# What to put on cattle trailer floor so it won't be slippery



## pettibone

I'm in the process of putting a new floor in my old cattle trailer using pressure-treated lumber. A while ago a guy with a woodmizer saw out some oak planks 20 feet long to do the floor in one shot thinking oak would be good. 

Well anyone who ever hauled any cattle knows what they do as soon as they get in the trailer so nice smooth oak became a skating rink. 

So then I got some stall mats which seemed to solve the problem until there was a hole in the floor, rotting wood from all the moisture held in by stall mats. So now I'm putting in pressure treatment but I'm thinking it too will be slippery without something to provide traction that's why I'm asking if anybody has the answer without rotting out the floor again.


----------



## carcajou

Pressure treated wood sucks for trailer floors. No strength at all. I still would put in another hardwood floor before that.


----------



## swall01

ive got the rumber branded lug floor. supposed to last forever (will have to see). for sure they dont slip-n-slide.

stoll trailers is using them and claims its the best.

www.rumber.com/industries-and-applications/horse-and-livestock/livestock-trailer-flooring/


----------



## pettibone

We get southern yellow pine for pressure treated wood here, I think that's pretty strong. I know hardwood is stronger but nothing seems to be rot resistant unless I get some fancy decking stuff from S America which is out of my price range.

That Rumber stuff looks perfect, how much per square foot any idea?


----------



## vhaby

I used 1.5" fence post staples to hold down cattle panel and the wood floor in my 14' stock trailer has lasted 11 years so far with no rot apparent. I pressure wash the floor after each cattle haul. Barbed staples would be better. The cattle panel probably hurts the cattle hooves, but they don't limp when released from the trailer.


----------



## bool

Whatever you use for the floor, lay 6 inch welded mesh over it to give the cattle some grip. I don't fasten it down so it's easier to lift it to clean it.

Roger


----------



## swmnhay

Just throw sand in it.Its still easy to clean out then.1/2 a pail of sand is usually good enough.

Simple and cheap!

Barn lime works also,takes a bit more tho


----------



## Aaroncboo

Believe it or not what works really well for me is cracked corn. I throw some in there to entice them in the trailer but if you sprinkle some on the ground it provides a lot of traction and then it just rinses out no problem


----------



## Stxpecans123

Don't want to derail this thread. But have an aluminum trailer that the floor is stupid slick. It's an aluminum floor. We put boards I think 1x8 about 2 foot apart in it before and screwed them down but it didn't last the screws rotted and they still slipped between the board anyways.
We were thinking maybe crushed limestone? Tryed sand, 3 -80lbs bags we had left over from a project and it did nothing. Any thoughts? 
I had an older cow slip down on the way to the auction the other day and she couldn't get her footing to get up so they wouldn't take her. Had to haul her home and she slide herself out and a week later she made the ride without slipping and falling but i feel sorry for those cows slipping and slidig in there.

Should I retry the boards with stainless screws and the crushed limestone? I was worried about the little rocks hurting their hoofs.

Not worried about washing it out. It's 15 years old and is in really good shape and I don't know if we have ever washed it. Last year a tornado pushed it over on its side and cleaned alot of it out for us.


----------



## Ray 54

I grew up with sand on the floor of cattle hauling trucks or trailers. The courser the sand the better. Just use unscreened river run. Have to pull a rock or 2 sometimes. I thought stall mats came in about all the aluminum trailers. I also heard of hot tar and then pee gravel scattered on it when still hot and soft to become embedded. Have not seen that so don't know if it held up or not. Also think the tar could a bit heavy.


----------



## pettibone

All good ideas. I was thinking of garage floor epoxy with some coarse sand thrown into it but not sure if that would stick to the wood. Also like the idea of cattlle panels as you can pull them out and wash it out. I don't use the trailer that much so it ends up sitting around and that prrobably makes it worse.

Thanks everyone for some good ideas


----------



## IHCman

swall01 said:


> ive got the rumber branded lug floor. supposed to last forever (will have to see). for sure they dont slip-n-slide.
> 
> stoll trailers is using them and claims its the best.
> 
> www.rumber.com/industries-and-applications/horse-and-livestock/livestock-trailer-flooring/


I think this is the best thing for cattle trailer floors it does get slippery in the winter.


----------



## IHCman

I bought my 32' trailer used, it had rubber mats over the wood floor. They worked very well for a long time but eventually were starting to lift up and get tore up. I pulled them out and cleaned the trailer really well and was going to try and find more of those rubber mats but eventually decided to have fibergrit installed over the wood. Just fiberglass with gravel pressed in. While it certainly seals everything up and there won't be any rot I don't know if I'd do it again. Makes it tough to scrape the trailer out at the end of the day and it was kind of expensive.

