Bunks Recarpeted....Boatmate Carpet Bad Quality......Pics Included

[RTS]

The trailer is 10 years old and was used in salt water (previous owner). Any help is greatly appreciated

10 year old carpet hanging off the bunks and a saltwater trailer with rusting out axles has little to do with Boatmate or whoever manufactured the trailer.

Only 'help' I can suggest is to buy a new trailer and don't put it in saltwater.

[TallRedRider]

Afun, are your bunks 2 X 4? I can't quite tell from the pics. I was impressed that my Mastercraft trailer used 2X6's. I have an extreme trailer and the bunks seem to be wearing out again after just having replaced them 2 seasons ago. I did all that work myself, and frankly, it was small PIA.

[Afun]

Afun, are your bunks 2 X 4? I can't quite tell from the pics. I was impressed that my Mastercraft trailer used 2X6's. I have an extreme trailer and the bunks seem to be wearing out again after just having replaced them 2 seasons ago. I did all that work myself, and frankly, it was small PIA.

I do not know the size. No kidding its a PIA. The guys at a Marina I visit did it for 150 including materials.

Loading this boat is a PIA with all of those chines on the hull. That new carpet should last me forever.

Edited October 27, 2013 by Afun

[beat taco]

I do not know the size. No kidding its a PIA. The guys at a Marina I visit did it for 150 including materials.

Loading this boat is a PIA with all of those chines on the hull. That new carpet should last me forever.

You know what kind of carpet they use? I'm looking to redo mine and want to find that good carpet, I did the HDepot route last time and want better quality this time. Thanks.

[Afun]

You know what kind of carpet they use? I'm looking to redo mine and want to find that good carpet, I did the HDepot route last time and want better quality this time. Thanks.

I don't know that either. I doubt it's going to have a name. It looks like a came from a commercial supplier in a big roll to supply the marina.

[JB-FOOT]

Hey folks, depending on the actual fiber used on carpet will depend on how fast it melts....Olefin or Polypropylene by its chemical name is a solution dyed fiber that is GREAT for stain resistance, and sun fade but comes with a LOW MELTING point....and that low melting point is what you are experiencing when you have friction on a dry bunk and a hard chine edge....it has nothing to do with the "QUALITY" of the carpet, but an inherent characteristic of POLYPROPYLENE...

Looped carpet can snag and run causing other issues... so STAY AWAY FROM LOOPED CARPETS if you dont want runs

Cut pile carpet is better for NOT RUNNING as you can only pull out 1 tuft at a time instead of the entire row...

Needlebond carpet is manufactured without tufting at all, so it is IMPOSSIBLE to run or snag.....So a thick NEEDLEBOND fabricated carpet is BEST for this situation...it also has no secondary backing that tends to delaminate....

If anyone wants more REAL information about carpet choices and uses, PM me

[Afun]

" More Real Information " Gimme a break dude... I could rip the freakin bunk carpet with my hands....it SUCKS! For Real!

[C28]

JB - Thanks for the information on the different characteristic of using carpet in our situation. It is time for my bunk carpet to be replaced (one nice slice and numerous burn marks and warn through in two areas). At our ramp we need to power load due to how steep it is and it is very sandy. Which carpet do you suggest for this situation? I also have a 2007 23 LSV with the original carpet on a boatmate trailer.

[JB-FOOT]

" More Real Information " Gimme a break dude... I could rip the freakin bunk carpet with my hands....it SUCKS! For Real!

AFUN

did you just rip your shirt off?

[Afun]

AFUN

did you just rip your shirt off?

This freakin trailer has made me rip my shirt off.... My 04 trailer was so much better. I could hear this thing squeak down the road every once in a while.

[JB-FOOT]

JB - Thanks for the information on the different characteristic of using carpet in our situation. It is time for my bunk carpet to be replaced (one nice slice and numerous burn marks and warn through in two areas). At our ramp we need to power load due to how steep it is and it is very sandy. Which carpet do you suggest for this situation? I also have a 2007 23 LSV with the original carpet on a boatmate trailer.

Carpet type is important when choosing any type of carpet....

then there is carpet construction...

then there is carpet installation...

and the Foundation the carpet is put on...

and then the ENVIRONMENTAL situations that we subject our carpet to...

this is independent of whether or not it is going on your boat bunks. your boat floor, your comercial office space, your hotel lobby or your living room...etc...

with all of that said....

there are only three basic types of fiber (the stuff that you walk on part of the carpet)

Nylon....

Polyester...

Polypropylene...

I am not going to go into applications other than carpet in and on boats here...

Polypropylene is on the bottom of the food chain as far as carpet fibers go, but is a good choice for boat bunks if you want no staining and little sun fade and very little UV degradation...as ALL polypropylene by the way it is made is SOLUTION DYED...meaning that the color goes all the through the yarn and can not be re-stained once it is extruded,,,so it is resistant to fade and retaining its original color....and things like straight bleach will not change the color of it...it has a couple of trade offs however, and the 1st being it has a low melting point, so the picture that Afun showed where the carpet was melted, was due to heat, caused by friction, caused by the heavy object (boat) dragging across the carpet that was pressed hard to the unforgiving and non cushioned bunk...and the 2nd being low resistance to crushing or matting...(which we don't care about on a bunk trailer) the only difference between outdoor carpet and indoor carpet that is made of polypropylene is the outdoor carpet has an additional treatment of UV inhibitor applied to the face FIBER....not the back...

