Wood Trailer Decking Question

[Oldmopars]

I am working on the deck of my low boy trailer. I want to use real wood and found Craft Sticks in several sizes at HL. Now I need to decide the proper width for the boards.

I did some looking on the web and all I have been able to find are 3in, 5in and 7in deck boards, however when I measure the deck boards on the fake wood that comes in the kit, it is 10.75in wide.

10.75 in scale is .43 and would require fewer cuts and fewer overall boards. Have you seen 10+in deck boards on trailers?

I have done some redecking of trailers and I just do not remember how wide the boards were.

[cowboy rich]

I've been around a lot of flat beds and I've not seen anything bigger than 7, certainly not anything as big as 10.75

[tbill]

The hobby lobby doll house flooring I mentioned.

[redneckrigger]

The company I used to work for had a contract with a local sawmill that would custom cut us oak boards up to 12" wide and any size we needed when we were redecking our lowboys. I have seen all sorts of different widths, and don't think there really is any standard, at least based upon all of the different pieces of equipment I used to repair.

[Dieselhead]

I'd agree with Tom, there's no real standard, it's pretty much whatever fits. I would get some sheet balsa (Hobby Lobby, Michaels, etc), put it on, and just play with the widths, and then score the board with a knife to create the illusion of boards. Do it deep like panel lines, wash it dark and I think it would look great.

[gotnitro?]

Good tip using a large sheet..if I may suggest using Basswood instead of balsa. Grain is smoother and imo better appearance over airplane wood .

I bought a piece about 4 inches wide by roughly 20 inches at hobby lobby last year if I recall its 1/32 " thinnest I could find 

[Oldmopars]

Well this is my second attempt. I need to weather it up a bit to make it look more like the deck of a truck used to haul a Dozer, but I think I am getting there. These work out to a scale 9in, so a little wide, but not too bad.

Edited March 28, 2019 by Oldmopars

[Sam I Am]

I like it. I can hardly wait to see it with a wash on it.

[redneckrigger]

Scott, that looks great..............a bit of weathering and it will look just like the real deal after a bit of service. I use balsa, and as it is quite soft, I beat it up a bit with dents and dings and sometimes even some tears and splinters in it and stain it with actual used dirty motor oil and grease. Personally, I find that the actual oils and grease work better than trying to replicate something.

[Chariots of Fire]

My personal preference is bass wood.  A much finer grain that still is easy to cut with a sharp Xacto.  A regular dark stain would work well but with one caution.  Do not get glue on the upper surface or the stain will not take.  Perhaps best to stain the individual strips first and then install.  A darker stain in places where oil and grease might fall will add to its overall appearance.  Some "distressing" would be in order also but don't forget to keep in scale.  Track marks might actually go sideways to indicate adjustments in the location of the equipment as it is being loaded.  (JMHO)

[stitchdup]

I use coffee stirrers for decking, simple to cut and if you grab a handfull when you get coffee its freeish too. For my brbo I used citadel dirt wash to stain them

before staining

after staining

[Ben]

For my ERTL Great Dane flatbed build, I cut the fake plastic wood out and then had a guy cut and print the deck pieces on a thin sheet of balsa wood. All the printed screw heads reside directly above each bed crossmember.

Edited April 2, 2019 by Ben

[truckabilly]

This looks great!

[gotnitro?]

Very nice trailers 

[Bills72sj]

I may be posting this a bit late but, I actually used the wood grained plastic from the kit. I obtained extras and lengthened the frame so I would be able to park 3 cars on it. To get the wood grain relief to show I painted them with Testors Root Beer brown lacquer (no primer). After that dried, I painted them with Tamiya flat tan. Next was sanding (I hate sanding) very gently until the dark brown started to show. Fortunately I did not reveal any bare plastic. Some spots are not perfect but it turned out reasonable.

[Sam I Am]

So... I see that coffee stirrers, sheet balsa, and sheet basswood have been used. Anybody use popsicle sticks or tongue depressors?  Just throwing that out there because I have an hour drive to Michaels and more to HL.

[peteski]

On 1/8/2020 at 11:04 PM, Sam I Am said:

So... I see that coffee stirrers, sheet balsa, and sheet basswood have been used. Anybody use popsicle sticks or tongue depressors?  Just throwing that out there because I have an hour drive to Michaels and more to HL.

Coffee stirrers are thin and narrow. Popsicle/ice-cream sticks and tongue depressors are made from thicker wood and are quite wide. I guess it is whatever you think will look good on a model.