Stock Trailer Rehab

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Irish Fixit, and I, had a discussion about floor spacing.  He mentioned additional supports beneath 24" OC main supports.  I agreed with him about the effectiveness of them.  I had done such a thing when rebuilding my old stock trailer.I picked this thing up at an auction over in Pawnee some maybe 15yrs ago  Paid way too much for it ($700) because I had a sneaking suspicion the owner was bidding against me to raise the price.  I thought I had it for $250 when the bidding stopped, then someone raised the bid at the third "going, going, going", and it kept going until just about everyone there could tell I HAD HAD ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I had to drive 25mph all the way home towing it because the sides were completely rotted through, and the axles were actually moving from side to side because the spring hangers were only held in place by some angle iron  Sorry about the quality, twas back in the day before I ever had a digital camera, and I'm not sure I have the scanner set rightFirst order of business was to fix the sides near the floor, you can see daylight thru the sides.  I scabbed the inside, and outside, with 12ga strips going up about 1 1/2 feet from the floorCut out all of the damaged floor supports, replaced them (actually added a few more), and put expanded metal over them to spread the load.  It's very common for cattle to break through the floor on these, and get a leg ground off on the highway because you don't realize it's happened, and you continue driving.  The expanded metal underneath the lumber prevents this.  Never seen it done before, it's an Uranis Inc upgrade fresh from the product development centerAfter a ton more work, it was time to get the paint on.  I had to do it in separate batches.  As I recall......I painted the interior first(including the top of the cage), then the upper exterior, and last was the lower exterior.  Took about 3 days or so.More to come................"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Anyhow, it looked like this on its first rollout  Was still using the old PowerWagon in those daysThe first load I brought in was these two.  One died about 5yrs later, and her daughter eventually died after around 12yrs.  I still have a cow from her daughter, almost identical too.  Been a good trio of cows over time.During the years it's hauled more than I can count to market, and it's always a sad time when we make the trip, I hate to see them go.  I've been on all ends of this business, and I know the process from field to grocery store.  It's barbaric I feel.Anyways, the floor has held up beautifully over the years, due to the reinforcements I developed, and religiously washing the inside out after every load to remove the crap"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Amazing thing was, back then all I had was a little AC buzzbox.  Seems I could do more with that old thing than I can do now with my better stuff.  Suppose it was because it was all that was available, I was younger, and you just had to adapt to what you had back then.  Life is a funny thing"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:That mesh under the wood is a great idea.Even at its worse your stock trailer looks 100x better than most of the meat filled piles of scrap that roll past my house held together with rachet straps on 3 to 6 ( yes some times on an odd number) of wheels being pulled by a half ton.old Miller spectrum 625 Lincoln SP-135 T, CO2+0.025 wireMiller model 250 and WP-18V torchCraftsman 100amp AC/DC and WP-17V torchCentury 115-004 HF arc stabilizerHome made 4 transformer spot welderHome made alternator welder
Reply:The expanded metal idea is a new one for me. I can see where it would work fairly well if you can keep it from rotting away.  Straps in the bottom of a stock trailer are fairly standard. You have to add more if you go with the new rubber plank floors.Millermatic 252XMT 304'sDynasty 280DXHypertherm PowerMax 1250Miller Trailblazer 302 EFIOptima PulserXR feeder and XR Edge gun and more athttp://members.dslextreme.com/users/waynecook/index.htm
Reply:That looks grea.
Reply:Nice work and good call on the added floor reinforcement. The trailer place here in town, when they get a trade in they'll replace the floor if it needs it, they bring me it to weld any cracks before they put the new floor on, and those older trailers especially, are just way too light. I don't think I could ever talk them into doing that though.
Reply:Great restoration and build, it looks great and sturdy and can handle the toughest jobs on transporting stock and goods. It has serve you well after 15 long years and counting.
Reply:That's awesome. Love the steel mesh idea. I miss the days of simple stock trailers, My family started off with one just like that back in the 70's, now I've got two 40' Stol beefwagons. Proverbs 4:23My company welds.
Reply:Very nice rebuild.  I agree with keeping the trailer washed out and dry between uses helps.  I have a 10 year old Corn Pro that I  have kept washed after every use and store inside when not in use.  It still looks new except for rock chips on the front (Bumper Pull).  I hope keeping it in this condition will make it bring top dollar when I give up the cattle.Dan