Used flatbed nail strip question

I replaced my nail strips with composite decking. A little heavier than hardwood, but less than half the cost. Durability has been great.

 

Cottonwood makes GREAT decking material. It is so fibrous that it doesn't splinter under weight, which also makes it good for livestock to walk on (as in a multipurpose farm trailer that can have a stock rack added). The down side to cottonwood is that you need to plan way ahead... Your not going to just go to the lumber yard and find it (at least not that I've seen anywhere)...

You have to find a large cottonwood tree and fell it, place it on blocking to keep it off the ground for at least 1 or 2 years to dry, then have a mill cut it into over size rough cut lumber, then stack it so air can circulate around it, preferably out of the wet weather, and let it sit and dry for another 1 to 2 years. Then if you want you can take it back to the mill to be cut down to the size you want and then redeck you trailer.

When I was a kid my Dad did just as I have described for redecking a very large gooseneck flat bed trailer we had for hauling a bulldozer and other equipment... The only thing he said he would do differently was let it dry longer before using it (he only let dry 1 year as whole tree, and 1 year as rough cut lumber) cause after 1 year on the trailer it had shrunk and left 3/4 inches gaps between the planks.

If properly taken care of it will last a very long time. I know this isn't exactly what this thread is about but thought I would post the info incase others may find in useful.