Carpet on trailer bunks

[mhall]

I have a few bunks where the carpet is coming loose from the bottom and the staples are missing. What would be wrong with nailing that back with galvanized 1 inch roofing nails?
Another year or two I have to figure out how to get my boat off the trailer for an extended period to pull trailer maintenance, new bunks and that. Also would really like the wife to be able to put it in their body shop, sand blast it and re-paint it. Man it's always something isn't it.....lol

[GeoFisher]

I have a few bunks where the carpet is coming loose from the bottom and the staples are missing. What would be wrong with nailing that back with galvanized 1 inch roofing nails?
Another year or two I have to figure out how to get my boat off the trailer for an extended period to pull trailer maintenance, new bunks and that. Also would really like the wife to be able to put it in their body shop, sand blast it and re-paint it. Man it's always something isn't it.....lol

Do the Trailer Maintenance on the lake. I did mine a few years ago during the middle of the day when fishin stunk anyways

Buy all the stuff, and take a cordless drill. I did it in about 30 minutes.

Also.........Premake the bunks so they just need to be drilled and put on.......or whatever.



Later,

Geo

[mhall]

Do the Trailer Maintenance on the lake. I did mine a few years ago during the middle of the day when fishin stunk anyways

Buy all the stuff, and take a cordless drill. I did it in about 30 minutes.

Also.........Premake the bunks so they just need to be drilled and put on.......or whatever.



Later,

Geo

This is what I have been leaning towards. My Mother and Father in law have a slip @ Jamestown Marina I may catch it before they put the Pontoon in there and let it sit there over night into the next day I wouldn't be rushed and could take my time.

[stripernut1]

mark, let me know when you are going to do this (nicer weather ) and i will help you. here is how we do it; i will back you in the water, you drive your boat around to the bot slip, have the marina water taxi bring you back around to the ramp where i will be sitting with your truck and trailer. we can then drive the truck/trailer a few minutes to my house where i have angle grinders, drills et etc. when we get finished we can drive back to the marina and go stab a fish in the top lip!

[Shellkat]

Fill boat with cold beverages and hurricane bob will babysit it overnight, if he wont I will

[DJD]

I have done a few and if all I wanted to do was buy a little time or that's all it needed I would use short galvanized deck screws and washers. Of course stainless staples are quick and easy.

Now if I had the place and time I would pull that baby into a shop and go over it. Grind or replace bad metal or fenders cut and chop or whatever.....wheel bearings and al!! You would do an awesome job with it!

I did that to a used ATV trailer I bought and my bro in law has a body shop and we had a great winter project. I mean we built the best dang trailer on the road. Solid, custom built tailgate, use a grinder to cut and then grind all the expanded metal off the trailer then replaced it with treated wood planks, bearing, bearing buddies with bra and I got a little fancy and made some hinges for the gate out of some Toyota motor mounts. It really is a solid trailer and looks nothing like what I started with. All in all it was fun and every time I look at it I know we built a great trailer and have good memories doing it.

i know it's different with a boat and trailer.

[Moveon]

I have a few bunks where the carpet is coming loose from the bottom and the staples are missing. What would be wrong with nailing that back with galvanized 1 inch roofing nails?
Another year or two I have to figure out how to get my boat off the trailer for an extended period to pull trailer maintenance, new bunks and that. Also would really like the wife to be able to put it in their body shop, sand blast it and re-paint it. Man it's always something isn't it.....lol

What about just trying to glue the carpet back on the wood. If the wood is not rotten and will hold a few stables then just put some waterproof glue on there and tack it back into place. The combination of glue and stables should hold it.

You can use the nails but a screw will hold better than any nail. Especially in wood that been wet over and over again over the years.

I replaced the wooden rails on my boat trailer a few times now and each time I glue and staple the carpet onto the wood then drill a hole though the 2x4 wood to run the bolt though the 2x4 to attach it back onto the trailer. I normally do this at the launch ramp parking lot. I unload my boat from the trailer to give me more room to work on the trailer.

I have a small air compressor and a 12 v to 110 v converter that runs the air compressor. I can then use some air tools to do the job. But I also have a regular heavy duty stable gun that I can use too. Those stables don't go in a well and are not as long as the ones on the air run stable gun.

There is not electric outlet at this ramp. Some boat ramps may give you access to a powered outlet. Or if you are camping you can often unload the boat and park it on the bank by your campsite and then use the electric outlets provided at the camp site to do this job.

My boat is way too heavy to take off the trailer and put in the yard at home. So I have to launch it to get it off the trailer or take it to the boat shop where they lift it off somehow and put it into storage. But that costs money.

I replaced my trailer bunks in less than a hour at the ramp. Just make sure that you have everything you need to get the job done so you don't have to run to the store or back home to buy something or to get a tool. Can't leave the boat unguarded and can't put it back onto the trailer with the bunks off.

[hairball]

I did a complete rehab job on my old '86 Tracker a few years ago. Sanded down and refinished the trailer, new bunks, new tires and bearings, new wiring - you name it. After I got the boat back up on the trailer, it got the same treatment. New front deck covered in Nautolex - actually Nautolex everywhere carpet used to be, new batteries and trolling motor, new wiring and pumps.
To make a long story short, everywhere I used staples, I used the ones made from Monel. It's an alloy developed back in WWII that, as near as I can tell, is totally rustproof. After about 5 years, there are no signs of rust. They're pretty costly, but show me something on a boat that isn't. I just thought that might be an alternative for you if you want something that's going to last - even stainless will eventually rust.

[sweetwater]

I did a complete rehab job on my old '86 Tracker a few years ago. Sanded down and refinished the trailer, new bunks, new tires and bearings, new wiring - you name it. After I got the boat back up on the trailer, it got the same treatment. New front deck covered in Nautolex - actually Nautolex everywhere carpet used to be, new batteries and trolling motor, new wiring and pumps.
To make a long story short, everywhere I used staples, I used the ones made from Monel. It's an alloy developed back in WWII that, as near as I can tell, is totally rustproof. After about 5 years, there are no signs of rust. They're pretty costly, but show me something on a boat that isn't. I just thought that might be an alternative for you if you want something that's going to last - even stainless will eventually rust.

If your trailer or boat is ever going to be in salt or brackish water you must insulate monel from other metals, especially steel or a steel alloy. Monel has a problem with electrolytic interaction with other metals when exposed to salt water and will disintegrate within a matter of days. I would speculate that the same interaction would occur if your rig were exposed to salt treated roads in the winter.

[peter]

Yes and do not use treated wood if you have an aluminum boat. It now has a lot of copper in it (thanks to EPA) which can react with the aluminum in the firm of eating it up in the right conditions. Use regular wood and paint and prime for longevity.

I have an aluminum live well that was sitting on top of carpet on a treated wood deck and it was getting demolished... So an aluminum hull sitting on bunks might have the same problem.

[toomanycasts]

Anyone use composite boards?

[Shellkat]

Used them on my latest boat 18 foot grizzly,slide good, no complaint, on the bottom got rollers on the side