I have a 12K 18'-4' beavertail GN flatbed with a wooden deck surface, I know, who doesn't have a wooden deck. Anyway, I was wondering about how much weight a wooden deck will support? The placement of steel supports is 24", the wood is 1-1/2 treated boards.

I need to pick up a Farmall H Tractor with the front loader/manure bucket. I am guessing the tractor weighs somewhere around 4800#'s, and it's length will fit on my trailer, somewhere around 14' from cutting edge of the bucket to the rear drawbar hitch pin.

I was just wondering if the board surface would be enough to support this tractor? I am contemplating adding a 1/8" steel deck on top of the wood. That's right at 1200#'s of steel, would put me at the gross of the trailer with the tractor. It has dual single tire axles, 6K, new load range E 235x75x16 tires. So, any opinions/suggestions?

CD

 

CD, as long as your boards are in good shape, you shouldn't have a problem. If you're concerned, try this. Ease the tractor onto the trailer and watch how much deflection the boards do. If you think it's too much for your liking, you can lay a couple of 2x12s across your deck boards, then park the tractor tires on these. Also try to get the tires to span at least two boards. I just don't think it will be an issue if your boards are in good shape.
Good luck.

 

All goosenecks made by any factory that ive ever known of including flatbeds 30,40,and 45 foot long that i built myself all have had wooden floors and can haul extreme amouns of weight with no problems.Believe me from just my own experience with 2x8s 10s and 12s .WOOD IS STRONG!!!!!! Ive even used 2 x 12s as ramps for vehicles that i winched on utility trailers with.24"s isnt much for spacing for the boards.Thats good enough and plenty.It just depends is if this is one solid board because if you got a split like 20 10 foot joining each other you need to put more crossmembers to support the boards wherever they join for the joining part ONLY because you cannot join two 2x8s on only an inch of steel on 24"s or whatever you know?I hope you know what im talking about.The wood you have wont give you any trouble with that little weight,REALLY that wood is tough and metal floors are unneccesary and expensive and thats why they have wood on 18 wheeler flatbeds most of the time instead of metal.Its less expensive,and it weighs less but can do the same job too!!!!

Im out in texas,BTW hows the weather over there and whats your location?

 

Park the rear wheels centered over one of the supports under the wood.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. My boards are in good condition, no cracks, but they are 7 years old and dried out. The crossmembers are 2" channel, and where the boards butt towards the front half there are two crossmembers welded together. The trailer is well built, I was just wondering about wheel weight on the boards. I was planning to hopefully catch a cross member with the wheels. This H has a wide front end, so at least I won't have that front centered/concentrated weight with the narrow front end. Maybe I'll take along a couple 2x12's just in case. The tractor is located in Minnesota, making about a 1500 mile trip with it so I am being a little **** about stuff.

rebel05.

I'm in Capitan NM. The weather has been fairly nice temp wise, mid to high 80's. Monsoon season has started, lots and lots of torrential rain for a few hours at a time. Really severe lightning too. Yesterday we had some flooding in/around my area, I'm on high ground so no problems for me, but town was another story. This stuff usually lasts about a month, but who knows with as crazy/goofy as the weather has been lately.

You guys over in Texas have been getting hit pretty hard with rain and flooding this year, our news is filled with pics of all the flooding that is in a lot of places. Suppose someone makes pontoons that will bolt up like running boards? Bet the Cummins would spin a prop really good? I was through Amarillo and south to Texico NM a couple weeks ago, the rain sure has greened everything up, usually that stretch is pretty dry and burnt up this time of year. From the road the crops looked really good. Even New Mexico is all green with grasses, etc. First time I have seen it looking this way in the 5 years that I have lived here. I've been complaining about having to mow all the grass repeatedly. Ordinarily mowing is a once a year thing, maybe every two years.

CD

 

I just hauled a 15,000 pound pinion gear in a wooden crate that had 4 runners on the bottom of the crate. Meaning that 15,000 lbs was placed on on 4 twelve inch points of the trailer. No problems at all with boards breaking

 

Yeah dont worry bout it I pull heavy vehicles all the time with no tires on rims and sumtimes with just hubs and you can even see where they are cutting into the board while being winched on and they never break the board cause thats highly unlikely.Have fun.

 

This one was 8000 pounds stripped down. Hauled it many a time on a wooden deck. Mine too is about six years old. About once every two years, I take the pressure washer to it, let it dry, and soak it with waterseal.



Hauled these two plenty of times.



Even hauled these two together with no problems. I will usually try to park the tires over a rail though.

 

WOW Dieseldude4x4 - after seeing those loads, I think I may have nothing to worry about!!! Very sharp looking tractors, trailer and truck too. I guess I'll have to take some pics when I go to MN and figure out how to post them.

CD

 

It would be better if that FAT guy wasn't standing in the middle of the one picture.
One word of advice, spend the money up front and buy the good DOT approved chains and good binders. Two of the four chains broke about 0200 in the morning on me during a trip from Wisconsin. A trucker saw the sparks and flagged me down. Almost lost a tractor that morning. I put two more chains on till I got home. I took all those chains and turned them into land fill material and went to AgriVa and spent about $300 on chains. I bought four 20 footers and eight hooks. I had them cut the 20 footers in half and put the new hooks on each cut end giving me eight chains. You will have to try very hard to break those babies. Remember when you're tieing down a load, it's always better to over rig than under rig.

 

Here's a pic of big Bertha tied down. She also weighs in at a plump 8000 pounds and then I stack another 1000 pounds of wheel weights on her for pulling.

 

Other loads.

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...=160032&page=3

 

My Belarus 420A is listed as weighing 7900 and the Allied loader is another 2300... I used a trailer almost exactlylike yours to pick it up and haul it home from northern Iowa and had no trouble at all, 4800 lbs , I wouldnt even worry about it. As mentioned, your tie-downs and binders are much more a concern.

 

Pound for Pound, wood is stronger than steel. My wooden deck holds a 14000 lb backhoe. Enjoy hauling your tractor.

 

Thanks all you guys for the responses. I already ordered the DOT chains and wrachet binders. I also have a couple 20ft 3/8 chains that I cut in half to make some shorties, will use them with the old flip style binders as secondary tie downs.

I am probably going to enjoy the seat time hauling the tractor, quality time with the truck, etc. But I KNOW I will enjoy restoring the tractor more. This tractor was purchased new in 1941 and has been in the family ever since. It has been used on/off in farming all those years, and runs pretty good too. I'll tear it down and re-do it all bucket to drawbar. Should keep me busy thru the winter and into next spring, but by spring it should look like it did the day it was new, and run that way too. Then, my next project will to find some of the old implement attachments, re-do them, so I can put it to use around my place.

CD