# Utility Trailer Deck, Rail and Ramp Gate Repair > A utility trailer is an open deck on a light frame, so its deck, its rails and its ramp gate take every load directly with nothing to spread it. OCRV Center replaces decks, repairs rails and rebuilds gates in shop. Floor repair and replacement is posted at $500 to $9,500 across 4 to 40 hours. Source: https://ocrv.biz/vehicles/campers-trailers/utility-trailer-repair/ Business: OCRV Center, 23281 La Palma Ave, Yorba Linda, CA 92887. (949) 799-3387. Serving Tustin, California. Ballpark range: $500 to $9,500. Posted rates at https://ocrv.biz/prices/ ## What actually kills a utility trailer deck? Water from above and corrosion from below, working on the same boards from opposite directions. A wood deck on a steel frame sits in constant contact with metal that holds moisture, and every fastener is a path for water into the end grain. Pressure treated boards last a long time in the open. What shortens their life is being covered: a tarp left on the deck, a load stored on it for months, or anything that keeps the boards damp and stops them drying between rains. That is when rot starts under a load and nobody sees it until a foot goes through. Underneath, the crossmembers corrode where the deck sits on them, which is exactly where nobody looks. Replacing boards over corroded crossmembers is a repair that lasts one season. Floor repair and replacement across wood, aluminium and steel deck is posted at **$500 to $9,500** across 4 to 40 hours, and rust treatment and anti corrosion coating at $400 to $3,500 across 2 to 14 hours. ## How do rails and stake pockets fail? By being used as tie down points, which most of them are not designed to be. A side rail on a utility trailer is there to stop things sliding off. Ratchet a heavy load down to it and the rail is now carrying a vertical and inward load at a single point, and it bends. - Rails bowed inward between posts, which is the classic sign of load being strapped to the rail rather than to an anchor. - Post to frame welds cracking, particularly at the front and rear corners where the rail is stiffest. - Stake pockets torn or opened where a stake was used as an anchor point. - Corrosion inside tube section rails, which have no drain and collect water at every open end. - Fender damage from loading, which sounds cosmetic and is frequently accompanied by a bent fender mount and a stressed frame rail. The durable answer is to fit proper anchors rather than to keep straightening rails. E track, D ring and tie down installation is posted at $250 to $2,500 across 1 to 10 hours and puts the load where the frame can take it. See [welding and fabrication](/services/custom-fabrication/welding-metal-fabrication/). ## What is involved in a ramp gate rebuild? A ramp gate is a hinged panel that has to be light enough to lift and strong enough to drive a mower or a machine over. Those two requirements pull in opposite directions, and the compromise is usually a spring or gas assist that makes a heavy gate manageable. Failures follow the assist. Once a spring has lost tension or an assist cylinder has failed, the gate is heavy, and a heavy gate gets dropped instead of lowered. Dropping it shock loads the hinge line, elongates the pin holes and eventually cracks the hinge mounts off the frame. Rebuilding means restoring the hinge line into sound material, replacing pins and bushings, resetting or replacing the assist, and checking the gate for the bow it has picked up from being driven over while sagging. Cargo door, ramp door and roll up door service is posted at $400 to $5,500 across 2 to 22 hours. ## What does a utility trailer need to stay legal and safe? Lights, brakes, bearings, tyres and coupler, checked on a schedule. None of it is expensive and all of it is what actually strands people. Lighting and wiring diagnostics is posted at $285 to $2,500 across 1 to 10 hours, and seven way and four way connector repair at $200 to $800 across 1 to 4 hours. Corroded ground connections cause the majority of trailer light faults and they are quick to put right once found. Wheel bearing repack and hub service is $250 to $1,200 across 1 to 5 hours, brake service $300 to $5,500 across 1 to 22 hours, tyre mount, balance and replacement $250 to $1,500 across 1 to 6 hours, and trailer annual maintenance service $300 to $1,500 across 2 to 6 hours. Reflective tape and compliance marking is $250 to $1,200 across 1 to 6 hours. All are on the [prices page](/prices/). ## Questions ### Should I replace deck boards with wood or go to steel? It depends on what the trailer carries. Wood is cheaper, quieter, kinder to loads and easy to replace board by board. Steel or aluminium deck lasts longer under machinery and does not rot. Either way the crossmembers underneath get treated first, because a new deck on corroded steel is a one season repair. ### My side rails keep bending. What am I doing wrong? Almost certainly strapping loads to the rails. Rails stop things sliding, they are not anchors. Fitting proper D rings or E track that ties into the frame puts the load where the structure can take it, and it costs less than straightening rails repeatedly. ### The trailer lights work intermittently. Where does that usually come from? Ground connections, more often than not. Trailer lighting grounds through the frame, and a corroded ground point produces faults that look like a wiring problem or a bad bulb. Lighting and wiring diagnostics is posted at $285 to $2,500 across 1 to 10 hours. ### Is it worth repairing an old utility trailer? Usually yes, because the frame is simple and the wear items are inexpensive. The exception is a frame with significant section loss from corrosion at the crossmembers or the tongue, which is a structural matter rather than a maintenance one. The estimator will say which you have. ## Related - [Campers and Trailers](https://ocrv.biz/vehicles/campers-trailers/) - [Enclosed Cargo Trailers](https://ocrv.biz/vehicles/campers-trailers/cargo-trailer-repair/) - [Off-Road Trailers](https://ocrv.biz/vehicles/campers-trailers/off-road-trailer-repair/) - [Toy Hauler Trailers](https://ocrv.biz/vehicles/campers-trailers/toy-hauler-trailer-repair/) - [Welding and Metal Fabrication](https://ocrv.biz/services/custom-fabrication/welding-metal-fabrication/) - [Annual Maintenance Inspection](https://ocrv.biz/services/inspection-evaluation/annual-maintenance-inspection/) - [Prices and Posted Rates](https://ocrv.biz/prices/)