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Post by Teachndad on Jan 1, 2015 21:07:54 GMT -8
Hi, i just cut my first rear floor joist. (Pats self on back).  Why don't people paint the floor joists? I always see just the bare wood being used. It just seems that if I want the trailer to outlive me, then wouldn't I paint the wood that sits down where water can kick up when driving through the rain. thanks, Rod |
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Post by vikx on Jan 1, 2015 21:11:11 GMT -8
Just me: I think wood needs to breathe. Under the trailer, they will dry and are out of the weather most of the time anyway.
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RJ
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Post by RJ on Jan 1, 2015 21:20:45 GMT -8
Vikx, no sealer at all in our "moist" weather? Just asking  |
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Post by vikx on Jan 1, 2015 21:36:52 GMT -8
I don't usually use sealers on the floor joists/runners under the trailer. It certainly wouldn't hurt but not really necessary. If a trailer has black coating on the skirt backs, I'll paint a light coat on them. Also, the underside of the belly (hopefully not metal) benefits from a sealer. Basically try to match the original without going overboard. This stuff is easy to apply with water clean up:  So far, so good... It tends to shed black a bit. I learned the hard way about wood and "breathing" many moons ago: We sealed our new horse trailer floor top and bottom with undercoating and it was expensive. The floor rotted out in less than two years! My other trailer was 12 years old, and the floor sound. Of course, not the cleanest wood in town... |
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John Palmer
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Hi, From a vintage trailer guy located in Santa Ana, CA. It's good to see lots of activity here.
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Post by John Palmer on Jan 1, 2015 23:39:16 GMT -8
I also believe that it needs to breathe.
I have an open car trailer and the 2x8 planks rot out every four years even with truck bed coating. Mainly because my neighbor has his sprinklers hitting one side of the trailer. Guess which side rots first, the side with constant weekly water bath. The last new boards I installed just got a coat of black tinted stain on both sides, so we will see how long they last. One thing I'm convinced of, making them water tight is NOT the answer.
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poncho62
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99 Springdale 5th Wheel
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Post by poncho62 on Jan 2, 2015 4:14:57 GMT -8
We had a popup trailer with the chipboard type stuff in the bed sections.....I read specifically NOT to paint the underneath of them, as it would lead to them not drying if got wet and would rot. Probably the same theory with this.
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Post by Teachndad on Jan 2, 2015 5:40:48 GMT -8
We had a popup trailer with the chipboard type stuff in the bed sections.....I read specifically NOT to paint the underneath of them, as it would lead to them not drying if got wet and would rot. Probably the same theory with this. Yep, my first pop up had the particleboard flooring exposed on the underside, too. I remember reading that on the pop up forums. I had an inkling that the floor joists would fall under the same philosophy. I just wanted to confirm. But then, why are there remnants of a black undercoating underneath my Westerner, which I assume to be original, or is it? Cheers Rod |
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