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Trailer Mat


yamaha06

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I seen TSC has horse trailer mats onsale this week for 40% off. Has anyone put these in there trailer? They are 7'x5' and 1/2" thick. I was thinking of putting them in my enclosed trailer but wasn't sure how well they would stand up to carbides and studs.

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That would trim up nice to fit in the back of a short box pickup ..... :)

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Those horse mats are amazing my buddy has them in his garage.  Has had them for about 10 years now and only minor scratches from carbides.  In a trailer i can not comment I'm sure someone will.  They are super heavy.  I got the mats from Royal on sale the 2x2 ones for my trailer.  They are called blems they have minor imperfections in them which you can not even see.   The ones that had a not so perfect corner i just trimmed and used it in the centre. I got them for 8 bucks instead of 17 they work amazing and they are pretty light.  

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I have them cut for my sled trailer. I cut them with an exact knife but you can also use a circular saw. with the knife I used a straight edge and made a few passes with the blade. I cut strips to match the track width. I bought ski guides but know people who have used old truck bed liner and cut them up. The grooves are deep enough to keep the carbide from cutting in

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I've installed them in my V-Nose Sled Trailer and they are performing just fine, I'd recommend if your trailer has the drop down ramps for entering and exiting with your sled that you use a thinner rubber for that application, as I originally put the heavier rubber on the ramps and they were extremely heavy to open and close  

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I've installed them in my V-Nose Sled Trailer and they are performing just fine, I'd recommend if your trailer has the drop down ramps for entering and exiting with your sled that you use a thinner rubber for that application, as I originally put the heavier rubber on the ramps and they were extremely heavy to open and close

I have them on my ramp in about 18 inch wide strips for each track and don't have a problem with the weight. It may simply be the tension on the spring needs adjusting. A garage door guy would have the tools and could wind the spring in a couple of minutes

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I've installed them in my V-Nose Sled Trailer and they are performing just fine, I'd recommend if your trailer has the drop down ramps for entering and exiting with your sled that you use a thinner rubber for that application, as I originally put the heavier rubber on the ramps and they were extremely heavy to open and close  

 

 

I have them on my ramp in about 18 inch wide strips for each track and don't have a problem with the weight. It may simply be the tension on the spring needs adjusting. A garage door guy would have the tools and could wind the spring in a couple of minutes

 

Agreed that it does add weight to the door, I do have strips of these mats on the door & floor of the trailer.....they do work great. 

I was going to wind the door spring tighter, but never bothered.

Easy to do, just need a long handled large screw driver or bar to turn the spring and a wrench to loosen and tighten the retaining bolts.

Think I used a reciprocating saw (sawzall) to cut the mats.

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I looked at the mats the mats with the groves in them are the stall mats, these are horse trailer mats and complety smooth rubber.

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I have them on my ramp in about 18 inch wide strips for each track and don't have a problem with the weight. It may simply be the tension on the spring needs adjusting. A garage door guy would have the tools and could wind the spring in a couple of minutes

I took the trailer to a mechanic at a dealer who sells various styles of sled trailers and he adjusted the springs and made it worse, they suggested adding power assists (3 doors with ramps) $$$$$$ No Thanks! Therefore the thinner and lighter rubber on the ramps!   

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I took the trailer to a mechanic at a dealer who sells various styles of sled trailers and he adjusted the springs and made it worse, they suggested adding power assists (3 doors with ramps) $$$$$$ No Thanks! Therefore the thinner and lighter rubber on the ramps!

Sounds like the guy you took it to didn't know what he was doing and instead of winding the spring tighter he loosened the tension. Sometimes amazes me how people that don't do their jobs right manage to keep them. Either that or he thought he could sucker you into the big bucks power assist

My ramp when the trailer was new and didn't have any mats went up with one hand. With the mats and ski guides it's a real easy lift with two

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I took the trailer to a mechanic at a dealer who sells various styles of sled trailers and he adjusted the springs and made it worse, they suggested adding power assists (3 doors with ramps) $$$$$$ No Thanks! Therefore the thinner and lighter rubber on the ramps!   

