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trailer floor

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whitecow

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I am about to buy my first aluminum trailer (Wilson) that will have a diamond plate patterned aluminum floor. One of the first uses of the trailer will be to haul a load of calves for 1500 miles. Should I put rubber mats or something else on the floor?
 
Faster horses said:
1500 miles????? Where are you taking them?
I'd say mats would be nice. Good luck on your journey.
How many times will you unload and load them?
How long will it take to go 1500 miles?

From Pennsylvania to TX. We plan to go half way (~12 hrs) stop/unload for the night and drive another 12 hrs the next day.
 
Mats are always good; if you do not want to go with the mats use shavings or chips, a 6 to 8 inch deep layer soaked and pact down help them with traction and makes clean up easier. We soak them down real well to pact them down and it cuts down on the dust. It also helps keep them cool if you wet down the shavings just before you load.
 
whitecow said:
Faster horses said:
1500 miles????? Where are you taking them?
I'd say mats would be nice. Good luck on your journey.
How many times will you unload and load them?
How long will it take to go 1500 miles?

From Pennsylvania to TX. We plan to go half way (~12 hrs) stop/unload for the night and drive another 12 hrs the next day.

Did you buy some of those Sinclair cows Saturday?
I was kind of disappointed when I couldn't find the sale being covered by any of the Video sales....Last few previous years they were on Superior...
 
whitecow said:
Faster horses said:
1500 miles????? Where are you taking them?
I'd say mats would be nice. Good luck on your journey.
How many times will you unload and load them?
How long will it take to go 1500 miles?

From Pennsylvania to TX. We plan to go half way (~12 hrs) stop/unload for the night and drive another 12 hrs the next day.

From what I here, you might be the only guy hailing cattle into Texas. Good luck!
 
BRG said:
whitecow said:
Faster horses said:
1500 miles????? Where are you taking them?
I'd say mats would be nice. Good luck on your journey.
How many times will you unload and load them?
How long will it take to go 1500 miles?

From Pennsylvania to TX. We plan to go half way (~12 hrs) stop/unload for the night and drive another 12 hrs the next day.

From what I here, you might be the only guy hailing cattle into Texas. Good luck!

Yep-- we have one ranch up here that just hauled in and is running 750 head of cows for the Four Sixes ranch of Texas...
According to his neighbors they were pretty stressed when they came in- and just started calving the other day...

They better hope the predicted winter as tough as last years holds off for a couple of months...
 
Semis don't normally use anything in them and I have hauled many critters that far with nothing on the floors. I do have mats in all of our trailers now, but they are all wooden floors, and I think cattle stand better on the mats. If I were you I wood put a couple bags of wood chips in and call it good.
 
If you don't know how to bed a trailer......should you even be hauling?


Lots of things can go wrong hauling....go very wrong....very fast. That's a long haul if you are inexperienced
 
jingo2 said:
If you don't know how to bed a trailer......should you even be hauling?


Lots of things can go wrong hauling....go very wrong....very fast. That's a long haul if you are inexperienced

I'm not an inexperienced hauler. We've been doing this for 40+ years. Just never used an aluminum trailer before. They are so not common in TX. Typically only show calves or horses get dragged around in them around here.
 
I can't figure you guys out whitecow is asking for advise and now it has turned into your not quilified to haul cows that many miles. There is only one way to learn and that is to have enough balls to get off the couch and do it . I look at like this whitecow no I would not put rubber down on the floor and when you rest your cows for the night clean the trailer out and get it ready for in the morning. I wish you the best of luck and let us know how it goes.
 
Cure, don't paint us with the same brush needed for jingo2. He's the ONLY one that said anything about someone being inexperieced. Grandad was just quoting jingo2 in his post.

Personally, I think it was great that whitecow asked the question
on this forum. Shows he was wanting to do what was best for the cattle.
And the mats aren't necessary, but I think the wood chips are a
great idea.
 
cure said:
I can't figure you guys out whitecow is asking for advise and now it has turned into your not quilified to haul cows that many miles. There is only one way to learn and that is to have enough balls to get off the couch and do it .

