Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Instructions for Reflooring a Horse Trailer
Horse trailer flooring takes a lot of abuse. It supports animals of several thousand pounds, while the trailer itself is bounced and pounded by the roadway, sometimes at speeds of 60 or 70 miles per hour. Replacing the flooring is done with the same techniques you would use to replace the flooring in any trailer. Use treated lumber for the boards to add life to your trailers floor. If your trailer does not have a rubber mat, adding one can add years to the life of your trailer floor and save wear and tear on the horse.
Instructions
- 1
Remove the rubber mat from your floor. These are heavy duty rubber, without fasteners to allow for thorough cleaning. Lift the mats and remove them from the trailer. Lift the trailer onto jack stands, or concrete blocks. Using a standard auto jack to lift one end, slip the jack stands under, lift the other end and slip stands under to provide better access to the bolts underneath.
2Cut the bolts, just above the nut, with a reciprocating saw. Tap the bolts up through the floor and pull them out on top with a claw hammer. Remove the floor boards from the trailer, one at a time, laying them out in the same order you removed them, to serve as a template for the new boards.
3Cut one piece of 2 inch-thick treated lumber for each board. Use boards the same width and cut to the same length as the original using a circular saw. Typical floor boards range from 2-by-6 to 2-by-10, but are usually standard sizes. Drill the bolt holes through each board, using the original board as a template. Use a bit the same thickness as your new bolts.
4Fit each board into place, working it under any edge flanges to get a smooth fit. Set the board in with its front end tipped up, slide the back end under the edge of the rear door sill and tap it down with a hammer until it drops into place. Tap a bolt down through each hole in the floor boards, through the frame of the trailer. Fit every board and bolt before adding nuts and washers underneath.
5Fit a washer and nut over the end of each bolt, turning it tight by hand. Fit all washers and bolts, then tighten all nuts with an impact driver. Remove the trailer from the jack stands and replace the rubber mats over the new floor boards.
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