Here is a video of the place that did mine.






I think I'd go with the rumber floor and just throw sand or gravel on it if it gets slippery.


----------



## somedevildawg

Rough cut oak with clear stain or Thompson’s water seal would be a good choice, anything like PT yellow pine that has been run thru the mill for resale is gonna be slick. It’s just not a good starting point in my opin....


----------



## somedevildawg

Stxpecans123 said:


> Don't want to derail this thread. But have an aluminum trailer that the floor is stupid slick. It's an aluminum floor. We put boards I think 1x8 about 2 foot apart in it before and screwed them down but it didn't last the screws rotted and they still slipped between the board anyways.
> We were thinking maybe crushed limestone? Tryed sand, 3 -80lbs bags we had left over from a project and it did nothing. Any thoughts?
> I had an older cow slip down on the way to the auction the other day and she couldn't get her footing to get up so they wouldn't take her. Had to haul her home and she slide herself out and a week later she made the ride without slipping and falling but i feel sorry for those cows slipping and slidig in there.
> Should I retry the boards with stainless screws and the crushed limestone? I was worried about the little rocks hurting their hoofs.
> Not worried about washing it out. It's 15 years old and is in really good shape and I don't know if we have ever washed it. Last year a tornado pushed it over on its side and cleaned alot of it out for us.


Were the boards PT? If so, most screws will deteriorate very quickly if they're not coated or stainless....
Seems like 1x anything is not going to stand up to the foot traffic of bovin....it also seems like 2' spacing is a bit wide as well.....just thinking out loud. Don't see many aluminum stock trailers here.....


----------



## swall01

IHCman said:


> I think this is the best thing for cattle trailer floors it does get slippery in the winter.


ive seen some slippage between the lugs but thats inches until hoof gets to the next raised lug.



pettibone said:


> We get southern yellow pine for pressure treated wood here, I think that's pretty strong. I know hardwood is stronger but nothing seems to be rot resistant unless I get some fancy decking stuff from S America which is out of my price range.
> 
> That Rumber stuff looks perfect, how much per square foot any idea?


i dont remember cost but i remember thinking it was a little pricey.

as mentioned a few times: washing out and able to dry after use is the longevity of any trailer floor (alum being the exception)


----------



## r82230

I have a different flooring in my Featherlite, but they don't offer it I understand any more. It is like a poured indoor/out door material, which makes it not as 'noisy' as an normal aluminum floor. Plus not much slipping until well coated with droppings.

My thinking IF I had a new wood floor is to apply (maybe even a couple of coats) of asphalt driveway coating mixed with sand. Perhaps one or two heaped shovels per 5 gallon bucket. Not only would you be creating a less slippery surface, but some weather proving could be an added benefit.

IDK if you could power wash, but I'd think you could use a regular garden spray hose on it.

Larry


----------



## pettibone

I wonder how that driveway sealer would stick to wood, seems like a good idea but I do know if you put a little snow on a driveway that's had a few coats of sealer it is some slippery but that's without adding any grit. Have to put that on the list of maybes.


----------



## Farmerbrown2

I’ve used asphalt drive way sealer on hay wagons.


----------



## dvcochran

Stxpecans123 said:


> Don't want to derail this thread. But have an aluminum trailer that the floor is stupid slick. It's an aluminum floor. We put boards I think 1x8 about 2 foot apart in it before and screwed them down but it didn't last the screws rotted and they still slipped between the board anyways.
> We were thinking maybe crushed limestone? Tryed sand, 3 -80lbs bags we had left over from a project and it did nothing. Any thoughts?
> I had an older cow slip down on the way to the auction the other day and she couldn't get her footing to get up so they wouldn't take her. Had to haul her home and she slide herself out and a week later she made the ride without slipping and falling but i feel sorry for those cows slipping and slidig in there.
> 
> Should I retry the boards with stainless screws and the crushed limestone? I was worried about the little rocks hurting their hoofs.
> 
> Not worried about washing it out. It's 15 years old and is in really good shape and I don't know if we have ever washed it. Last year a tornado pushed it over on its side and cleaned alot of it out for us.


Are you saying the screws rotted in the holes through the deck? If so I suspect you are getting electrolysis and need to invest in some grounding straps. More common on aluminum trailers since they are more conductive.

Possibly a harder grade bolt that is through-bolted with lock nuts?


----------



## Texasmark

Forget the rubber horse stuff. Cattle panels over treated 2x6 (cheaper than 2x10) bathed in old hydraulic fluid or something of the sort, secured with 2" staples. Works great, not all that heavy and cleans up nicely.


