How to Replace the Boards on a Car Trailer

Do-it-yourself car-hauling trailers typically have wooden runways made of 2-inch-thick lumber to support the wheels of the automobile. The remaining floor may be sheet metal or heavy-duty screen mesh. The boards are bolted through the frame of the trailer with carriage bolts that will need to be removed with an impact gun and compressor. These tools can be rented from a tool rental service by the hour or day. Using treated lumber will provide you with the longest-lasting floor.

• 1

  Make a sketch of the trailer floor, including the length, width, thickness and position of the original pieces. You will need to recreate each piece to ensure that the bolt pattern will fit the trailer frame. Buy enough bolts, nuts and washers to replace all of the hardware in the floorboards. Use galvanized hardware for best results.

• 2

  Remove the nuts from the carriage bolts from underneath the trailer with an impact gun and an appropriately sized socket. Keep at least one bolt and nut from the original hardware. Purchase the same size and length of bolt for easy refitting.

• 3

  Cut the new floorboards to the same sizes as the original. Most floorboards will be 2-by-8 or 2-by-10. Cut a matching length piece for each original floorboard and mark the positions of the original bolt holes on each piece. Bore pilot holes in each bolt location using a bit the same thickness as the original bolts.

• 4

  Reposition the first floorboard starting at the front of the trailer on the left side of the left wheel track. Fit the bolts down through the pilot holes in the boards and through the holes in the trailer frame. Drive the carriage bolt heads into the board above to secure it, with a hammer. Fit all of the bolts from above before adding nuts. Thread the washers and nuts to the bolts underneath the trailer by hand. Leave them loose for now.

• 5

  Fit the remaining boards working from left to right, from the front to the back of the trailer, fitting each replacement board into the same space the original it was patterned after occupied. Repeat the process with the right wheel track, leaving all nuts loose.

• 6

  Tighten the nuts on each bolt with the impact gun. Double-check all bolts once tightening is complete and snug down any bolts that have shifted or have slack on the thread.