trailer floor and wiring
Whiteowl
Reg. Jun 2008
Posted 2008-06-22 3:06 PM (#86163)
Subject: trailer floor and wiring


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Posts: 4

I am refurbishing a 1990 Baron two horse bumper pull. I have worked on a lot of trailers, this is the first horse trailer I have worked on. This trailer has not been used much but it has sat for about four years without moving. The white wheels on it were very rusty and the tires were severely cracked. I now have it jacked up about two feet, sitting on jack stands with the wheels and backing plates removed. I was told that the steel framing under the floor was bad about rusting so I have removed the old wooden flooring. Steel framing did not look to bad but, using a grinder with wire wheel, I have brushed the entire frame and primed and painted it. The front section of the floor was plywood and the rear portion of the floor was planking. I intended to use oak flooring like I have used on equipment trailers for the planking but that is too thick to fit. It appears that regular treated lumber like 2 x 8's from the building supply will fit. Is this acceptable for the flooring material? I have searched here and the Baron website but have not found this discussed. Also, the wiring was a mess with corrosion and broken wires. When pulling out the old wires I was very surprised to find a seven gang fuse block on the trailer. I have tried to find a wiring diagram for the trailer, but so far, no luck. There appear to be some wires that go places in the walls that don't have lights. My plan is to do away with the trailer fuse block and just wire it like any other trailer, a six wire bundle to the back right corner and then split everything off of that. The hot wire for the top clearance lights runs up the right rear side.
This trailer has a fiberglass top. It is very faded and seems thin in a few places. I plan to tape it off and put a coat of white bedliner over it. If any of you have opinions or comments about my project I will greatly appreciate your sharing them.
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gard
Reg. Aug 2007
Posted 2008-06-22 6:43 PM (#86171 - in reply to #86163)
Subject: RE: trailer floor and wiring


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Location: western PA

Treated Southern Yellow Pine will work well for the flooring.  The common material that is available is #2. Some places also stock #1 which is not that more expensive, but you will end up with less shakes and knots, and a much better floor. Do not buy any boards that have the center in heart wood.

Wider boards will be more rigid than the narrow; IE: 2x10 or 2x12 instead of 2x8. Also if the edges are poor, you can rip of the bad sections and still have an acceptably wide board.

Wiring looms can be purchased premade by the foot. Rip out all the old wiring and start over with new. It's not that expensive, and you will eliminate a lot of future problems. Replacing the old bulb type running lights with the newer sealed beam or led type will also ensure less future maintenance.

If the fiberglass cap is noticeably thin and flexible, the resin has been badly damaged by the UV light. If it is thin, it should be reinforced with the application of additional FRP materials and sanded smooth. If is acceptably strong, a light sanding with 150 sand paper, a coating of conversion primer and a top coating of a one part marine polyurethane paint will ensure a long and trouble free life span.

Gard

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Whiteowl
Reg. Jun 2008
Posted 2008-06-23 11:28 PM (#86233 - in reply to #86163)
Subject: RE: trailer floor and wiring


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Posts: 4

thanks for the advice. That lets me move ahead with a little confidence.
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statzk
Reg. May 2006
Posted 2008-06-25 8:28 AM (#86315 - in reply to #86163)
Subject: RE: trailer floor and wiring


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Posts: 144
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Location: Hickory Hills, IL		I second the recommendation to go with LED lights. They are available at Wal-Mart (some of them) as well as TSC and other places now as at kit. Remember that you probably want clearance lights (if it is older and doesn't have them).Start from scratch, replace wires and lights and trailer should be worry free for years to come.As for the flooring- only floor I have ever replaced I used 2X12 green (pressure treated) lumber from the local home improvement store. Hand picked all the lumber for quality. Was the easiest part of the trailer overhaul!Cheers!~K
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Whiteowl
Reg. Jun 2008
Posted 2008-06-27 6:27 AM (#86482 - in reply to #86163)
Subject: RE: trailer floor and wiring


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Posts: 4

thanks Statzk, I looking forward to getting to installing the floor. The old floor was installed with what appeared to be a special screw. It looked like a self threading screw. Drill a pilot hole and then run in the screw. The old ones are not reusable. Most were rusted in place. Are these necessary and if so where do I get them? Or maybe I should just be asking what others have used for this.
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Terri
Reg. Jan 2004
Posted 2008-06-29 1:20 PM (#86623 - in reply to #86482)
Subject: RE: trailer floor and wiring



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Location: Southern New Mexico		You can drill it out and use bolts with lock washers and loctite.  That is what we used on our old WW.  We laid out the boards and got under the trailer and used a sharpie to mark the holes then took the board out and drilled them and put them back in.  The bolts had a square head and we used big washers to keep them from pulling through the holes.
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