 

Aside from the mats that TSC sells, Princess Auto sells checker plate rubber by the foot that is about 4 feet wise, I think the thickest they sell is 1/4", so I am sure it would also work and avoid the weight issue.

 

The spring experience note above, I agree, I think they may have done something wrong, it is a fairly simple system, cannot see how it could possibly get worse. It is possible that the spring could not be wound any tighter and the spring was not strong enough based on the added weight, but it would have still been an improvement.

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I have had plastic lattice on my ramps and trailer beds for years.  14 years in my big trailer to be exact.  Stops picks from getting to the wood and allows ski carbides to slide and steer.

 

Would never go back.  Bought it at Home Depot, but I am sure it can be found many places.

 

I like being able to hand slide sleds in the trailer without ever starting them.  Just set the parking brake and they don't want to move.

 

Real easy to trim with all kinds of cutters or fine saws.  I like the vibrator saws.

 

If done while warm, roofing nails with a few screws along the edges.  Want more grip, add a few strips of plastic trim on the ramps.  Very light weight!

 

May want to pre-drill if it is cold.

 

It comes in black now also.

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I took the trailer to a mechanic at a dealer who sells various styles of sled trailers and he adjusted the springs and made it worse, they suggested adding power assists (3 doors with ramps) $$$$$$ No Thanks! Therefore the thinner and lighter rubber on the ramps!   

 

 

Ditto, you got screwed.  No self-respecting person would be that stupid and call themselves a mechanic.

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LOL...lattice, who would have thunk!

 

x2 

 

Great idea.

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Ditto, you got screwed. No self-respecting person would be that stupid and call themselves a mechanic.

X3

I wind springs all the time. Need wind up bars to so it safetly, and vice grips to hold rod, so you don't loose tension on door strings.

If you added allot of weight, you may need to add another spring on your assembly. There are left and right spring assembles, one is marked red and other is marked black. Don't remember which one is which now though.

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Ditto, you got screwed.  No self-respecting person would be that stupid and call themselves a mechanic.

They are out there!

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I was just going to put ski guides on the doors and have track matts, I was looking at the big rubber mats more for the the flooring on the inside of the trailer rather then lining the whole thing with ski guides.

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I was just going to put ski guides on the doors and have track matts, I was looking at the big rubber mats more for the the flooring on the inside of the trailer rather then lining the whole

thing with ski guides.

Why not just make ski boots for your sled. Save trailer and garage floor too. No need to ski guide the whole trailer then :).

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Why not just make ski boots for your sled. Save trailer and garage floor too. No need to ski guide the whole trailer then :).

Kimpex I believe used to sell Ski Boots, basically a big deep wall ski skin. They didn't last long in the market.

I'd seriously consider something along those lines as an option to matting the whole unit.

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Always the recycler, I've cut up and used old plastic bed liners for ski guides, with an old track down the centre.

 

If you don't have an old bed liner laying about, usually someone in your area should ( out here people put them out with a "Free" sign on them)

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Yes those mats at TSC work well, and so does an old truck bed liner. I paid almost $6k for my trailer but got the ski guides (truck liner) for free and the mats on sale at TSC. They both work great and stand up to carbides and studs no problem. I only bought one mat at TSC $50 for the inside of the trailer floor. For the rear ramp door I had an old enticer track I cut in half. One 6' truck bed liner will do a regular sized trailer easily.

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Always the recycler, I've cut up and used old plastic bed liners for ski guides, with an old track down the centre.

If you don't have an old bed liner laying about, usually someone in your area should ( out here people put them out with a "Free" sign on them)

If you're looking for old bed liner try your local car dealer body shop. They often have a couple of damaged ones which have come out of trucks they are repairing

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