Exactly. At 17 I was hauling mares by myself to stallions who were standing in Oklahoma and Texas. Ah, the good ol' days...bias tires on split rim wheels, 55 mph speed limit, and azzholes at the Kansas port of entry south of Wichita. Well, the azzholes are still there at the Kansas port of entry, but the bias tires and split rims have pretty much gone the way of the dodo.

The best advice I could give for a trip that far is to make sure your truck and trailer spares are good and fully aired up, (I used to carry 2 for each), you have a couple of jacks and some short boards for blocking, and you have a tool box that is decently equipped. A car charger for your cell phone. Several quarts of motor oil and a gallon or 2 of anti freeze wouldn't hurt, either. Have somebody who is qualified give the truck a good going over before you commence. Check the trailer lights, brakes & turn signals. And, any papers you may need from a veterinarian.

Good luck and let us know how it works out. :D
 
I have never had a trailer with a metal floor either -- - - with the wood floor I tried rubber mats ( I have plenty of conveyor belting ) but I feel they get to slippery when wet so I quit them.

I use about one good scoop shovel full of sand for every 8' to 10' of trailer floor - - - not to hard to clean out, no rocks to cause hoof problems but plenty of traction.

The only thing I would try for is to make it in 3 eight hour hauls instead of 2 twelve hours. 12 hours is a long time to stand without feed or water!

I'm sure you could locate some local sale barns that would provide feed and rest for the cattle at a reasonable cost.
 
George said:
I have never had a trailer with a metal floor either -- - - with the wood floor I tried rubber mats ( I have plenty of conveyor belting ) but I feel they get to slippery when wet so I quit them.

I use about one good scoop shovel full of sand for every 8' to 10' of trailer floor - - - not to hard to clean out, no rocks to cause hoof problems but plenty of traction.

The only thing I would try for is to make it in 3 eight hour hauls instead of 2 twelve hours. 12 hours is a long time to stand without feed or water!

I'm sure you could locate some local sale barns that would provide feed and rest for the cattle at a reasonable cost.

I've not had metal floors either, George---but I know of a pot with new tread plate floor that got about 100,000 miles of wear on a 1500 mile trip---think about the sand/moisture/hoof action
 
I'm no trucker, but I've driven by as many semis on the interstates as anyone. I never see the cattle moving around in there, they just stand. Therefore, I'm lead to believe that traction is not a huge issue on aluminum floors. Maybe a little wet wood shavings would make you feel good about the situation. Don't waste the money on the slippery-when-wet rubber mats. You'd want to put something down on top of those too!
 
Your state dept of transportation, or equivalent, should be able to give you listing of vehicle and trailer regs. states you will pass through require at their check places. Your statewide cattlemen organizations should be able to give you listing of cattle reg.s and possibly even of places such as the auction barns or others to unload cattle to rest, eat, and drink.

Maybe this is overkill for the miles you will cover with the cattle loaded, but having in mind all that could affect the cattle health puts you ahead of critics who may notice cattle they 'feel' are suffering at stops you make, not to omit hiway police!

One member of my family did have an opportunity to help out a trucker on a LONG haul who had a critter down in his potload last week. It would not have lasted long in the conditions, had they not corrected the load dispersion a little.

Best wishes for a successful trip.

mrj
 
If you are going to haul them that far bed them in wood chips or shavings and don't be afraid to use a couple of bags. It is a comfort thing most of all. You said you were hauling calves, so the less stress they have the better they will perform when they reach their destination. I personally wouldn't wet the shavings down, I want them to absorb the moisture from the manure and urine so the calves aren't standing in it the whole way. I put shavings in my trailer on top of the mats sometimes just to make it easier to clean out. I've been told that you need to clean an aluminum out and wash it ever time you use it, if that is true I wouldn't put rubber mats down.
 

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