I use a tilt snobird snowmobile trailer to pull both my quads. They fit on there perfectly and side by side drive on style. But my wooden deck is rotting out, I was thinking about replacing the deck with that waflle style aluminum (SP) grip deck to better hold the quads on while I drive the other quad on the deck. Do you see any problems with this, and where can I get this type of deck grid from? If you dont recomend this type of deck replacement, what would you recomend? I do use the trailer to pull my snowmobiles as well, and was thinking I could just bolt on a wooden plywood deck over the waffle grid for the winter use. Thanks for the input..

 

You will spend some big bucks for that Alum. I priced diamond tread for an enclosed trailer and it was way out sight. I replaced a deck on my snowmobile trailer by going to the home center and buying "Marine Grade" plywood. It is treated for the weather and has been holding up for 10 years now! I think I paid about $24/sheet?

 

Replacing the board is easy and easy to get as well. But my problem is that when I get off my ATV, the parking brake cant hold it on the 25+% incline while I get off to ride the other ATV on. Thats why I am thinking about some tracking type board or something. I am thinking I might just replace the trailer. But it fits my ATV's perfectly, and the trailer weighs only 500 LBS.

 

I agree the aluminum would be very spendy. For a small deck you might consider steel grating of some type but I don't really like a grate deck as road spray and crud comes up thru it and makes a mess of the load.

Depends on how thick the wood on your deck is now but you can get 5/4 T&G plywood that makes a super trailer deck. If you put a few coats of preservative on the wood after you cut it to fit and cover the edges as well as the top and bottom it will last for years. By using a good grade of construction adhesive in the tongue and grove joints the deck becomes virtually one solid piece which makes it very strong.

For traction on a wood deck you might try what I did. I used a rubber based mastic and glued down indoor/outdoor carpet on the deck. The rubber mastic helped protect the wood from the water the carpet tends to hold and so far no problems. The 5/4 is heavy enough to bolt tie downs to at convenient locations.

Good luck with your project.

 

I think you will find that most of the affordable aluminum diamond plate will be thin, so if you were to use it you would probably want to put it over some marine grade plywood. You could spring for 11ga diamond plate, but it would be really high $$$.

I used one of those double tilt snowmobile trailers (GF's Dad's) once, and I hated it. It had those little doughnut tires that don't ride well, and it had strips of slick plastic (presumably to be nice to snowmobile skids).

If you have the money, I'd browse for Zieman or other nicer purpose built ATV trailer...

 

Another trailer is not really an option. I could replace my trailer with the one you mentioned, but then it wouldnt be Snowmobile freindly. I actually love using the snowmobile trailer. Its really easy to use, low profile, and low drag for good gas milage. The trailer is really old thou, pushing some 25 years old. Another great thing about it is the fact that Missouri doesnt recognize anything snowmobile related. So I dont have to pay taxes on it, or have to get plates for it. Saves me money all the way around.

 

Well, I suppose then the best plan would likely be some marine grade plywood. You could get some of that heavy duty adhesive backed rough stuff that they put on ramps of toyhaulers... as long as that wouldn't cause problems with snowmobiles...

If it's that old, while you have the decking off you might think about sandblasting any rust, repainting the frame, and repack the wheel bearings. Then it'd be good as new when you got done.

 

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]Three or four years ago I bought a used snowmobile trailer from a friend. It bed was the same as yours,
starting to rot and disentergrate. I thought it all over as the trailer was already 10 years or so old. I
went to home depot and bought pressure treated 8x10 boards, laid them front to back, and just screwed
them into the original wood plywood deck. It gave the trailer a little more weight, and the support for
two atvs is great. I also added tie downs in various places so that there were plenty of places to pull
down on the atvs. The boards dried out after a year and now weight about half, but still have all the
support needed. The boards were cheaper than replacing with plywood, and a lot stronger. No need
to remove the old.

 

i have a 6 x18 that i replace the wood 12 years age and i leave outside i put 2x6 pt and still holding up

 

Ok didn't read all the stuff here, but think i have the idea. What about looking at some kind of a spring loaded device that would push down when drove over, but pop up after the tires roll over it. You know like the use to use in the movies to keep peopel from driving in the exit. Of coarse not a sharp point. You could have a pin that would hold it when you wanted to unload and each quad could be loaded or unloaded one at a time.