Today i thought i would try out my new pallet while there was a break in the rain however when i jumped onto it one of the planks snapped under me this was a new pallet that had not been used before so i was not expecting this to happen. i thought they could hold a load of weight 
Has it happened often to other people who use pallets regularly or am i just to heavy to use pallets and if so do you know any good alternatives for trials?
Thanks, 
Sam
Looks like someone needs to go on a diet. 
JK, No problems so far with mine. Oh, and I’m on one.
Pallets are quite strong but only if the weight is distributed. So either you hopped on that board of the pallet only or that particular board was weak or both. Of course you could make better trials courses if you built them yourself out of treated lumber but that’s a lot of work and expense.
Depends on where the pallet is from. There are stronger and weaker pallets. Some are made for very very heavy loads. Others are for lightweight junk.
Pallet = Relatively strong. Single board = Relatively weak.
Dane’s right, there are different types of pallets out there, but all can handle decent load. But when you hop on a single board of the pallet, you’re not getting the entire strength of the pallet.
I’d suggest running another board inside the pallet on either side of the middle board. That’d add some strength.
Try your best to aim where the wood is reinforced by the cross section. It looks like you just happened to find the weakest board in one shot.
Your pallets wont break as easily if you ride perpendicular to the boards instead of parallel. Most of the time your weight will be on two boards instead of one. On top of that, you wont get your tire stuck in the gaps if they are on the wider side.
Covering the top pallet with plywood helps tremendously. If it’s a stack, it only needs to be the top one of course.
Alternatively, finding some heavier duty pallets and covering the top layer of one with the boards from another placed perpendicularly helps distribute the load.
Another idea is to wedge in extra support in the unsupported sections.
To summarize: to keep it cheap, get creative.
Slightly off topic, but a good tip for when the pallet may be damp and slippery is to staple chicken wire to the top surface.
This helps prevent the tyre slipping even when it is wet.
JD
Or Paint then sprinkle w/ sand while its still wet.
+1 on cross bracing. I’d pull the flat boards off another pallet & run 2 in the center of each side of the middle for 2x4ish support beam (to the underside of the top planks, initially securing w/ clamps), putting 2 screws where each flattish board crosses, so w/ that pallet, 18 screws per plank.
