Wood Species Selection - Replacing Wood Decking (Apitong) on a Lowboy

[clansing1]

I'm looking to replace the apitong wood decking on our lowboy trailer. The apitong is 1 1/4" thick. I can replace the apitong at about $6-8/LF of 8" wide board or get elm or white oak for about a $1/BF for 2" thick. I only haul my own equipment. The trailer is a 51 ton detachable and the heavies excavator I have is a 27 metric ton.

Is the apitong worth the extra $?

Do I need to dry the oak or elm if I go that route?

Will the 2" thick oak or elm cause structural problems since I will be 3/4" above the main rail height and be loading the cross members?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Tiny]

Both of the company's blackhawks have apitong decks they have held up good . Oak decks will shrink back and break the screws . We haul whatever . crane house's , 330 cat hoe , small tow boats , deere hoes .So far no shrinkage . been two years almost 3 on the older trailer .
Tracks don't seem to bother it much .

 

[robin yates uk]

there is a reason why this specific wood,Apitong is chosen. Why?, because it does what it is supposed to do I guess

 

[Tiny]

Water does not seem to bother it . In the time the company has had it on their trailers the gaps appear to be the same as day one . I will try and place rubber tired equipment so the tires are over a crossmember out of habit but the other 5 guys that drag these around never look down , haven't seen or heard of a broken board yet .

 

[JDOFMEMI]

Apitong is the way to go if you want it to last.

Here are a couple of sources.

http://www.woodsunlimited.com/index.html

http://www.trailerdecking.com/

Hope this helps. If you know any that are better, please post them, as I need a new deck in a couple of months as well.

 

[CRAFT]

The Apitong wood sounds interesting ..... we've never heard of that species up here ??? ...... BUT, I can tell you that DO-NOT use the oak for a trailer deck ...... right from brand new my Trail-King TKT-40 tilt deck has had issues with the factory installed swamp oak (a non furniture grade of oak, and very pourous, not tight grained) the deck looked great but that's as far as the compliments go ...... if it rained on the decking while you had a steel-tracked excavator on board, as soon as you begin to unload the deck begins to tilt from there on hang on cause you're going for a ride (like a tobogan run) ..... you better make sure it's pointed straight and level ....... that even gets worse when frozen, the machine won't stay put even with extra cinching ........ we use other species for decking like anything in the Cottonwood family ..... this may not be available you, it's very cheap. tough, and does not break up like the other hard-wood species either ....... jmho ........ cheers

 

[tuney443]

Apitong is a premium trailer deck species but you need to leave spacing between boards/butt ends on an open equipment trailer so as not to leave a water trap.It does not last long in water situations.IMHO,White Oak is best all around,especially for steel tracked iron.Red Oak is nowhere's as strong as White and not as decay resistant.

 

[Chaz Murray]

We make it a point to have the decking be above the outside rails. We do not want the equipment driving on the trailer damaging the structural flanges of the trailer and would rather have the sacrificial lumber slightly higher. Over the years we have tried many different types of wood (Oak, Bamboo, Rumber, Purple Heart) and have always come back to Apitong/Kruing because it flat out works and lasts. Its an expensive wood but the only way to go.

 

[JBlackwell]

My opinion, apitong is probably the best and is low maintenance. BUT for the money kiln dryed Oak hardwood would work great and last quite a while with some attention every once in a while. If you go with apitong there is different types of apitong. For example the apitong that Entyre (Blackhawk) uses is from Malaysia, is lighter and the fibers aren't as tight, but works great. The apitong XL Specialized uses is from Brazil and is heavy and fibers are tight and strong. Either one works great, but determining thickness and type depends on your crossmember spacings.

 

[David@Aztec]

To comment on JBlackwell's post, Apitong does NOT come from Brazil, and has never been grown in Brazil. The species being referred to is Angelim Pedra, part of the Angelim family. The material is similar to Apitong, and often (erroneously) called "Brazilian Apitong". It is slightly heavier and denser, and is a great alternative when Apitong supply is poor. However, due to Brazil's rising economy, they are not exporting as much as they were several years ago, and even at it's best the supply of Angelim is not nearly as consistent as Apitong at it's worst.

As an aside to JDOFMEMI's comment, another excellent source for Apitong is www.aztecintltimber.com. The pricing is a little higher, but so is the quality.

 

[oceanobob]

I am trying Douglas Fir with clear penetrating epoxy sealer with countersink holes prior to fastener installation; supports at board ends are added to move the screws away from the ends. Prolly will wish I did apitong.

 

[JDOFMEMI]

I did the Douglas Fir route shortly after the prior post nearly 2 years ago, and am now ready to do another new deck. The cheap wood does not last, but it was all I could afford then, and it did make it 2 years. I lay used conveyor belts down before loading any track equipment, or it would not have lasted 6 months.

Maybe I will get better wood this time.

 

[hvy 1ton]

If i could ever get enough good, straight osage orange in once place to bother the porta-mill guy i'd save it for my first nice lowboy. Has anybody tired black locust or burr oak?