----------



## PACattleman

I have a Corn Pro 16 ft gooseneck, I use about 6 shovels full of limestone dust before each haul. Then pressure wash the trailer out within a day. Cleans out real easy and my thinking is the lime will neutralize the acid some and keep the steel from rusting. The trailer is a 2005 and still looks great inside rust wise. It gives my fat animals enough grit to stand with out slipping and sliding around. Washing it out sooner than later makes it clean up easy. 20 to 30 minutes


----------



## Aaroncboo

Yep that's the same reason I use crack corn. It's cheap so one gallon bucket full is more than enough for some traction and If I spread it out right away my chickens and peacocks pick through and eat all the corn.


----------



## Anti Slip Support

Good afternoon. I am new to the forum here when I came across the "slippery trailer floor" issue. We manufacture anti slip floor coatings that apply like paint. The anti slip aggregate is available in a crumb rubber (like at water parks) Soft Tread or a hard grit (like sandpaper) Safe Tread. Both version come in 12 standard and 4 safety colors. The safe tread is also available in a clear formula as well. Feel free to email me if there are any other questions. I hope this helps with any future repairs. Peace


----------



## mlappin

What kind of oak was it? White oak will outlast the others and is sought after around here for semi flatbed floors.


----------



## pettibone

My floor was red oak. I have a couple hundred acres of wood and to my knowledge there's not a single white oak. Wish we had some but not the right climate I guess.


----------



## dieselmike

Cattle panels bolted down securely work


----------



## lukestrawwalker

How about some of that spray on truck bedliner stuff?? My nephew got some stuff that was REALLY stringy and went on really rough, to keep stuff from sliding around in the bed of the truck... came with it's own "blow gun" sorta like a cheap spray paint gun but just basically a big straw and coarse nozzle that the pot went on the bottom of... worked great in his truck dunno if anybody's ever used it on a floor or not... OL J R


----------



## seventyfourci

dvcochran said:


> Are you saying the screws rotted in the holes through the deck? If so I suspect you are getting electrolysis and need to invest in some grounding straps. More common on aluminum trailers since they are more conductive.
> 
> Possibly a harder grade bolt that is through-bolted with lock nuts?


It is galvanic corrosion commonly called dissimilar metal corrosion. If the lumber was treated it just added to the problem. If you want the screws or bolts to live any length of time they will have to be stainless steel. You can use some types of treated lumber with aluminum but not all of the treatments are compatable with aluminum. On aluminum pontoon boats you use marine grade plywood and stainless screws and bolts or it will fall apart the first year it is in the water and cattle are not leaving their marks on top of it.


----------



## seventyfourci

The common pratice in this area is 5/8" or 3/4" sucker rod welded together in about 1' squares. With a little effort you can wash out the trailer and no need to bolt them down just build them to fit your trailer.


----------



## Tennessee Cattleman

We use a cattle panel stapled with long barbed fencing staples on treated 2x lumber. The last trailer came with oil treated oak, but that didn't last very long, replaced with treated lumber.


----------



## dvcochran

carcajou said:


> Pressure treated wood sucks for trailer floors. No strength at all. I still would put in another hardwood floor before that.


I have had good luck with pressure treated pine. I suspect it has more to do with the spacing of the braces under the floor.


----------



## KurtS1

We have used the Rino lining/truck bed liner in some hog trailers, with diamond plate metal floors. It seems to work pretty well even for big animals, fresh off tenderfoot farrowing crates. It is a little spendy but cleans well too. I am not sure how well it would work on wood.


----------



## rainbowdash

I'm currently placing another floor in my old cows trailer utilizing pressure treated stumble. Some time back had a person with a woodmizer saw out some oak boards 20 feet in length to do the floor in a single shot figuring oak would be great. Well anybody who at any point pulled any steers knows what they do when they get in the trailer Buy SARMs online today so pleasant smooth oak turned into a skating arena. So then I motivated some slow down mats which appeared to take care of the issue until there was an opening in the floor, spoiling wood from all the dampness held in by slow down mats. So presently I'm placing in pressure treated however I'm thinking it also will be dangerous without something to give foothold that is the reason I'm inquiring as to whether any body has the response without decaying out the floor once more.


----------



## Ray 54

Well if you read this post from the beginning many ways to make it better have been discussed. But the cheap farmer fix is a few shovels full of course sand. Has been used since first cow was loaded in a wagon until today. Just a few grains of sand per square inch is plenty, in many cases you cannot even see it. Wash your trailer out and add new after your done for the day.


----------

