Anyone ever have a trailer with metal grating for a deck?

[forceten]

I am in the market to get an equipment trailer. Tired of using my 16 foot dump and its removable ramps that are heavy and tough to tie things down as I have 4 foot walls.
Been looking at lamar and diamond c. Still not sure about tilt or full width ramps. Will be hauling A kx040 4 ton excavator and at times a L6060 tractor.
Leaning toward diamond c. A used one popped up not to far away from me. 20 footer gravity tilt. 16' tilt deck 4' stationary deck - I wanted a 22 or 24 foot but the price is right. Except instead or wood deck or solid metal deck (which I would never get) it has a metal grate deck. Never seen one before like this.
How slippery would this be when its wet or snow or mud? I know wood decks can be slippery but if I went tilt like this one am I gonna have trouble driving up the deck or be cursing and slipping all over the place?
It has a hydraulic jack which is very nice and guy wants $10k for it so price is right but driving up that metal deck is the question

 

[UpNorthMI]

I tow my KX040 on a 24’ tilt goose neck trailer, 16’ tilt bed plus 6’ flat fixed deck, not metal slat, make sure your axles and tires are correctly rated. My tires are not rated inline with my overall trailer rating, I blew one on my last trip, I’m in the process of updating tires to a heavier load rating. Stay safe.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

That is a very interesting design.
I would think traction would be good.
I would also think it's a heavy trailer!
Would be better if the deck was going the other direction.
One advantage would be you wouldn't get snow, mud, ice, or gravel build up.
One disadvantage is every rock would rattle off of the equipment and become a projectile for anyone behind you.

 

[Dustball]

Another disadvantage is that you wouldn't be able to use the trailer to haul any loose material like dirt, mulch, gravel, etc...

 

[rc51stierhoff]

I am in the market to get an equipment trailer. Tired of using my 16 foot dump and its removable ramps that are heavy and tough to tie things down as I have 4 foot walls.
Been looking at lamar and diamond c. Still not sure about tilt or full width ramps. Will be hauling A kx040 4 ton excavator and at times a L6060 tractor.
Leaning toward diamond c. A used one popped up not to far away from me. 20 footer gravity tilt. 16' tilt deck 4' stationary deck - I wanted a 22 or 24 foot but the price is right. Except instead or wood deck or solid metal deck (which I would never get) it has a metal grate deck. Never seen one before like this.
How slippery would this be when its wet or snow or mud? I know wood decks can be slippery but if I went tilt like this one am I gonna have trouble driving up the deck or be cursing and slipping all over the place?
It has a hydraulic jack which is very nice and guy wants $10k for it so price is right but driving up that metal deck is the question

View attachment 123257

Good day.

I can’t answer all your questions, so maybe I am not of much help. I have a 24’ Diamond C deckover and I have the MAXX ramps…I am not sure what ramps you are looking at but IMO splurge on those (and the storage/tool boxes)…they are no issue to drive up at all dry or wet and they are very easy to fold up and down. The spacing on the horizontal angle might be tricky if wet or snow if trying to walk up, but MX will get traction all day long if ramp is wet or tires muddy. I think your grating will be fine…the diamond plate is what it is…the slick spot on my trailer is the diamond plate over the wheels. Diamond C is a solid trailer with great paint. I don’t have any complaints with mine. That’s all I know.

 

[NCL4701]

I’ve never seen that stuff on a trailer. I’ve seen miles of it in factories. Some of it is smooth top, some has little nibs sticking up ever 3/8” or so. I’ve never seen the smooth top stuff installed outside so no clue how its slickness in ice/rain/snow is, but kind of assume there’s a reason the smooth isn’t used outside. In factory settings I’ve seen it in, it’s usually used for foot traffic; vehicle traffic limited to occasional at most.

Tried zooming in on the pic. Not quite sure if the deck is the nibbed variety or if it’s smooth and I’m seeing pixelation. If it’s nibbed I can’t imagine traction being a problem unless it’s covered in ice. If it’s smooth, wet traction would concern me, same as any other metal deck.

That’s my experience with the material. Never seen it in that specific application so that may not be worth much.

 

[fried1765]

I am in the market to get an equipment trailer. Tired of using my 16 foot dump and its removable ramps that are heavy and tough to tie things down as I have 4 foot walls.
Been looking at lamar and diamond c. Still not sure about tilt or full width ramps. Will be hauling A kx040 4 ton excavator and at times a L6060 tractor.
Leaning toward diamond c. A used one popped up not to far away from me. 20 footer gravity tilt. 16' tilt deck 4' stationary deck - I wanted a 22 or 24 foot but the price is right. Except instead or wood deck or solid metal deck (which I would never get) it has a metal grate deck. Never seen one before like this.
How slippery would this be when its wet or snow or mud? I know wood decks can be slippery but if I went tilt like this one am I gonna have trouble driving up the deck or be cursing and slipping all over the place?
It has a hydraulic jack which is very nice and guy wants $10k for it so price is right but driving up that metal deck is the question

View attachment 123257

That metal grating will be the PERFECT place for rust to grow.
Might be a great trailer for Arizona, or New Mexico, but for NJ. ??
Using it ONLY in Summer, should be OK in NJ though.

 

[mikester]

That is a very interesting design.
I would think traction would be good.
I would also think it's a heavy trailer!
Would be better if the deck was going the other direction.
One advantage would be you wouldn't get snow, mud, ice, or gravel build up.
One disadvantage is every rock would rattle off of the equipment and become a projectile for anyone behind you.

