German trucks

[digger303]

Hi,
I was wondering if any one knows the answer to this.
German trucks had wooden cargo area's mostly. The sides were painted , but was the floor. Could it have just been oiled.

cheers

[digger303]

Hi,
I was wondering if any one knows the answer to this.
German trucks had wooden cargo area's mostly. The sides were painted , but was the floor. Could it have just been oiled.

cheers

have i asked a silly or a obscure question

[ForbesHutton]

There are some books on German trucks, but they just aren't a sexy subject. As a result, while there's some photos of trucks, I'm not aware of any of an empty cargo box. Feel free to do as you want with it, no one can ever prove you're wrong. Even painted floors wouldn't stand up to the wear and tear of cargo going in and out constantly, it would probably be common to find floors that had been painted that had all the paint on the high points scraped off. I've see models that showed painted floors but with a couple of the pieces of flooring lumber replaced with natural wood, presumably after individual boards broke or rotted, and they looked very interesting.

[digger303]

There are some books on German trucks, but they just aren't a sexy subject. As a result, while there's some photos of trucks, I'm not aware of any of an empty cargo box. Feel free to do as you want with it, no one can ever prove you're wrong. Even painted floors wouldn't stand up to the wear and tear of cargo going in and out constantly, it would probably be common to find floors that had been painted that had all the paint on the high points scraped off. I've see models that showed painted floors but with a couple of the pieces of flooring lumber replaced with natural wood, presumably after individual boards broke or rotted, and they looked very interesting.

Thanks Forbes.
My farther bought a tray back truck in 1971, a Thames trader. It had a wooden floor with oiled boards and this was the norm for all trucks. I think painted floor wouldn't stand up to the abuses that cargo would inflict on it and as a long term protection, not viable. Also when new It would be as slippery as ice when wet.
So I will do as you suggest as no photos exist to exhibit some license.

[HamilkarBarkas]

There is no way you can tell that by using black and white photographs. I assume they were painted, but the paint would be worn off quickly i guess.

[wookiee76]

Given that most modern day artic trailers are bare wood i would have thought not, might be an idea though to break it up with a couple of newer boards.

[HamilkarBarkas]

Given that most modern day artic trailers are bare wood i would have thought not, might be an idea though to break it up with a couple of newer boards.

Modern trucks do not have to camouflage themselves in the field. They can afford it to have bare wooden boards. Modern military trucks are camouflaged there as well because you could spot them from a recce aircraft. i assume it was the same in WW2. Most of the restored ww2 trucks i have seen are camouflaged all around.

[wookiee76]

Good point well made Michael, didn't think of that!

[Damonkh]

At a minimum I would have bet that the wooden floors would have been oiled given the wet nature of the region. I spent a year and half in Germany during my tour and any wood would need to have been oiled at a minimum to withstand the wet weather and abuse such flooring would receive.

My two cents.

[digger303]

After reading all your thoughtful replies, I do tend to side with what Damonkh and wookiee76 have said. It makes more practical sense. What HamilkarBarkas mentioned about camouflage is also a valid point however I think most trucks were issued originaly with a canvas covering which would have covered that aspect.
So I think I will go with that unless I hear a more persuasive argument.
Thanks Guys