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Carpeted Bunk Board Guides vs Guide Posts?


Urquie

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The TI Trailer that came with our '89 Skier has 6-8' long Carpeted Bunk Board Guides on either side. They are great for loading the boat and tying down the cover, but a pain to work around when cleaning and wiping down the boat. Most inboard trailers I see have the guide posts instead, so I am wondering if there are/were other reasons for one over the other. Look forward to the feedback as I have a neighbor who does great welding work that could take off the boards and make some custom posts.

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The TI Trailer that came with our '89 Skier has 6-8' long Carpeted Bunk Board Guides on either side. They are great for loading the boat and tying down the cover, but a pain to work around when cleaning and wiping down the boat. Most inboard trailers I see have the guide posts instead, so I am wondering if there are/were other reasons for one over the other. Look forward to the feedback as I have a neighbor who does great welding work that could take off the boards and make some custom posts.

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I have the guide posts love them b/c they are removeable and I can just buy a new set of pad for them when the old ones wear out Thumbup.gif JMO though

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The TI Trailer that came with our '89 Skier has 6-8' long Carpeted Bunk Board Guides on either side. They are great for loading the boat and tying down the cover, but a pain to work around when cleaning and wiping down the boat. Most inboard trailers I see have the guide posts instead, so I am wondering if there are/were other reasons for one over the other. Look forward to the feedback as I have a neighbor who does great welding work that could take off the boards and make some custom posts.

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I have the guide posts love them b/c they are removeable and I can just buy a new set of pad for them when the old ones wear out Thumbup.gif JMO though

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They also roll a little bit if the boat hits them which seems to lower the chances of leaving a mark on the boat.

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I agree that guide post with pads seem to work best. Removable for cleaning and they do a good job protecting the boat.

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The only negative I've heard is that the guide posts can snap if hit at the wrong angle and the broken post can gouge your boat. I have no first hand knowledge of this so it may not be true...

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The problem I have with my guide post is that they can float off when unloading our boat at steep landings. I have had to put a bolt through the PVC attaching it directly to the metal guide post supports to keep them attached. The problem with this is that when you push up against them with the boat they will no longer roll and it had a tendency to tear at the fabric covering on the guide post. Anyone have any suggestions how to fix this issue or has any even experienced this? No I am not backing in too far.

Edited by thealy
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The problem I have with my guide post is that they can float off when unloading our boat at steep landings. I have had to put a bold through the PVC attaching it directly to the metal guide post supports to keep them attached. The problem with this is that when you push up against them with the boat they will no longer roll and it had a tendency to tear at the fabric covering on the guide post. Anyone have any suggestions how to fix this issue or has any even experienced this? No I am not backing in too far.

For deep ramps, put a metal extension inside your guide post... allowing the PVC/Pad part to float up higher

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IMHO the biggest benefit to the fixed guidpads over the floating tubes is that they guide the boat on more accurately. I have the tubes and I am always trying to estimate how far off the rub rail needs to be from the guide pole. My buddy that has the fixed guides slides right on everytime since there is only like a 1 inch gap between the guide and the boat leaving little room for "migration" on pulling out. Of course you have to have a driver that is good behind the wheel since those things will do more damage to the boat.

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IMHO the biggest benefit to the fixed guidpads over the floating tubes is that they guide the boat on more accurately. I have the tubes and I am always trying to estimate how far off the rub rail needs to be from the guide pole. My buddy that has the fixed guides slides right on everytime since there is only like a 1 inch gap between the guide and the boat leaving little room for "migration" on pulling out. Of course you have to have a driver that is good behind the wheel since those things will do more damage to the boat.

If you're boat is migrating before pulling up the ramp, you should try leaving your trailer shallower. This will solve that problem.

I've found the carpeted "bunk" sorta burns the rub rail, vs the rolling effect of the padded tubes

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IMHO the biggest benefit to the fixed guidpads over the floating tubes is that they guide the boat on more accurately. I have the tubes and I am always trying to estimate how far off the rub rail needs to be from the guide pole. My buddy that has the fixed guides slides right on everytime since there is only like a 1 inch gap between the guide and the boat leaving little room for "migration" on pulling out. Of course you have to have a driver that is good behind the wheel since those things will do more damage to the boat.

