I always read about this and checking for it – it would seem like it happens quite frequently – but I don’t know a soul who has had to replace them, even in older trailers. Is it because I am in California and most of the issues are from weather rather than horses inside?
Nope. I had a 1974 Cotner until 2000. No sign of rot. I saw that trailer 4 years later with mo issues.
I had a 2000 trailer until 2022 with perfect wood floors.
Current trailer is a 2008 with no floors issues.
Trailer ramps are totally different issue. A few of the above trailers and a friend’s trailer had rot issues on ramps. But ramps tend to be plywood and floors are 2x4, 2x6, or 2x8 boards.
I am SE PA
Yes. Bought my very first used trailer in 1970s. Replaced the rotted floor.
Do you remember how the trailer was used/stored prior to your ownership? Weather?
Yes.
But my trailer is a 1989, with open slats at the top of the walls and back door for the rain to get in, and it spent a lot of years stored outside in the PNW.
It’s mostly the ends at the back door and wall-side boards that rot first.
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Either the floor boards or more often, the cross members. I saw a trailer that had rotten cross members and someone attached wood from above, which is not safe. It was used as a horse trailer. Then it was bought, taken to a trailer place which said they wouldn’t put a goat in it, then someone bought it as a horse trailer…
I also knew someone who just put a piece of plywood over the rotten floor.
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Yes. Both of the Brenderups I have owned I have replaced the floors. A 2007 from NY (I’m in Midwest) and 2008 from TN. The TN trailer was in much worse shape despite being used less and allegedly stored under cover. Brenderups are a bit of a special breed as the original floors (fiberglass coated birch) is great at hiding water damage. It’s a very strong material but the water gets between the layers and gets trapped.
I also had an American trailer we started to replace the floor boards on then discovered the cross members were in terrible condition and ended up scraping the trailer (that was like 2014 ish so while over a decade ago it isn’t like it happened in the 70s - point being it’s definitely a relevant concern).
Floor should be kept as dry and clean as possible, stored without mats on top, checking the floor twice a year and staying on top of all weather seals to keep rain out.
Thanks! I am guessing weather must have a lot to do with it. Given that they are matted, it wouldn’t seem like horse manure/pee would seep through enough to make a difference.
One more question: how have you seen the floorboards adequately checked, and by whom? Did you observe? Are the trailers jacked up and someone looks underneath, or are mats pulled and the floorboards observed from above?
Often the moisture comes up from the ground to keep the boards damp on the underside. Moisture locations are at the back doors, along the sides where angle iron goes from wall to floor, front end of boards meeting metal of trailer.
We have replaced all the floor boards several times on our elderly trailer, with replacing individual boards and metal crossmembers as needed. This is with using copper painted boards, hardwood Oak as the flooring. We had also added more cross members right after purchase (stock trailer) because husband thought the factory cross members were too far apart at 2ft for our big horses. It was sold as a “draft horse sized” trailer. Our Sporthorses go from 1200#s to 1500#s, not draft weight, but not little horses. So now we have cross members every 12 inches under the boards.
I know lots of folks (Michigan) who have replaced their trailer floor boards and cross members.
You do want to check the wood floors using a screwdriver and hammer to find weak or rotten spots. You hammer the screwdriver into the wood, starting with a solid spot to hear what sound it makes. Rotten spots make a mushy noise and are MUCH easier to drive into the bad board. You can’t always SEE rotten spots in boards. We did a Pony Club lesson on how to check their trailers for safety before hauling their animals in Spring. Kids did the work, but we all could hear the differences in solid and rotten. Out of five trailers, we found FOUR had rotten spots in the flooring!! One trailer was MINE! This was part of It’s Spring check-up after sitting under the lean-to all winter. Floor had been solid when put away in the fall, mats lifted and hung over the divider. The other parents were also mortified, but were going to fix things as soon as they got home. The ugly, rattly, little old trailer had a solid floor! So just merely looking at floors is not a safe checking method.
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I also had to replace a Brenderup floor. In my case it was found during the annual safety check where they put the trailer up on a lift.
My first trailer was an old steel bumper pull and the previous owner had replaced the floor before I bought it.
I’m in the NE and we get a lot of road salt in the winter which I’m sure doesn’t help.
I have my local trailer repair place do a check up and maintenance every Spring. It’s worth it to stay ahead of issues.
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In my experience it’s a combination of condensation from the ground and/or rain splattering up from the road while hauling. Even leaving it out in the rain can get the underside wet if it rains hard enough. It doesn’t aerate well with the mats and any bit of pee or moisture also get trapped.
How you store the trailer matters in areas with damper climates. In the NE area it’s not uncommon to replace the floorboards every ten years or so. What’s more common is the cross members and the frame rotting out.
Don’t store your trailer on dirt or grass if you can help it. Pavement/asphalt in dry storage is best, gravel second.
I just had to completely reframe my trailer last spring. 2002 Kingston. Was good for a few years and then rapidly went downhill - the entire frame rusted out seemingly overnight.
I’ve replaced the wood floors a few times in other trailers. I always check every spring everything is in good working order. That’s how I discovered what was surface rust last year had completely compromised the frame.
In the NE vehicles just don’t last as long as they do out west and south. The salt and the damp seasons are hard on metal frames.
