Matt, the wood floor was superior back then for one good reason, loose freight. Like Steamroller said, wood doesn't take a bend like steel. With a wood floor and steel runners to keep the shovel from grabing splinters, grain, coal, gravel and a lot of other loose materials could be scooped off. If it was a steel floor it would be dented, sagging between ribs and a [censored] to scoop off. Back when these trucks were made the ole scoop shovel was every where. I grew up with one in my hand. But as some one else said the old "we've always done it this way" probably kept the wood floor around longer than needed, in pick ups. Steel won out because the wood floor was much slower, and cost more to produce.
Open the doors on the latest semi-trailers and you will find wood, except for reefers. They use wood now for the same reason now as then. It don't take a bend. To make an alumium or steel floor that will resist bending is very expensive compared to wood. Most of these trailers have a good sized fork lift in them every time they load or unload. Even alumumm platform trailers have wood nailing strips, as some one else pointed out. The guys that bought these trucks way back then, bought what made their life easier, not prettier. Mike
