses stainless screws, says non stainless are a false economy)

If you would like full technical details, let me know and I can get them from him =D

He's a bit of a Rice fanatic (we have 4 at the last count and he's showing a deep reluctance to sell the two that he's promised to!)
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for the reply. Very informative. Am i right in saying that the floor is approx 36mm thick? (2 planks of 18mm. 1 in each direction?)


Bede said:
I had a new wooden floor fitted in my Rice 4-5 years ago, done by Bearts at Stowbridge in Norfolk. Cost was about £300
Click to expand...

That is a very good price. I have just moved up to Nuneaton, Coventry area. Thank you for the reply.

Celtic Fringe said:
We had our old floor replaced by Mr Vincent near Headley (Hampshire) who services Rice trailers. He fitted thick single planking - similar to scaffolding planks - along the length of the trailer. It felt absolutely solid and was ideal as our horse pees like a leaky water main as soon as he loads, and then fairly frequently through the day. There were very small gaps between each plank so the pee drained out easily. It also meant that we could see all the floor all the time - easy to inspect. We usually put in a little fresh straw for each journey and removed it at the end. I only ever washed it on warm breezy days when the floor could dry quickly, and also picked out any bits of hay, staw etc that were between the planks with a hoofpick or screwdriver. I only sold the trailer last summer because I had the opportunity to buy a small lorry.
Click to expand...

Very good tip about the gap to aid inspection etc. It turns out the wifes horse pees like a knackered tap too so it would be a good move.

Thank you to everybody for the rapid replies. I am trying to stop the wife seeing what I am doing. Once I have all the details she will set me to work.

Very many thanks everyone.
 
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