New Bunk Carpet...What a Job!!
I implemented my plans to replace the dry rotted bunk carpet on my trailer and it turned out to be quite an undertaking. If I had it to do again I would have measured all the bunks and made new ready to bolt on bunks reducing the install time dramatically. I also would have spent the money for an electric stapler to prevent the blisters I got form the 2000 staples I put in. Attached some before and after pics and I am pleased with the way they turned out.
<a href="http://s228.photobucket.com/albums/ee188/sawyer1206/Wakeworld/?action=view&current=trailerbefore.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee188/sawyer1206/Wakeworld/trailerbefore.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s228.photobucket.com/albums/ee188/sawyer1206/Wakeworld/?action=view&current=trailernew2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee188/sawyer1206/Wakeworld/trailernew2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> |
Nice job, they look great.
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Nice job!
I did that several years ago....not fun job. I couldn't image doing it with a manual stapler! I pre-made my bunks and then launched and tied down my boat and replaced the bunks in the parking lot. |
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Nice work! I just measured mine and made new ones and then did it at the lake while the boat was in the water, much easier! I used a pneumatic stapler (for brads/staples) and it went pretty quick.
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looks good man! I just did mine 2 weeks ago at the lake. Dropped the boat in and pulled the bunks off and went to town with a hand stapler. The one I picked up didn't give me blisters it was pretty easy to squeeze(arrow power shot staple gun). I was not able to get one of the bunks off and that made the project take much longer than planned....
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I need to do this as I notice the corners of my front bunks are starting to wear through... what are you guys using for carpet and what's the best/longest lasting stuff to get?
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We put new bunks and carpet on my dads trailer last summer, West Marine sells bunk carpet. We got treated wood and stainless staples from Lowe's. There was a debate previously as to which type of staples to use, stainless and something else (can't remember) we used stainless and trailer goes in saltwater.
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It "might" work... but it will definitely be a temporary fix. Even marine grade needle bond carpet will delaminate or "fray" when exposed to the elements over a period of time. When you wrap the entire bunk, the problem areas (cut edges) are concealed under the bunk. When "butted together" on top of the bunk, elements will cause it to fail. Seam sealing the carpet edges with $12 solvent based seam sealer will help... but not eliminate the problem. If you don't mind a band aid approach, then go for it. But for long term performance, get after it! |
Turned out nice,,congrats. i redid mine a couple of months ago and cant even imagine using a hand stapler. Idid some research when I did mine. The trailer company we deal with said not to use pressure treated wood and use monel staples. i had already bought the SS from home depot. They said READ the lable. Sure enough it said on the back NOT for marine use, :banghead: So I returned them got the monel at almost douple the cost of the SS and proceded. This little project although not hard did take a little more time than I thought it would as well.
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i broke both rules last summer when i did mine. i used stainless steel staples and pressure treated wood. no issues as of yet. i also ditched the lag bolts and through bolted all my bunks with stainless steel hardware
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Can you expand on why not to use stainless and not to use pressure treated wood? I was told specifically that these are the items to use when replacing my bunks... Any help on this would be great, since I'm gonna have to do it myself. :(
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Using monel vs stainless in the marine environment is a load of BS in my opinion. Unless the staple is permanently under water then stainless will be just fine. I did all my bunks about 4 years ago using materials all from Lowes for less than $80 and it's still holding up well, probably got another 2 seasons left in them. Then I'll have a real job cause the whole trailer will need painted and the bunk mounts refabbed and welded on.
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Oh man. This thread brought back memories of having to replace the bunks and carpet on the trailer for my '02 XStar when I was in lawschool. Lord, that was a nasty, pain in the butt, two day job. I agree that a paslode staple gun is a must, and is well worth renting to do this job. I'll just stick to flipping boats every year to avoid having to ever do this again. Ugh.
As an aside, has anyone ever considered using trex or a similar decking material for bunks? |
Trex is essentially particle board. I think that would be a very bad idea. No strength.
Stainless staples are totally fine to use on trailer bunks if you run in fresh water. Monel staples are nickel and copper and are virtually rust proof. So, if you run in salt/brackish water, I'd go monel. The outdoor carpet at Home Depot is all you need. I've always double wrapped the front bunks to really cut down on the wear. |
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If it would't cost me like $500 I might consider them. |
Did mine one or two at a time over the last cople of years. Pre-made, then launch, replace load. Was pretty simple. Pressure treated lumber, Stainless staples and glued the carpet to the bunks - working great!
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Did my trailer like the rest of you with SS staples and pressured treated lumber. Between the table saw and the router I angled and radiused all of the sharp edges to reduce the tears on the corners and glued the carpet on with marine grade glue in case a corner started to peel like on my last bunks. Last year there was some heated debate and lengthy rants on the evils of using PTL because of the corrosive effects of the chemicals used to treat the wood on the fasteners/lag bolts. If it was the space shuttle I might be concerned about corrosion, but I replace the fasteners when I replace the carpet so I really don't see the need to worry about it.
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where'd you guys order the carpet from? overton's seems pricey. How many oz should i be looking for? I gotta tackle this project pretty soon as well.
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If you don't use pressure treated lumber then what are you supposed to use? Is it an environmental thing? Are you supposed to use cedar/redwood or is there a synthetic material that is supposed to be used?
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pressure treated is not needed just the regular pine 2x6's 2x4's work just fine, try to pick good pcs with few knots
Don't try to reinvent the bunk. |
As for the carpet, I looked everywhere and couldn't find anything either heavy enough or wide enough to fit my 2x10 bunk boards. I ended up going to the place I got my home carpeting from and bought some non-backed outdoor carpet. They cut it to my specs length and width in about 5 minutes worth of work. It was about $60.00 and tax and fit like a charm. Like bftskir said, PTL isn't really needed and it is IIRC about $2-3.00 more expensive per board. For me it just seems more rigid and not as soft (due to the pressure treatment) than std construction grade lumber. I do like the thru bolt job that David did, but I built mine in the shop and then put them on right after I launched on day so I just screwed them in from the bottom like OEM.
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EBAY! That's where I got mine from...crap ton of different places selling. I got some "heavy duty" and have been on two years and still looks perfect...just type in "trailer bunk carpet" and go from there!!
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