Trailer bunks

I need to replace my trailer bunks pretty soon. Looks like the heads of the carriage bolts are about to wear through the carpet, and the board edges also. So here’s some questions:

1. Should I replace the bunks, or just recarpet?
2. They’re just carpted (treated) 2×4’s, right?
3. Can you just put the carpet on with a staple gun, will that hold?
4. Is this as easy as it looks?

The worst part (by far) is going to be driving to a lake or river, offloading the boat, beaching it, and changing the bunks instead of going fishing.

I redid the bunks on a trailer a few years ago. The orginal bunks were amazingly rotted for their age (probably only 5 years old when I redid them), so I replaced with new treated 2×4’s (make sure you get straight ones). I cut the carpet to fit well and attached with a staple gun. It was simple and lasted as long as I had the trailer.

I own a 35 year old 19 ft. Lightning sailboat with bunks that were specially made for the shape of the hull. The bunks run laterally to the hull as opposed to longitudinally. I ran into minor carpet wear so rather than letting it get worse and to check out the condition of the wood bunks, I removed the old carpet, inspected the wood and recovered the bunks with a good grade of indoor/outdoor carpet. I store the boat in my garage so there is little if any chance of wear. As you know, the sun really can affect the condition of fiberglass. Storing the boat in the garage has kept the boat in great condition, especially the wood mast, boom, wood trim and floor boards. The important thing as you already expressed is the condition of the bunks. If you use a good grade of marine lumber you should not have a problem. I always finish wood with spar varnish or urethane. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Gianni,

Suggest using stainless steel staples for a little better job.

Charlie

Thanks guys. I think the wood is probably solid, but the job will go a lot faster (and get me on the water sooner) if I cut new bunks, drill, bolt, carpet them, and just have them waiting in the back of the pickup when I dump the boat in.

I figure it won’t take 10 minutes of wrenching to get the new ones on, and then I can reward myself with a beer.

BINGO