If you live in a cold climate like Canada then snow ice buildup will be a problem. Grating will be a slush magnet

 

[chim]

10-4 on the grating just sifting the big pieces out what falls off the equipment as it falls onto the road.

The decking MAY be oriented correctly . It looks like there is structure running across the trailer at 16-24" spacing. If so, that isn't a huge span.

I'd be concerned about all the little pockets created where the decking is on top of the structure. That would permanently catch all kinds of crud. And NJ is a salt 'em rusty state that sees at least some snow.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

As long as it's painted with real paint NOT 'powder coat', it'll outlive every one here. steel decks are usually only slippery with steel tracked machines. heck there's lots of videos of excavators sliding off wooden decked trailers,so NO decking is perfect in all condtions.
Had an 8x16 deckover made with checkplate.That WAS slippery as water and ice would puddled on it. Grating style should be better. I used 2 sections as ramps, very good traction. Agree it'd be heavy as decking material but 'strong like bull',easy to clean

 

[hedgerow]

A buddy has a home made twenty foot with steel grating for a floor and its stood up well over the years and he pulls it in the winter with his skid loader on it to do snow removeable work. Wood doesn't work for him as his trailers never see a shed. If you can buy the trailer right I would buy it and give it a try. Always easy to sell a well kept trailer.

 

[skeets]

If the price is right buy it cover it with wood soak the snot out of the wood with oil let it leak to the decking,,, problem solved

 

[fried1765]

A buddy has a home made twenty foot with steel grating for a floor and its stood up well over the years and he pulls it in the winter with his skid loader on it to do snow removeable work. Wood doesn't work for him as his trailers never see a shed. If you can buy the trailer right I would buy it and give it a try. Always easy to sell a well kept trailer.

Does NE use thousands of tons of road salt each Winter?

 

[forceten]

Good day.

I can’t answer all your questions, so maybe I am not of much help. I have a 24’ Diamond C deckover and I have the MAXX ramps…I am not sure what ramps you are looking at but IMO splurge on those (and the storage/tool boxes)…they are no issue to drive up at all dry or wet and they are very easy to fold up and down. The spacing on the horizontal angle might be tricky if wet or snow if trying to walk up, but MX will get traction all day long if ramp is wet or tires muddy. I think your grating will be fine…the diamond plate is what it is…the slick spot on my trailer is the diamond plate over the wheels. Diamond C is a solid trailer with great paint. I don’t have any complaints with mine. That’s all I know.

Max ramps are on my radar but this trailer is a tilt trailer - no ramps needed. That is why I was worried about slipping as the 16 foot back section tilts to load

 

[forceten]

Does NE use thousands of tons of road salt each Winter?

yes but this trailer will be mostly used in the spring and summer. Hardly ever in the winter

 

[rc51stierhoff]

Max ramps are on my radar but this trailer is a tilt trailer - no ramps needed. That is why I was worried about slipping as the 16 foot back section tilts to load

Have you shopped Diamond C site? I have not been to it recently but when I was shopping for mine a few years ago and used the build/spec the trailer function they would give you the dimensions (simple schematic) and you could see the axle positioning relative to the deck length…that was sort of handy as you can imagine then where you would want the rear wheels and sort of can estimate how it would balance and how much room is left for your attachments or gang box etc. good luck.

 

[forceten]

I’ve never seen that stuff on a trailer. I’ve seen miles of it in factories. Some of it is smooth top, some has little nibs sticking up ever 3/8” or so. I’ve never seen the smooth top stuff installed outside so no clue how its slickness in ice/rain/snow is, but kind of assume there’s a reason the smooth isn’t used outside. In factory settings I’ve seen it in, it’s usually used for foot traffic; vehicle traffic limited to occasional at most.

Tried zooming in on the pic. Not quite sure if the deck is the nibbed variety or if it’s smooth and I’m seeing pixelation. If it’s nibbed I can’t imagine traction being a problem unless it’s covered in ice. If it’s smooth, wet traction would concern me, same as any other metal deck.

That’s my experience with the material. Never seen it in that specific application so that may not be worth much.

Guy only had 3 pictures

 

[forceten]

Have you shopped Diamond C site? I have not been to it recently but when I was shopping for mine a few years ago and used the build/spec the trailer function they would give you the dimensions (simple schematic) and you could see the axle positioning relative to the deck length…that was sort of handy as you can imagine then where you would want the rear wheels and sort of can estimate how it would balance and how much room is left for your attachments or gang box etc. good luck.

Yeah, they have all the options but no option for metal grating like this guy had built. They must have done it special for him. Without the extra flooring this trailer with hydraulic deck is almost $16k. So thought $10k was a great price. Somebody else said buy it - try it and if not you can sell it not too much trouble for the 10k you bought it for. i might do that

 

[forceten]

I tow my KX040 on a 24’ tilt goose neck trailer, 16’ tilt bed plus 6’ flat fixed deck, not metal slat, make sure your axles and tires are correctly rated. My tires are not rated inline with my overall trailer rating, I blew one on my last trip, I’m in the process of updating tires to a heavier load rating. Stay safe.

This has 7k axles and 215/75r17.5 16 ply tires. I will be towing the same excavator as you - what size tire did you blow and what did you upgrade too? I do not want to blow a tire while towing stuff......

 

[rc51stierhoff]

This has 7k axles and 215/75r17.5 16 ply tires. I will be towing the same excavator as you - what size tire did you blow and what did you upgrade too? I do not want to blow a tire while towing stuff......

Tire plys are important for sure but I’d recommend to also look at the load and speed ratings for the specific tires you would be getting.