Going to be pulling the trigger on a new boat. Bunks are standard, rollers are an option. The boat is a Lund 1825 pro guide. Are bunks an issue with loading or unloading? I currently have a roller trailer and I never have an issue with it. What are the advantages with bunks vs rollers or vice versa?
i myself would never go back to a roller trailer. bunks load cleaner, plus much easier in current IMHO.
yes, you have to sink the trailer a touch further, but if the ramp is that shallow, your boat is probably too big anyways.
plus i think bunks are easier on the hull. point of contact is distributed out much more.
and if you unstrap everything on a steep ramp, your boat won’t come rolling off accidentally… 
which is nice when two guys are with. load everything in the boat, unhook strap and chain, have other guy in the boat, back it down the ramp dunk it in and it comes right off. driver doesn’t have to get out of the truck.
can’t do that with a roller trailer.
If you do any winter fishing bunks can be a pain when your boat freezes to them. 
Coming from a roller trailer to bunks I had many worries. After a season of fishing I found ALL of my worries were based on nothing but myth.
I can’t imagine why I would ever go back to a roller trailer. Bunks are the greatest thing since sliced bread when it comes to loading a trailer.
Bunks are great for glass boats with custom fitted trailers. Father in law has a pro v with bunks and it is a nightmare to get centered- especially at shallow landings. If you are used to rollers and using shallow landings I would go rollers. If you go bunks make sure that they are adjusted perfectly to the grooves in your boat. 
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If you do any winter fishing bunks can be a pain when your boat freezes to them.
Boat will live in a heated garage.
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Coming from a roller trailer to bunks I had many worries. After a season of fishing I found ALL of my worries were based on nothing but myth.
I can’t imagine why I would ever go back to a roller trailer. Bunks are the
greatest thing since sliced bread when it comes to loading a trailer.
And if so why? You do a great deal of research Wade, I am interested in your opinion.
Having had both bunks and rollers, I stay with bunks. Loading and unloading is WAY more precise and easier with bunks.
Enjoy the new ride! 
I am glass and most posters so far are also glass- I love bunks with my glass boat but what I am trying to say is make sure that whatever trailer you purchase- if you go bunks- has the capability of being custom to your Lund. Lund makes a beautiful boat- congrats on your purchase!
I have a Lund tyee with rollers and like the rollers better. I have had a similar lund with a bunk trailerand As the other guy said it was a freaking nightmare loading it. Some launches are a little tricky when your by yourself with a roller though.
my experience has all been with aluminum boats.
So alumacraft must have done a great job getting the trailer bunks matched up with the boat. because i could come in at any angle, and the trailer will literally “grab the boat” and force it to load correctly.
i’ve never had that with a roller trailer.
and when loading in current on the river, this is huge! because you come in perpendicular to the trailer, get the nose on it, crank the motor and gas it. the bunk trailer would always grab the boat and guide it up correctly.
as far as freezing to the trailer. my boat always goes back in a heated garage, so i do not have good experience with that.
I’ve always taken the transom straps off and left it hooked up to the crank and chained on, never had any problems backing it off and the driver could just put me in and I could unhook it from the bow..
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i myself would never go back to a roller trailer. bunks load cleaner, plus much easier in current IMHO.
yes, you have to sink the trailer a touch further, but if the ramp is that shallow, your boat is probably too big anyways.
plus i think bunks are easier on the hull. point of contact is distributed out much more.
and if you unstrap everything on a steep ramp, your boat won’t come rolling off accidentally…
which is nice when two guys are with. load everything in the boat, unhook strap and chain, have other guy in the boat, back it down the ramp dunk it in and it comes right off. driver doesn’t have to get out of the truck.
can’t do that with a roller trailer.
I’ve never owned a bunk. I have however help load and unload many many boats.
There are some boats with rollers that will roll off very easy with the slightest incline. Others that stay on the roller trailer until motored off.
In other words, I’ve seen some rollers that the boat better be in the water and ready to go when the crank strap is unhooked because it’s leaving the trailer NOW! And others that are much more forgiving.
I’m going to qualify the above. My experience comes from one launching site that has a fairly level launch and another much steeper launch.
Your mileage may vary.
I have an all roller trailer for my 1825 but will be replacing the back set of rollers with bunks. Its a pain to unload or load by myself because the boat will roll off so easy. With bunks at the rear it should hold it enough to make it much easier. I was informed of this idea from a guy out in ND that has done this with his 1825 and he says it works very good. So this spring I will be changing mine over. Kind of the best of both worlds.
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Coming from a roller trailer to bunks I had many worries. After a season of fishing I found ALL of my worries were based on nothing but myth.
I can’t imagine why I would ever go back to a roller trailer. Bunks are the
greatest thing since sliced bread when it comes to loading a trailer.
And if so why? You do a great deal of research Wade, I am interested in your opinion.
I think you are asking if I would ever go back to a roller. The only reason I could see is if I consistently fished lakes with extremely shallow landings. In the last 12 months I have not had one landing to hallow to launch/land my boat with bunks.
I remember my old roller trailers. Like BK said, that boat was leaving the trailer once unhooked regardless of where it is. And trying to land a boat and get it centered……good luck. I bet I got it centered maybe 10% of the time and that took a lot of practice. A fitted bunk trailer, the boat all but loads itself perfectly centered every time.
This is really a dream on the river with current.
I hope this answers your question.
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There are some boats with rollers that will roll off very easy with the slightest incline.
