horseboxes - wooden floors v aluminium?

silverfox88

just been wondering lately - have seen a number of boxes for sale recently for €1500 and under. someone said to me recently that at that price they probably have wooden floors and to avoid them; im largely interested in the ifor williams 505/510's and was wondering if anyone had any advice/experience with regard to wooden floors. would it make a difference if the floor had been recently replaced, or are wooden floors a no go? adivice much appreciated, really would love to just get cracking on the box hunt in time for the summer!!

s-cogan

one of ours is an ifor williams 50-something(dunno which), fairly old, with a wooden floor, floor cracked after about 10-12 years of constant use, if your gonna look at a wooden floored box, get an experienced person to look it over. we've a newer ifor williams with an aluminium floor too, i would say if you get a very good condition timber floor at the right price, go for it, after having an expert look at it.
best of luck looking

Esroh

A S-C says Wooden floors worked in the past. A friend of mine put a new 2nd layer of timber in his box when the first one showed signs of wear.
Its not a big job to replace the boards for someone who is handy with timber

Biggest problem has always been the Lazy mans cleaning of the rubber matting only and letting the urine etc seep into the boards underneath. Generally just inside the ramp or inside the Jockey door is where rotting starts.
And its a must to get underneath for a good look as well.

byhookorbycrook

My old horse once pawed his way through a wooden floor. Fortunately he had the cop not to try to pull his leg back up or he would have destroyed himself.Hence, I have a horror pf wooden floors ever since.

s-cogan

My old horse once pawed his way through a wooden floor. Fortunately he had the cop not to try to pull his leg back up or he would have destroyed himself.Hence, I have a horror pf wooden floors ever since.

strange.
one of the hunting mares put her leg down through the floor, but it was the old floor, was about 20 years old, and well used, but never heard of a horse pawing through it. must have been fairly weak/old/rotted to begin with, yeah??

finbarrk

The urine makes the timber rot. It will get under the rubber. Personally I wouldn't have one any more. Metal is the way to go.

silverfox88

thats great, my dad would be fairly handy and probably able to maintain a floor but from the sounds of it it seems metal is just the way to go - your unlikely to have to ever replace an aluminium floor, right?

byhookorbycrook

The boyo in question was half-Clyde, biiiigggggg hooves!Floor not that new but not too old either.

Esroh

silverfox88 wrote: »

thats great, my dad would be fairly handy and probably able to maintain a floor but from the sounds of it it seems metal is just the way to go - your unlikely to have to ever replace an aluminium floor, right?

You should not have to replace Alumin. But if its a good deal your after a well looked after wooden floor will last a hell of a long time.
It means its best to clean it out straight after arriving home but its worth it.
I have used the same Ivor Williams since i came home in 1992. Has had floor replaced once. And we still have a wooden floored Rice trailer here as well
And they both have safely carried all sorts from Battys to TBS:D

finbarrk

silverfox88 wrote: »

thats great, my dad would be fairly handy and probably able to maintain a floor but from the sounds of it it seems metal is just the way to go - your unlikely to have to ever replace an aluminium floor, right?

Correct. Aluminium will outlive yourself.