I was talking with a guy at work about sealing the deck on my flatbed trailer, trying to find the cheapest option.  He told me that he uses, used motor oil.  Doesnt get much cheaper, Ive always got some used oil around here.

???

I suspect that would be too slick for a horse trailer, but might work for something that is exposed to the sun/elements.  Any thoughts?  What are you guys using?

 I guess we will give the used oil a try, hopefully the tractor doesnt come sliding off the side.......

My flatbed has a pressure treated pine floor. Most of the year it's sitting out in the weather. For about 5 months of the year it's under the shelter loaded with hay. What could I use to treat the floor with and not contaminate the hay?? I sprayed it when it was new with some of that Olympic water sealer stain..... That stuff exaporated about as fast as I put it on, within a month the water would no longer bead up on the wood surface. I used a 1 gallon pump up garden sprayer to apply the Olympic sealer. I guess with it being treated wood to begin with, it don't need much of anything on it. Best thing would be leaving it under a shelter all of the time.

Here you go Retento:

http://www.woodsealants.com/index.html:

I use it on my deck and docks.

Gard

GARD... You don't imagine, it will make the hay taste funky? There will be about 50 bales next to the wood for about 4 months. That Olympic water seal that I used, smelled the high heaven for three or two weeks after I put it on. If had been on the trailer for 7 months before we parked it with the load of hay...... of course, it had pretty much already weathered away. This particular trailer is a PGS7 Proline, 7 ton, 20' gooseneck with a 5' pop up dovetail. We try to leave it parked under the shelter in the fall, loaded with 200+ bales of grass hay.

http://www.southag.com/Trailers/pgs7.htm

I suspect I would just treat it with whatever at the begining of its empty/outside cycle.  Should all be cleared up by hay time, then it will be out of the elements anyway.

Retento,

I can't answer directly to your question about hay. I've had very poor results with the Olympic and Behr products on the pressure treated wood of which my docks and deck are constructed. During the summer they are constantly exposed to bright, direct and reflected hot sunlight, the immersion into the lake water and rain. During the winter, they are subjected to a severe eroding environment, the frozen lake and topside wear including ice, snow and freezing conditions.

The Olympic and Behr products were coatings that didn't last the first year. The TWP isn't a coating, instead it soaks  into the wood like many good petroleum based products. Two coats produced enough protection that the water still beads after two year's of traffic and weather wear. Additional coats can be added at any time to provide additional protection.

The product dries completely, and because it resides inside the actual cellular structure of the wood, instead of a being a surfactant, I would think that it would have a minimal impact on anything laying on the surface.

If you're interested in this coating, call the manufacturer's number and ask for a tech support person who can answer your specific questions.

BOL              Gard

So I used the oil on the trailer.  Went pretty well, just sort of slopped it on with a bucket and rag on the end of a stick (guess that would be a mop?).

It was a little slick at first, but after about a week I wouldnt say it was any slicker than new/green, treated lumber.  Guess Ive found my cheaper way to treat the deck.