Mine is in this category. It is great for launching and loading in shallow landings. It makes driving onto the trailer without two guys next to impossible, though, because it will roll back off if someone doesn’t hook the bow eye before you back off the throttle. But, it is easy to crank up by hand, too.
My experience with bunks has all been on glass boats. I have really preferred those to the roller trailers I have used, but maybe roller trailers are better now days. Mine is nearing 25 years old!
I have a allum. lund and a roller trailer. If you back in just enough where the winch is not too close to the water , my boat when you release the winch the boat backs off about 3 feet and stops there and easy access for me to get in when alone. Never had a bunk some of freinds love theres.
Thank you for all of your great responses! It is nice to have a sounding board. Now to pick a color…
Bunks all the way! If you miss land the boat with bunks you are way off I always get a chuckle watching guys with rollers load the boat 5-10x trying to get it straight and when they are done it still is not straight.
When alone you dont have to leave the motor in gear to get out and get the strap hooked and climb back in shut everything down. Get the boat stuck on the bunks, hook up the strap, maybe back in a little further depending on the landing and the boat is on the trailer straight and level everytime
Thought bunks were the stupidest things I ever saw until I owned a boat with them. Now I would never use anything else. I can hit my trailer at a 45 degree and just ease up on the throttle, wait for the boat to turn and then drive on up. In the rare case of not being aligned once on the trailer, I can just rock the boat a bit and it will fall right in. My bunk trailer is for a bass boat thghou, not sure if that makes a difference.
I had a bunk for two years and disliked it. I always heard I had no choice with the fiberglass boat. From here on nothing but aluminum boats and roller trailers for me.
IF— There a lot of weeds, or any INVASIVE SPECIES at the boat ramp, they can get STUCK between the boat and the bunk. I like my bunk trailer for all the reasons stated here, but my next trailer WILL be a roller!!!!!!!
went from rollers to bunk with my new boat and WOW is all I can say. The bunks make life so much easier for me. Loading on the river is stress free with the bunks. Used to be a pain in the 
with the rollers. I will never go back to rollers.
I have had both. While rollers have some advantage in very shallow water accesses, it is not enough. I will not go back to a roller trailer.
Pull up to the access, pull your straps, loosen the front strap (just a precaution), back truck up, push boat off, go. Very simple and quick. I would bet that alone, I can do all this in under 2 minutes.
Loading is even easier. Back trailer in, drive boat on, hook front strap, trim up motor, drive away. It takes me longer to walk to get the truck then it does to load.
Drives me nuts when I have to wait for a guy with his roller trailer half in the water while he cranks for 5 minutes, then takes a break, then cranks again.
I think if you have a roller trailer, and learn it’s nuances, there are some great advantages. You can drive right up to the stop with very little power, leave it in gear and walk up and hook the strap, then shut down. It should take no more time to load on a roller than a bunk. I’ve watched Joel Ballweg load his big ol lund by himself numerous times in about 20 seconds.
I have always had bunk trailers. It is what I’m used to, and I like them. Shallow launches are a PITA though, I do agree. I can load my boat in about the same amount of time as Joel with his roller. Only difference is I can shut down before going up to hook the strap.
It really comes down to figuring out a system that works for your trailer that you are comfortable with. Both types have advantages and disadvantages. I’m not sure the perfect for all situations trailer exists.
Frequently I’ll have someone else back the trailer into the river. Once on, my motor comes out of gear and one of use attaches the strap and I get pulled out.
I always check the clicker to ensure it’s engaged and the safety chain is on.
ONCE I didn’t do this and pulled my boat up the hill at Everts without the crank locked.
I think I figured out why I don’t have trouble on inclines with my rollers. They need to be lubed! 
I like my roller trailer under my Crestliner and I have no issues loading.
What I did with my roller trailer to hold the boat on the trailer while loading is I pulled the pin on the very first keel roller nearest the winch and replaced it with a bolt. Tighten it down enough to have that front roller a little hard to turn. Now on all but the steepest of ramps I can drive the boat on and shut the engine down and the boat stays put until I get the winch hooked up. To unload once in the water it does take a push to get it started off the trailer or drive off.
Well for me this has been a pretty informative post. I have a bunk trailer with a standard 16′ Lund. Some of our smaller lakes are electric only and beings I’m older now sometime crankin it in is a little tough so was considering rollers. Changed my mind about it now. Maybe an electric winch would suite me better. Thanks for alls opinions.
I have roller trailer and seem to have all the benefits I’m hearing are exclusive to bunks.
Load and unload by myself very quickly
Drive on
If in strong side current or cross wind it straightens itself
The key with loading for me is to not back the trailer in to far. Over and over I see folks struggle at the landing with roller trailers because the backed in to far.
It is the same for a bunk trailer too. Having the boat backed in at the correct level makes all the difference in the world. I have had 3 bunk trailers, and 1 roller trailer, and I hated the roller. My gripe is that it was almost impossible to get the boat on the trailer straight. My only complaint about a bunk trailer is that getting the boat off on a shallow ramp can be a real issue. It was much more of a problem with my Lund 2025 trailer. There were several times I couldn’t get the boat off the trailer, and had to find a different ramp. I have come close with my Ranger a time or two, but I have gotten that boat off the trailer everytime.
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I have roller trailer and seem to have all the benefits I’m hearing are exclusive to bunks.
Load and unload by myself very quickly
Drive on
If in strong side current or cross wind it straightens itselfThe key with loading for me is to not back the trailer in to far. Over and over I see folks struggle at the landing with roller trailers because the backed in to far.
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