Stock Trailer Flooring Made From Recycled Tires

Stock Trailer Flooring Made From Recycled Tires TIRES/WHEELS New Uses 21-2-13 Recycled tires can be turned into dandy stock trailer mats that are easier to clean, provide animals with surer footing, and keep trailers quieter than conventional wooden flooring, according to Park, Kan., inventor Dale Goetz. "Getting the technique down was the hardest part," says Goetz who makes the mats for sale. "The key is to cut about an inch off the side of the tread once the sidewall has been cut off. That keeps them from curling." Goetz uses old 14, 15 and 16-in. tires he gets from a local tire shop. He uses a custom-built electric cutting machine equipped with a two-speed rotary blade that'll cut through steel belts and pinch sidewalls off of the tread. The machine also cuts an inch off the side of the tread. He "basket weaves" the tires into 6 by 6-ft. mats, laying one strip right side up and the next upside down. The mats are bolted together around the outside with 1/4-in. bolts. They're cut off on the underside, which helps keep them in place in livestock trailers. "The trailer and mats are easy to clean," he says. "You simply fold the mats over in half and wash one side of the trailer, then fold the other side over and wash the other." Besides livestock trailer mats, Goetz also turns out 3 by 8-ft. mats for horse trailers. Made from 5/8-in. strips of tire sidewalls and held together with galvanized wire, the mats are finer-woven to relieve fatigue and stress during long hauls, he says. Goetz makes mats in custom sizes and has also installed them on concrete areas that have a tendency to get slick around feed-lots, such as in front of working chutes, loading chutes and alleys. Mats sell for $3.50 per sq. ft. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Double D Family Mat Shop, Rt. 1, Box 18, Park, Kan. 67751 (ph 913 673-4326).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.