Coatings Defend Against Moisture Damage
Due to oak’s natural resistance to rot, laminated oak flooring is the most popular choice for commercial over-the-road dry van freight trailers. However, even with the natural characteristics of oak, the wood can still be damaged over time. The constant onslaught of road debris like sand and rocks, as well as exposure to moisture and chemicals from road spray beneath the trailer, can gradually permeate and weaken the wood. To understand how damage occurs, it is important to understand how the floor is made.
Why Laminated Floors Are Vulnerable to Moisture
A typical trailer floor is composed of eight floorboards. Each floorboard is constructed using strips of wood that are glued side by side. When the laminated floorboards are exposed to water, they absorb moisture, which causes swelling and width expansion of the wood strips. Then when the floorboards dry, the strips of wood shrink, putting stress on the glue bonds. Several cycles of this wetting and drying can lead to delamination and failure.
To mitigate water absorption, the floor is traditionally undercoated with a thin layer of water-based black latex paint, which is sprayed on the bottom side of floorboards and quickly dried using forced air and heat. While the black latex paint provides some protection, it is not resistant to abrasion and can wear off over time.
Havco® Develops Protective Solutions
To better battle the harmful damage of moisture, Havco developed a line of powerful coatings to protect and extend the life of the floor. For the underside of the floor, Havco created HD UnderCoat®, a 100% solid hotmelt polyurethane coating, which is factory applied to each floorboard. The 8-mils-thick coating provides a robust layer of protection to laminated wood. The HD UnderCoat has excellent adhesion to wood and is highly resistant to abrasion, water, chemicals and common industrial oils. It is an ideal solution for fleets facing high-precipitation climates.
After addressing damage caused to the underside of the floor, Havco set out to provide protection to the topside. Because the topside is not normally coated, water damage can occur — especially at the rear of the trailer when the doors are open in rainy conditions. To better prevent damage to the topside, Havco harnessed the same technology used in its HD UnderCoat and applied it to a powerful topside coating, HD TopCoat®. This coating is extremely durable and has been tested to 4,000 fork truck cycles without failure from tire abrasion. In addition, HD TopCoat is particularly useful for fleets that need protection from spills.
For fleets not requiring heavy-duty protection on the topside, Havco offers Floor Shield by Havco®. An excellent, cost-effective alternative to polyurethane, Floor Shield can be applied initially in the factory or in the field. It can be reapplied easily every 3-5 years, extending the life of the trailer floor. Using a handheld sprayer, it takes only 30 minutes to apply to a 53-foot trailer. It dries quickly and is odorless.
Since patenting the composite floor in 1999, Havco has produced more than 300,000 composite floors and continues to lead the market in both production and innovation. As the industry leader, Havco remains committed to providing cost-saving solutions that keep fleets moving.
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