Pressure Treated Wood..?

[DandyWarholsTeardrop]

Hi: Got my HF trailer just about all assembled and I'm wondering if using pressure treated wood makes sense for the floor? Any thoughts, known problems?? Thanks in advance!

[IraRat]

Pressure treated ply for the floor deck, or sticks for the framing of the floor?

[Arne]

Pressure treated is normally used where ground contact is concerned (or where the house sets on the foundation). It is heavier, the sawdust is not healthy, I'd stay away from it on a tear.... but do use some kind of undercoat/tar on the bottom..... it won't get that wet, even on wet roads, but it is just better.....

[DandyWarholsTeardrop]

Ira I was thinking about using on both floor frame and sheet floor... I was thinking more of durability?? Maybe not seal?? Any other thoughts on using pressure treated for this??

[Brad Lustig]

Pressure treated lumber is usually pretty wet and is prone to split, twist, warp, cup, doesn't glue well. Lots of reasons not to use it. Also, it's tough on you and your tools. No real reason to use the treated ply as almost all plywood these days have exterior grade glues

[Chris C]

Dandy, pressure treated wood is a carcinogen. It's okay for fence posts and other outdoor structures, but please don't consider using it inside your tear. It would be okay to use on the bottom side of an insulated floor, I'd think, (though I don't know what advantage it would be over an underbody water resistan coating) but otherwise I'd stay away from it.

[Woody]

My experince with PT lumber is that it is marginal to low grade lumber to begin with. Stick PT lumber can vary even dimensional sometimes also. It will twist, warp, check, split and cup in more ways than one could imagine. Plus as a rule it should dry for 30 days before you can seal, paint, undercoat it. I would use exterior plywood or marine plywood for a floor application and seal it real good. Look at even some of the original teardrops were made with regular plywood 40- 50 years ago and are still servicable.

[Woody]

Chris,
You are right about the carcinogen factor, however, now a days they have shyed away from those older chemicals compounds or here in florida they did. Even some areas have ordinances about using it for below ground and post applications (areas like playgrounds etc.) due to the older chemical used contaminating the soil around them and leeching into water supplies and the surrounding enviroment. Here they use what they call "Thomsonized treated lumber" , still the same crappy wood though

[ahjones3]

I used the best treated 2 x 4's I could find and ripped them to 2 x 2's for the frame. I also found 1/2" AC plywood for the floor. I didn't want to mess with roof coating. I stained the top side of the plywood and then gave it a coat of fiberglass resin. It looks great and I don't have to worry about deadly toxins crawling through my foam matress, sheets, clothing, etc. and attacking any open gaping wounds I might have.
Al.

[IraRat]

Dandy, I think the key point is that you really don't NEED it. PT lumber is also supposed to be insect/bacteria resistant, that kind of stuff, where it comes in direct, long contact with dirt and moisture. It still definitely chips, cracks, can get screwed up the same like any other ype of lumber, so there's no great advantage.

Especially for the TD sections you're talking about.

The frame is only exposed on the sides, and the deck, on the bottom--which I assume you're going to seal and insulate anyway.

As far as getting poisoned, though, I wouldn't worry about that too much.

[DandyWarholsTeardrop]

Thanks guys...I'm convinced! No PTW for me. I'm sure I'll be back with more questions...in fact now that I think about it, I already have another... about laminate flooring but I guess it needs a new string! So a posting I will go!

[doug hodder]

If you want to know what is in the chemicals in the pressure treated stuff, check out a can of Jasco wood treatment at home depot. Lots of arsenic........I'd just go with regular material and seal it up good. It all depends on where you live and the environmental conditions you have to deal with. I live in No. Cal and I know that I won't be towing the trailer in a lot of wet weather as it is really dry here in the summer, except this year.....I just did a oil based primer and oil based black paint on my sub deck. My original 49 Kit didn't even have that and when I sold it in 95 it was still fine.....Doug Hodder