Trailer bunks- continued

I finally got the bunks back on my trailer today. It’s been a fun but slow project. If you remember, I opted to use the plastic lumber and no carpeting as replacement. The old bunks had 5/16″ ss lag bolts up from the bottom but over the years of use came loose. Nothing serious, just loose and rattled. To bolt the new boards I used 5/16″ carriage bolts and pulled them down so the head was barely below the surface of the board. This lumber is guaranteed to not split or crack for 50 yrs so my thinking was that the bolt heads would cause no special problems. The holes for the bolts were drilled two drill sizes smaller and bolts were hammered in. I did this so the self locking nuts would tighten without spinning the bolts. One special note: an air impact wrench is almost a must-have unless you want a great work-out tightening everything up. There were 24 nuts to tighten. I’m thinking these new boards are really going to be slick. I’ve played with moving the boat back and forth on the bunks and am totally amazed at the ease it moves. If anybody’s really curious, PM me next summer and I’ll have a better idea of how well/poor they work jerr

Very cool.

Thats pretty cool for sure! I bet you wont have ANY problems with ice with that set-up.

Wher did you find the plastic bunk material?

Jer,

Keep an eye open for those board to wrap.

I have a fence around my patio that used those and the sun’s curled them. Mine are over 10 years old, but they warped after just a couple years.

On the positive side, someone was telling me they’ve fixed the warping problem a year or two after I bought mine. Also, there might be enough carriage bolts to hold them straight.

Looks pretty sweet big guy!

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Wher did you find the plastic bunk material?

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I found the company online and emailed them, they sent a copy to Arrow Building in Hudson and Arrow took it from there. It shipped from someplace in WI. Next day service. Comes in white, gray, tan and (I think) black.
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BK-this material isn’t a composite, it’s true recycled plastic. This is the stuff they make out of #2 plastic bags. They use this lumber for permanent lawn furniture, etc. At $6/ft for 2″x6″ material, you’d have to win the BIG lottery to afford very much of it. That little adventure was about $180 for just the plastic lumber. jerr

Why is it so expensive? I can get all the #2 plastic bags at Walmart for free!

PS mine was made out of milk jugs I guess. I’m sure they’ve improve it over the first couple years.

Very curious? What kind of load is that stuff rated for? Did you use stainless steel carriage bolts? When I redid mine I was told to use galvanized lag bolts threw the bottom. What about friction wear and weight, eventually causing those heads to possibly start becoming level with the plastic and causing damage? Let us know how it works out. I love the idea of getting a more long term bunk than wood. Looks good.

Uncarpeted? How do you know it won’t blister your gel coat?

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Uncarpeted? How do you know it won’t blister your gel coat?

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That would be my concern too…. wood is carpeted, to protect the finish on the boat, I gotta guess the plastic is harder than wood ???

Looks real sweet! I’m also anxious to hear the results on performance and longevity.

very cool, I would be concerned about the bolt head not counter sunk enough. Wouldn’t hurt to add those bunk glides if it looks like your getting gel coat problems.

I’ve done a bit of snooping online and found that I’m not the first fun-seeker to try this. So far I’ve heard of no problems except an occasional unexpected early launch due to the bunks being so slick. The carriage bolts are galvanized, availability and cost of stainless being the reason. I plan on keeping an eye on the heads so that if they do pop up I can snug them back down a bit. The board material is soft enough that I didn’t have to countersink the heads, merely hammered a bit more with the air wrench to sink them into the plastic. I’m not sure what the load bearing capacity is, but they’re sold with a structural lumber rating for a 2″x6″ piece of wood lumber. I think I’m working in the right direction, time will tell tho. Either way I’ll keep you guys posted jerr

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an after thought about protecting the finish. Ever see what carpet with sand imbedded will do to the bottom of a glass boat? Don’t think it makes any difference?? I spent a week regelling mine this winter. After seeing the crud that came out of the carpeting, these plastic boards can’t be near as bad