Nylon is on the top of the food chain as far as carpet fibers go, and is great at retaining its original shape and spring back, but since 99% of it is NOT SOLUTION DYED, it is terrible for color retention in an outdoor climate and it also stains very easily...(that is why you see so many "strain treatments" added to the carpets made from nylon...So, Nylon should be avoided at all cost for outdoor and boats...

Polyester...falls somewhere in the middle of the food chain with how it is made, and is better than nylon for coloring and stain resistance, but still does not do it as well as polypropylene and as for crushing and matting, it is in the middle of nylon and polypropylene...

Construction plays a big part, and the best carpet for anti snagging or anti running is the needle-bond method, where the fibers are just glued together and not actually stitched into loops...Needle-bond CAN NOT RUN OR SNAG...Needle-Bond like anything else comes in MANY grades...some of the most common are when someone calls it a thin felt indoor outdoor carpet....it wont run, snag or fade (if made in polypropylene)....if you don't want to spend the bucks for special thicker pieces of needle-bond, you can apply it over the old carpet and it will act as a cushion, It will however retain more water and possibly rot out a non pressure treated bunk board faster....

Carpets that are tufted and left with their original loops WILL RUN AND SNAG and pull out an entire row.....Carpets that have their original loops cut at the top (called cut pile) can only pull out 1 tuft at a time....So if you must use a tufted carpet, a cut pile is better than a looped carpet, and you must choose a better backing that GLUES and locks the tufts more in place or tries to protect it somewhat by using extra latex or urethane or rubber as a final backing...the latter being sometimes refereed to as "Marine Back" carpet....but marine back doesn't mean necessarily that the carpet is of high quality...

***Afun is right, ALL CARPET SUX***.....you just have to pick the least SUXY carpet for your particular application...

So what would I do, either start from scratch with all new HIGH QUALITY pressure treated 2" x 6" bunks, sand and router all of the edges and ends to a smooth round edge treatment so as not to pinch or cut the carpet when the heavy object (the boat) rubs against it....and then I would use the highest quality and thickest needle-bond carpet I could afford so as never to have an unraveling and protect with some cushioning between the carpet and the bunks...OR, use a moderately priced and thinner piece of needle-bond but still sand and router all of the edges of NEW pressure treated 2" x 6" bunks....OR just re-carpet over top of my old failing carpet (to act as a cushion) and wait for the wood to rot and fall apart and then do what my 1st choice would have been

Hope this helps and doesn't help to confuse you more....

[C28]

OK so I go to a carpet store and ask for

Polypropylene

Needle-bond

thin felt indoor outdoor

Is the thicker type sold by wight?

[Afun]

You Know Your Carpet!! Great Post

[JB-FOOT]

ask for Outdoor Carpet constructed by the Needle-bond method... and the guy will give you a blank stare...LOL

Ask for something like this...http://shawfloors.com/carpetdetails/bedecked_54689-bramble

Olefin is the trade name of polypropylene....

unitary back is the stuff that is glued backing.....(a good thing in this application)

Or something like this... http://www.carpet-wholesale.com/item_179637/Rolls_Of_Carpet/Beaulieu-Indoor-Outdoor-Carpet/Harmony_12'/Tampico_Brown.php

Keep in mind that carpet for outdoor can be bought in 6' widths, which may be better for depending if you bunks are longer than 12'....and you want to have them be continuous...

[JB-FOOT]

You Know Your Carpet!! Great Post

Afun.

the ONLY thing I know about carpet for sure is this......

Carpet is the most vile disgusting filthy thing you can have in your home, and it is probably more dirty than the bottom of a toilet seat.....in a New York subway station...and that It uglies out way before it ever wears out

That said, carpet comes in a myriad of colors and styles from which to chose from and its main purpose is to clean the bottom of your shoes...an d that it does MOST PERFECTLY!

[BlastRlxi]

Afun.

the ONLY thing I know about carpet for sure is this......

Carpet is the most vile disgusting filthy thing you can have in your home, and it is probably more dirty than the bottom of a toilet seat.....in a New York subway station...and that It uglies out way before it ever wears out

That said, carpet comes in a myriad of colors and styles from which to chose from and its main purpose is to clean the bottom of your shoes...an d that it does MOST PERFECTLY!

This is exactly why we never wear shoes in the house.

Edited October 28, 2013 by BlastRlxi

[JB-FOOT]

No shoes can be bad too....unless by no shoes you mean we wear socks....but BARE feet, lets the oils from the skin deposit on the carpet, while that alone wont soil the carpet, the oil from the skin that deposits on the carpet now becomes a great dirt attracter and leads to premature carpet matting.....go figure...

just sayin`!

SORRY TO THE OP FOR THE OBVIOUS THREAD HI-JACK...