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I’ve seen enough iffy looking ones I made sure to buy one with rumber! (I’m also in CA)
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Very common in Florida. I have a friend who bought and fixed and sold trailers. Every one got a new floor. He just did my friends trailer this past year which is pretty amazing as he is 80 years old.
I have done okay with my trailers as I keep them covered as much as possible.
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@BlueDrifter --this was my first horse trailer ever. It was old when I bought it, rusty, might have been painted red at one point. It was the old kind sort of bullet shaped, two horse straight load with saddle storage under the mangers in the front (the kind where horses frequently end up with their feet on it). Honestly it was most likely unsafe for horses, but I didn’t know anything about horse trailers then. It was probably stored outside. We pulled mats and the back boards were all rotted where the door had been left open (the kind of top door, bottom door arrangement.
I went to the lumber store with a broken piece of floor wood and asked what to do . The fellow there gave me the amount I needed of green oak cut to fit. That was the easy part.
After I removed all the rest (I was a 20 something with a hammer and not much else), I put in the new wood (horizontal, slid into steel groves on the side and middle). What I didn’t know is that green wood is fractionally bigger than dry wood. I do remember it took a lot of pounding with my hammer to make those boards slide in and fit. The lumber dude had also told me to leave a slight gap between each board.
I had my floor fixed --but the trailer was unsafe --live and learn. There was a sharp edge on the wall at the back where the horse caught her foot and nearly sliced off her entire hoof. She was a year healing, but eventually did grow a new hoof and I had her for another 20 years.
The trailer was traded for another --and gradually --I learned more and more about horse trailers and horses.
To this day I wish Neva had written her book 20 years earlier --would have saved me from making a lot of mistakes.
I now own a Merhow --Neva designed the first “big white box” stye horse trailer --until then, they were all those bullet shaped small trailers. I think she is part owner of EquiSpirit or was.
The Complete Guide to Buying, Maintaining, and Servicing a Horse Trailer Paperback – Illustrated, February 1, 1998
by Neva Kittrell Scheve (Author), Thomas G. Scheve
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California’s weather is a lot milder compared to places with extreme cold or humidity, which might cause more wear and tear. Maybe it also depends on how often the trailer is used and how it’s maintained.
Yep. As Heinz 57 pointed out, being in the NW, uncovered, water wants to settle right at the back end. I’ve replaced one board that rotted down on the end - and it wasn’t even a board the horses step on. I’m about to replace another. My trailer is a 2005, so it’s seen it’s share of weather.
You get more pee under those mats than you might think. I bed my trailer pretty deep in thick-cut shavings but I still pull my mats to make sure. I also lift my mats at the back end just a bit to allow for air flow between the mat and the floor board.
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When I was a kid, a local trainer’s horse fell through the floor of her trailer. I was too young to know any of the details besides the fact that the horses did not survive. But it was enough to scare me for life!
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We inspect our trailer several times throughout the year. At the end of the summer we removed some very light surface rust from a few cross members, as well as all of the paint, and re primed and painted. It was quite the project. The floor is in good shape though. Any sign of any rust and I tend to freak out 
but rust is like a cancer that just spreads.
It’s rare that I haul in the winter when there’s any salt on the roads or when it’s wet. My horse typically doesn’t pee on the trailer, and I park it over rubber mats. All of those things help.
The mats make a difference. I bought stall mats on sale at TSC and it takes 8 of them for good coverage. We do have to be very precise when parking on the mats. I did notice recently after some wet winter weather that the mats were dry and clear much faster than the ground under and around the other trailers. So I think it’s worth it. I also use tire covers, mostly for UV protection.
I think that wood floors are fine as long as you care for them properly. As with most things, really. When you do have to replace them, it’s not as expensive as replacing other types of flooring and you can do it yourself if you’re handy enough.
I’d likely do wood again with a new trailer, and maybe consider Rumber. I will never do any of the sealed floor types again. I think people too easily dismiss wood floors due to the odd horror story that they’ve heard. They are FINE if maintained and done correctly. Hawk still recommends wood floors to this day, and they do so for good reason(s).
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I have bought two used trailers in the past. I am in Michigan. Need to say my husband is a machinist and knows how to weld, so we did have a little flexibility with the frame needing welds (he also tends to improve on design, a plus for me!)
The first-time shopping must have looked at 10 trailers before I found my vintage trailer. Ironically it was from Indiana and the previous owner had rubber sealed all the framework underneath like you would a truck. It was in amazing condition, and I sold it to someone who converted it to a mobile bar. There is even a YouTube video about it LOL!
Converting a Horse Trailer Into a Mobile Bar Start To Finish + TOUR.
I didn’t want to sell it as a horse trailer and have it get ruined, so was happy for its conversion.
I needed a bigger trailer with a front storage for my tack, so the hunt went on again, but I got lucky and after browsing MP for a week, got my second one. It’s older but didn’t need floorboards, just welds on the frame (and husband reinforcing some design flaws).
When searching, most of the other trailer’s frames where so rotted that we just looked at that first and walked away. Usually, the rotted boards went along with the rotted frames. I still see scary trailers like that for sale.
FYI, once friends discovered we could replace floors, we did two other trailers besides mine (and that was enough!). One was actually a Benderup one horse with planking, and the frame bracing was not actually under where the horse stood, so that got additional bracing.
