Wood Trailer Flooring & Hardwood Trailer Decking

Genuine Apitong Hardwood is the First Choice by Manufacturers & the Aftermarket Service & Repair Industry

Many different species of wood have been used for truck trailer flooring. The most common species in use today on flatbeds, drop decks and open or exposed trailers is a hardwood called Apitong which is also known as Keruing. A very close substitute is Angelim Pedra which is also known as Brazilian Apitong. Both are very strong, naturally durable, and generally available from wholesalers such as TrailerDecking.com. Domestic hardwood species that are used in the trailer flooring market include American Red Oak, White Oak, and Hard Maple; all of which are used in dry vans and van bodies. In terms of domestic softwoods, only Southern Yellow Pine and Douglas Fir are used on low cost utility trailers. In some cases, the softwood lumber is pressure treated but it still tends to wear out in 5-7 years, which is much shorter than the typical lifespan of a light duty utility trailer. We always recommend replacing softwood once it starts to rot out with a durable hardwood such as our Genuine Apitong or Brazilian Apitong. These Apitong woods weigh approximately twice as much as Southern Yellow Pine wood and are roughly three times the strength and hardness. When comparing Apitong wood to Red Oak or White Oak wood, again Apitong has both higher strength properties, hardness and density. For exterior or exposed truck decking use, Genuine Apitong and Brazilian Apitong are the two best choices.

Available in Both Rough Boards and Shiplap, as shown below, these are solid boards in lengths ranging from 8' to 20' or longer:

Asian Apitong has been the traditional wood of choice for flatbed truck flooring for at least 25 years. As standard flatbed flooring, Apitong is usually used as solid, plank flooring. Most commonly in a shiplap form, this flatbed trailer flooring will typically vary from 1-1/8” to 1-3/4” in thickness with widths typically 5” or 7”. Solid shiplap flooring is typically used in lightweight flatbed trailers where product weight, durability, strength and price are the major concerns for manufacturers.

Lengths are an important factor in selecting solid hardwood truck flooring. Tropical hardwoods will typically average at least 12-14’ in length. Splices must occur on cross members, which are typically between 12” and 24” center to center. There are options to buy finger jointed or end glued solid planks up to 53’ in length so that trailer manufacturers do not need to deal with random length boards; the average length of the planks before finger jointing is around 12’.

Wood Trailer Flooring Options

It is not uncommon to see light duty applications such as homeowner utility trailers being built with either softwood dimension lumber or plywood for the utility trailer floor. These softwood and plywood floors will not hold up for more than a few years. It certainly helps to use a high quality wood stain to help protect the material from moisture, but once the floor is rotted out, it's generally recommended to replace the floor with something that will last at least as long as the utility trailer steel structure.

Apitong hardwood will help the consumer get as much as 15-20 years of life out of a typical utility trailer. Of course, a hardwood truck floor will always cost more than a softwood truck floor. When it comes to utility trailer flooring options, TrailerDecking.com has the longest lasting, most naturally durable hardwood available today. Don't hesitate to give us a call or email with questions regarding your next wood trailer floor.

Shiplap Flooring Rough Sawn Boards How to Order

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Specialty Industrial Components

Let us know what you need. We can source just about any specified product you may want. We've done filler components for reefer trailers, nail strips, pre-drilled and shaped components, and more.

Apitong Shiplap Trailer Flooring

We offer shiplap trailer flooring in Genuine Apitong, also known as Keruing. This solid wood plank material is available in lengths from 8' to 24'. The most common face width is 7" and our material is run with a 3/8" shiplap, making it 7-3/8" overall.

We can source other custom sizes as well and generally have access to 5" face shiplap material, nail strips and can provide custom patterns as required.

LTF - Laminated Truck Flooring for Truck Body and Dry Van Applications

Laminated truck flooring is available in tropical hardwood from Southeast Asia, and is typically made from a mix of medium to medium high density species of wood. For use in truck body and dry van applications, an Apitong floor is laminated from strips of narrow, short material and can be either hook jointed or fingerjointed on the ends of the individual pieces. The maximum length possible of imported LTF is just under 40' since that is the longest piece that will fit in a standard ocean container.

Here at TrailerDecking.com, we do not carry laminated truck flooring in lengths over 32'. We only do tropical hardwoods. Most trailer repair centers will have access to lengths longer than 32', typically made from Red or White Oak. There are a number of high quality manufacturers in the United States. This LTF is edge glued and end glued from individual strips of hardwood.

Laminated truck trailer flooring should never be used on a flatbed trailer. A laminated Apitong floor is designed exlusively for use in truck body applications and dry vans - and should never be left exposed to the weather. It is common for manufacturers to undercoat the laminated truck body floor with a wax or polyurethane coating.

FAST SHIPPING
Anywhere in the US and Canada

From our strategically located warehouses, we can deliver your order quickly - generally within 7-10 days. Our specialty is servicing customers who need material to re-deck a typical 48' flatbed with shiplap or rough Apitong.

You can order on-line from our web site and specify the lengths you need for your trailer deck. Our product detail page includes detailed inventory availability on every product we sell. Be sure to check our availability of lengths when specifying what you need.

Heavy Duty, Drop Deck, Low Boy - Rough Apitong Lumber Trailer Flooring

For heavy duty applications, tropical hardwood lumber in such species as Purpleheart, Greenheart, Angelim Pedra, Tatajuba and Keruing / Genuine Apitong offer the best durability and life expectancy. With a Janka Side Hardness as much as two times that of White Oak, these tropical hardwoods will perform in the toughest conditions.

We specialize in sourcing custom sizes including specified length timbers. Let us know what you need.

S4S E4E Boards, Bullnose Tie Down Slats, Side Rack Material

Many different types of woods will perform well for industrial S4S applications. We have 1x3, 1x4 and 1x6 in many different hardwoods available for prompt shipment. These solid hardwood S4S products can be run to custom patterns as well if you need something specialized. We stock solid random length products from 4' to 20' and fingerjointed products above 20'.

Note that pre-drilling is required in the higher density woods such as Ipe, Cumaru, and Massaranduba. Medium density species such as Meranti and Cambara do not require pre-drilling, which will make for much quicker installation procedure.

Shiplap Flooring Rough Sawn Boards How to Order