If you're boat is migrating before pulling up the ramp, you should try leaving your trailer shallower. This will solve that problem.

I've found the carpeted "bunk" sorta burns the rub rail, vs the rolling effect of the padded tubes

It'll mark the gel too. The other problem with them is that you have no adjust ability for deeper ramps like you would with the rollers. The carpeted bunks are pretty easy to take off for cleaning, so I wouldn't worry too much about that part. But having had both, I like the rollers better.

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IMHO the biggest benefit to the fixed guidpads over the floating tubes is that they guide the boat on more accurately. I have the tubes and I am always trying to estimate how far off the rub rail needs to be from the guide pole. My buddy that has the fixed guides slides right on everytime since there is only like a 1 inch gap between the guide and the boat leaving little room for "migration" on pulling out. Of course you have to have a driver that is good behind the wheel since those things will do more damage to the boat.

If you're boat is migrating before pulling up the ramp, you should try leaving your trailer shallower. This will solve that problem.

I've found the carpeted "bunk" sorta burns the rub rail, vs the rolling effect of the padded tubes

Agreed but that can get a bit tricky with steep landings when the water is low and it is late summer when there is a nice big prop wash pile under the area of the prop when power loading. It tends to suck up rocks into the propeller forcing you to back in farther than you want to allowing the boat to drift when pulling it up. So the way I handle this is to not back the trailer in very far and don't power load and winch it up. This is also not without problems because there can either be too much drag to pull the boat up (silicon spay and wetting the buncks does help) or there can be too much of the back of the boat floating so the front of the boat comes up under the front rubber stopper. I really like the Ski Nautique trailers for this having those two vertical stopping boards at the front as opposed to just the small rubber stopper.

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IMHO the biggest benefit to the fixed guidpads over the floating tubes is that they guide the boat on more accurately. I have the tubes and I am always trying to estimate how far off the rub rail needs to be from the guide pole. My buddy that has the fixed guides slides right on everytime since there is only like a 1 inch gap between the guide and the boat leaving little room for "migration" on pulling out. Of course you have to have a driver that is good behind the wheel since those things will do more damage to the boat.

If you're boat is migrating before pulling up the ramp, you should try leaving your trailer shallower. This will solve that problem.

I've found the carpeted "bunk" sorta burns the rub rail, vs the rolling effect of the padded tubes

Agreed but that can get a bit tricky with steep landings when the water is low and it is late summer when there is a nice big prop wash pile under the area of the prop when power loading. It tends to suck up rocks into the propeller forcing you to back in farther than you want to allowing the boat to drift when pulling it up. So the way I handle this is to not back the trailer in very far and don't power load and winch it up. This is also not without problems because there can either be too much drag to pull the boat up (silicon spay and wetting the buncks does help) or there can be too much of the back of the boat floating so the front of the boat comes up under the front rubber stopper. I really like the Ski Nautique trailers for this having those two vertical stopping boards at the front as opposed to just the small rubber stopper.

Dontknow.gif What :unsure: I don't think that I have ever "power loaded" my Bu :Doh:

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I've had both and MUCH prefer the rolling guides. In fact I may replace the solid ones on my new trailer to the rolling style.

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our lift has the carpet ones, wish I could get away with posts/rollers but it's so rough where we keep the boat I need the full length. You can be pulling dead on and get hit in the rear by a wave the sends the nose one direction or the other. It's not like waiting for a calm is an option either, it's rough almost all the time when we're done. Leaving in the morning is another story. I guess I should just sleep on the boat.

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Thanks for all of the input. Our bunks are actually welded to the trailer so can't just take 'em off for cleaning. I want to go with the posts, but wifey seems nervous about loading without the "comfort factor" she has with the bunks which always get her into place.

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