I did stay clear of the metals.....

My decision was Treated 3/4 plywood. It was a bit pricy however it looks great. It spaned my 2' on center braces and doesn't give an inch. If you decide to go this route. Take my advise and bring some extra hands with you to pick that plywood up. My wood was FRESH. Still soaking wet from the lumbar company. 1 sheet must have easily weighed in at an 75# It was a killer to move around.

I chose the plywood over the 2x6's or 2x8's for 2 reasons.

1. Weight...This was a big issue. The trailer has some tongue weight to it already being 14' and a single axle. I want tongue weight for towing but it wound be crazy with those big boards.

2.mounting them. I thought I drilled a ton of holes for the plywood. I couldn't imagine how many holes I would have to drill to hold down the boards. Not to mention the cost of the hardware to do so.

I will miss the draining feature the boards and expanded metal would have provided me. However I had to weigh my priorities so to speak and went with what I felt was best.

 

3/4" plywood on 2' centers would probably be perfectly fine for one or even a few 400 pound quads but most single axles nowadays are rated for 3,500 pounds and the problem is when somebody wants to push the limits and haul something else that is both much heavier and also concentrated its weight into a smaller area more. If I was hauling something pretty heavy that did not spread it's weight around, I don't think I would want to set it on 3/4" plywood that had 24" between the crossmembers but that's going to be pretty rare for a single axle, most of the time situations like that would only happen on a double axle, somebody tries to load their tractor up, things like that.

 

even if its treated you should still paint it because once ply wood gets wet it will crack and make a big @ss mess in a couple years and to be sure just paint it like once every 2 years and the trailer will last you forever

 

Yea I'm still gonna treat it with something. I just need to wait for it to not be so Green....at the moment. Prolly spring time. I keep it on a slight hill and it is out of most sunlight during the day. This time of year I don't think I will have to worry about the sun shrinking it up to bad.

 

well good luck with the trailer and if you need any help with anything just ask, my cousin owns a welding shop so i learn alot about trailers are you towing anything else besides fourwheelers?

 

I'm in the same pickle!!! I going with expanded metal. Here's why...

the trailer is a flat bed "Land Scape" type that you see hauling lawn equipment. A wood deck was the original but really too heavy and will rot after time. I came across 10" wide metal grating used for steps, and cat walks. for a 5' x 12' trailer , grating was going to cost $700.00 plus, so I rethunk it, and I'm going with #10 13ga expanded, at $300.00... unless I can find something in a metal scrap yard.

I shouldn't think warping would be an issue as long as there are plenty of spot welds along the trailer frame.

Just my 2 cents.

 

I have had extruded aluminum on one, and marine plywood on my snowmobile trailer for years. Here is one observation regarding plywood. It gets slicker than snot when wet or you have mud on it. Put any tilt to it and you might end up winching up to keep from sliding back down before you can tie it off. So traction wise, the expanded metal you talk about would offer way more traction walking and loading. My trailer I am talking about is aluminum with a plywood deck and I don't have a tig welder. Not to mention dissimilar metals..

 

Treated material is not to prevent rot, its for insects......
The new pt material is not suppose to be in direct contact with aluminum. It will actually corrode the aluminum. Not a big deal with trailers because of the thickness of the frame.
When building homes all metal in contact with new pt has to be zmax, stainless or copper.

 

I have a steel frame trailer with a wooden deck made of 2x8s. It's about 15 years old and still in great shape. I really like the wood deck and would have another one if I built a trailer. My trailer weighs less than my quad so the weight of the wood isn't a problem.

 

i also have a trailer with 2x6 pt decking, its about 14 years old and every year i put some sealer on it, paint doesnt work well on pt.