Almost every flatbed decision eventually comes down to the deck. Steel treadplate is what most factory beds ship with; a wood deck — usually rough-sawn oak or treated pine on steel crossmembers — is the traditional choice on hauling trucks and older equipment beds. Both work. They fail differently, and they cost differently over ten years.

Quick Comparison

Factor	Steel Deck	Wood Deck
Up-front cost	Included on most bodies we stock	Similar or slightly more, depends on lumber
Weight	Heavier	Lighter than equivalent steel plate
Grip when wet	Slick unless treadplate or coated	Better traction, especially with grit
Chaining / welding on deck	Weld and chain directly to it	Will char and gouge; avoid hot work
Repair	Grind and weld a patch	Unbolt and replace a plank — cheap and fast
Lifespan	10+ years if coating is maintained	5-10 years depending on weather and load
Best for	Welding, service work, general hauling	Equipment hauling, tie-down heavy work

The Case for Steel

• You can weld on it, chain to it, and drag steel across it without thinking twice.
• No planks to rot, cup, or split, and no fasteners backing out.
• It is what nearly every in-stock body comes with, so no lead time or extra labor.
• With a treadplate pattern and a maintained coating it lasts as long as the frame.

The Case for Wood

• Better footing in rain — a real safety factor if you climb on the deck all day.
• Kinder to equipment and cargo: less sliding, fewer scratches on painted or coated loads.
• Cheap, local repairs. One bad plank is a $40 fix instead of a shop visit.
• Slightly lighter, which helps payload on a three-quarter-ton or SRW truck.

How Each One Fails

Steel fails from the coating up. A chip becomes surface rust, surface rust under a wet hay load becomes pitting, and pitting eventually eats the rub rail and the deck edges. Wood fails from moisture and load cycles — planks cup, ends split around the fasteners, and the crossmembers underneath start collecting trapped water. Both problems are manageable if you catch them in the first year.

Maintenance Reality on the Gulf Coast

Wharton County humidity, coastal salt, and fertilizer are hard on both. For steel, rinse the deck after hauling fertilizer or hay and touch up chips with matching paint. For wood, seal the planks annually and keep the crossmembers clear of packed dirt so water can drain. Neither takes more than an hour a year, and skipping it is the single biggest reason decks get replaced early.

Our Recommendation

If you weld, run a service crane, or do general contracting, take steel — the ability to chain and weld anywhere on the deck wins. If you haul equipment, tractors, or implements and want traction and cheap repairs, wood is a legitimately better deck. Most of our in-stock bodies are steel treadplate, and we can quote a wood deck conversion or a coated deck option if that fits you better.

Talk to Someone Who Installs These Every Week

Not sure which deck fits your work? Describe a typical load and we’ll tell you straight. We stock, spec, and install these bodies at our shop in Wharton, TX, and we serve buyers across Texas and Louisiana. Call us to discuss which is right for your truck — we’ll go over cab-to-axle, wheel configuration, hitch rating, and total installed cost before you commit.

📞 Call (979) 532-1486 — Star Truck Equipment, 2507 County Rd 231, Wharton, TX 77488. Most in-stock bodies are installed in one business day.