Wooden Floored Trailers/Lorries

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My horse has been at the vets today having xrays and ultrasounds on an old kick injury.
A horse was rushed in as an emergency as it had fallen through the bottom of the trailer - it was an old RICE trailer and the hole in the floor was HUGE!!
We were talking to the owner's in the waiting room as the guy who took me knew them from years ago. They didn't even realise he had fallen through the floor until they got to the show :cry: The horse broke it's leg :cry:

Looking at the trailer, I was suprised the thickness of the floor! So thin!
This is the second time I've heard of this - not sure I'm ever going to put my horse in a trailer/lorry with wooden floor!
 
When had it last been replaced?

Wooden floors have been used for years and if maintained a nd replaced as necessary are safe. Im not blaming the owner and this is horrendous situation but a well maintained wooden floor is safe.
 
I've got an old Rice with a fairly new wooden floor, I get our mechanic to check it every 6 months but stories like this really do freak me out because if I could afford to change it I wouldn't have a wooden floor
 
People usually remember to treat the wood which the horse stands on but dont seal underneath the trailer and this causes major problems. I looked at loads of trailers and not many people had thought to seal underneath at it was protected by rubber matting on top inside the trailer!?! Poor horsey though :-(
 
My YO said that you put it up on ramps and then crawl under and coat the bottom with some kind of waterproof stuff, maybe like Hammerite? I am going to ask him again, he said he would put it up the ramps for me so I could do it (and he would tell me what the stuff was)
 
I would have the floor lifted and painted with a proper sealing paint. Most of the floors I looked at were bare ply wood. I'm not saying painting cures all but bare wood isn't going to last very long. There are treated woods etc that can be used as well x
 
I have an old bahill trailer with a wooden floor. It was just replaced a few years ago and on it's service this year the guy said it was great and someone had spent alot of money on it. I am always paranoid about it though.

On the other hand someone at my old yard had an old rice trailer, I had a look in it one day , god knows how old the floor was but right at the back there was a big space where it had rotted away from the side! Said person used to travel horse in it every weekend !
 
Both wooden and aluminium floors can rot.
Wooden floors should be checked from below and above by both a visual check and by pushing a screwdriver in to it and various points to see if there is any rot.
Also check ramps.
Aluminium floors will corrode as well eswpecially where they come in contact with the metal cross members and the anged edges.
Always check the cross members that support the wooden floor and also the angled edges as these can rust as well.
 
Years ago my first trailer was a rice it had an oak planked floor it was really thick but we had it drummed into us that you checked it all the time by trying to push a screw drivers into it. As soon as ivor Williams brought out there first one with a metal floor I sold the one I had and got a new one I have replaced it since and my lorry has a double metal floor I have no idea how to check either and rely on the garage I must ask next time I go. A friend sent her lorry in for a service and they picked up on the fact the wooden floor had a weak point thank god it could have been awful
 
Yes we treated the underneath of our rice when we replaced the floor.
Was easy with the floor taken up, you can just reach through. Can't remember what the stuff was called but it was thick, black and oily almost tar like.
We've just picked up a bargain rice eventer as a project and the floor in that is scary, whoever did it just nailed a new floor on the top of the dodgy old rotten one, and when OH took the floor up that bottom row was only held on by a couple of rusty bolts.

Needless to say he will be doing a proper job!
 
I bought an older horsebox and had a reputable horsebox firm who was a friend of the seller put a new floor in it before I picked it up. I used it thinking all was well but needed some work done on the body. As I am paranoid about these things I asked if they could put another floor on top of the new floor, ok a bit over the top but for what it cost though it would be piece of mind and was shocked that the edge of the new floor sat on the bearers by less than an inch in places. I suppose it would have been ok whilst new but given time would I presume have been a week spot and could have gone through.
Just sharing as even though it was a new floor I dont think it was safe :(
 
Just to point out that often the floors are solid, it is what they are attached to that can rot just as badly. We borrowed a trailer with a wooden floor to collect a rayburn and as we were driving along the damn floor collapsed on one side! The floor was solid but the truss it was attached too was rotten! Did the owner a favour I think as they had no idea.
 
broke_but_happy said:
I have an old bahill as well, floor was replaced last year with marine ply and sealed on both sides with creosote.
Click to expand...
I would be very carefull what you use and any un treated ply is very bad news, so called marine ply will rot very quickly .... maybe ok ish if creosoted regulaly, better if ramps and floors are made from the phenol resin ply that comercial body builders use on lorry floors, that will last years and is very strong and water resistant, its a redish color with a patten on one side.. you can also use alluminum planks or sheet, as others have said make sure the bearers and structure is good if you have a wooden floor check by stamping about and a good poking with a screwdriver .....
 
Hi again perfect 11s :-)

Is this the phenol resin ply of which you speak?

http://www.southern-timber.co.uk/gbu0-prodshow/ply_phenolic.html

I know my lorry floor has a bit of rot at one edge, so there is probably more - have been advised just to put aluminium chequerboard over the top but that doesn't seem a great solution to me? Would rather have treated wood that I can check myself I think. Any thoughts?
 
eatmorecake said:
Hi again perfect 11s :-)

Is this the phenol resin ply of which you speak?

http://www.southern-timber.co.uk/gbu0-prodshow/ply_phenolic.html

I know my lorry floor has a bit of rot at one edge, so there is probably more - have been advised just to put aluminium chequerboard over the top but that doesn't seem a great solution to me? Would rather have treated wood that I can check myself I think. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Yes thats the stuff , Idealy you would be best to remove the old floor and check what the berers are like and if ok paint and then put down the phenol floor if you use 17mm with rubber mats it should be fine and last for years but it
depends on how much you want to spend or if its not worth spending much on, then the chequerplate should be ok as a quick fix as you might find problems in the berers being rotten and rusty and turn it in to a big job...
 
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When I asked a horsebox builder to replace my wooden with alum he said no. As well as alum being very very expensive you still have to maintain it just as much as you would wood.
 
We have an old rice trailer and it's my OH's jpb to look after it! Its recently had a new floor and undersealed with some black goopy paint that I've seen him underseal his track car with. He's abit OCD with the trailer as we had a friend who's horse kicked the wooden ramp, which must have rotted abit and it's hoof was stuck hanging out the ramp while they were on the move!! A passer by managed to flag them down!!
 
The issue with aluminium is that it will corrode (galvanic action) at the point it makes contact with the supporting metal structures and this is why it is essential that the supporting structures are coated. However in use this coating will degrade allowing aluminium to contact the supporting structures and the galvanic action will then cause it to rot.
 
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