 

[JBlackwell]

Now I remember a rep from Overseas Hardood (www.ohc.net) saying something of that nature a few years ago to me. I don't remember if it was to the "T" on what you said, but your comment sounds familiar on the explanation of different wood types. This was probably getting away from the subject of the main thread, but great for pointing that out.

To comment on JBlackwell's post, Apitong does NOT come from Brazil, and has never been grown in Brazil. The species being referred to is Angelim Pedra, part of the Angelim family. The material is similar to Apitong, and often (erroneously) called "Brazilian Apitong". It is slightly heavier and denser, and is a great alternative when Apitong supply is poor. However, due to Brazil's rising economy, they are not exporting as much as they were several years ago, and even at it's best the supply of Angelim is not nearly as consistent as Apitong at it's worst.

As an aside to JDOFMEMI's comment, another excellent source for Apitong is www.aztecintltimber.com. The pricing is a little higher, but so is the quality.

 

[td25c]

We just finished replacing the floor on the 25 ton Lacrosse lowboy . I debated about what lumber to use as the last floor was 2" hickory & held up good . The sawmill was busy with a large order so I thought what the heck ..... I'll try 1-1/2"treated yellow pine 2x10's from my local supplier . Total cost of lumber & hardware was $ 275.00 & took about 8 hours to do the job . I Like the idea of using conveyer belt to protect the wood as mentioned earlier on the heavy tracked equipment . Hope to get 3 to 5 years out of it , time will tell .

 

[Delmer]

Is that green treated, or is it just my screen? I know it's not as corrosive as it used to be, but I'd still avoid any green treated lumber in contact with steel. You might want to consider waterproofing/rustproofing.

I would never have thought of using cottonwood, but I bet it works alright if you use it thick enough and don't abuse it. Some water repellant would keep it from doubling in weight in a rainstorm, and turning springy at the same time.

I can't see using any softwood for decking with the way they split, especially Douglas fir. Hardwoods are just tougher, even if they aren't any stronger or stiffer, all tool handles, bats, etc are hardwood, leave the fir and pine to structural use if you can get good DRY hardwood.

 

[td25c]

Yeah Delmer , it's some type of micronized copper treatment on the lumber . I'm not that familiar with the process . www.osmosewood.com/micropro/micropro.html

I've had pretty good luck using treated lumber on projects . Used treated 2 x 10's on the 10' wide lowboy when we replaced the wood floor sections on it . It's been on for about 6 years now and the lumber shows some warping & cupping but not to bad . Wont last as long as the hickory floor but was quick and cost effective . I need to have the kids mop on some Detroit Diesel wood preservative after the lumber dries out abit...... I have big supply of it

 

[RocketScott]

It's the borate treatment you want to stay away from. We have to use hot dipped galvanized nails and hardware in the houses I build. ACQ is safe to use regular metal against.

 

[Randy88]

I don't know what you use the lowboy for or how much each year you use it, apitongue is the nicest and will look the best over time, but for the average person hauling his own stuff, I'd opt for elm myself, if you can find some already dry and read to put on, would be best, the cupping and warping would be done with, to install it green you'll have the warping and cupping to contend with, but for lasting, good elm will outlast anything but apitongue.

I put a new deck on my lowboy a few years back and we had elm cut green and two days later it was installed, not ideal, but I needed it asap and the old deck was beyond shot. I took the boards before installing them and painted them in waste oil, completely, and bolted them on. I had them cut so they stuck up above the metal trailer an inch or so and bolted them down. I don't think I've got even a track mark in any of the boards as of yet, but some have warped and cupped, the trailer never is inside and if I get about five to ten years out of the deck for 200 bucks, the apitongue would have to last about 10 times longer than that to justify the added cost of 10 times the cost or about 2k just for the flooring, I'm not thinking any floor will last that long.

So to sum it up, you need to do the math yourself, and determine if the added costs are worth it to you, for what you use the trailer for.

 

[Georgia Iron]

I use red oak.

I am not an expert but the last tree I used was a dead red oak. It was still standing and in good dry condition. I cut the tree and took it to.a guy that has a woodmizer lt40 saw mill. He cut it into 2"s thick and some pieces were 15 " s wide. 4 pieces were about 17' long. It was all I could do.to get them on my trailer. I would guess some of the boards were over 200 lbs each. The tree was dryed out and super hard. He burnt up 3 new band saw blades cutting the log. I used bolts with super fat large washers just catching the steel cross beams so.could shrink.or move a little.

Before it was laid I painted it with a solid color oil based stain so the sun could not get to the wood. I painted the wood boards.on all.sides . I bought new.longer bolts because the boards sit higher than the steel deck. I only move a 32000 lbs machine with steel tracks. So far the boards look just like they did when first.put on. When we sawed the log we had a few split pieces. I just put the split pieces in the fire and went on to the next board. It took.a.whole.tree.to deck the trailer. My trailer sits outside in the weather.

The saw mill.guy told me no one uses red oak. After watching and helping cut it I understood why.
I have heard that it will split over time.