Trailer Bunk Repair

[Fman]

I did get a pic this morning, here is the carnage... she got it pretty good, snapped it in two.... After looking at the picture, I think it is a 2x4.

[Bawshogg]

Looks like a 2x4 to me. And it's just regular pine or fir. No need for pressure treated and all that mess. The carriage bolts are just slightly countersunk . Don't leave that part out. The carpet will wear first at the top of the bolts first and all the weight will be supported by the bolts and not the bunks. You can easily countersink the holes with a 3/4" paddle but in about 20 seconds.

[jwl019]

I did get a pic this morning, here is the carnage... she got it pretty good, snapped it in two.... After looking at the picture, I think it is a 2x4.

Looks like a 2x4 if that support bracket is 3" wide? I doubt the lumber is treated, your carpet will always need replacing long before the boards anyway.

[Nordicron]

Yeah that looks like 2x4. My trailer(prestige) was prob 4yrs old with many many launches under it's belt and not one lag screw had come loose not fallen out. I agree bolt and nylon lock nut prob better but seemed overkill to me.

Anyway do u have a bass pro shop, cabelas or gander mountain store near by, they will have bunk carpet also.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Fman]

Looks like a 2x4 to me. And it's just regular pine or fir. No need for pressure treated and all that mess. The carriage bolts are just slightly countersunk . Don't leave that part out. The carpet will wear first at the top of the bolts first and all the weight will be supported by the bolts and not the bunks. You can easily countersink the holes with a 3/4" paddle but in about 20 seconds.

Perfect, thanks again for the feedback.... hopefully once the boats off the trailer should be pretty straight forward. LOL, I am going to have to get the buoy out again and make her practice pulling up to it on the lake... I have to give her some slack, it was her first pull on of the season.

[dalt1]

Good point, I was going to go with the same thru bolts. I will have to staple the carpet on at the lake rather than my garage but I agree, a much more solid repair. Question for you... Are the carriage bolts sunk at all in lumber or do they just rest on top of the bunk with carpet over them?

I just torqued bolts till they pulled below the surface of the carpeted bunk. I did not counterbore them. I drilled through the carpeted bunks and slid bolts through and cranked them down.

[Fman]

I just torqued bolts till they pulled below the surface of the carpeted bunk. I did not counterbore them. I drilled through the carpeted bunks and slid bolts through and cranked them down.

I would think that would risk splitting the wood? I will just counter sink it like Bobby mentioned, a few seconds of work.....I might be able to carpet most of the bunk and leave the ends not stapled, install the bolts, tighten and finish up the carpet.

[saidainc]

Just use the old carpet as a template for the new carpet. Comes in pretty close that way and the ends wrap in like wrapping paper.

[Nitrousbird]

If the old one is lag bolted, I'd just lag bolt the new one as well. You can have everything cut, carpeted and ready to go. Launch boat, unbolt old, bolt-in new. If you have a good cordless drill with a nut driver you can have all of this done in about 5 minutes at the lake.

[Andrew63]

You mentioned the carriage bolts have those nylon lock nuts.

When I recently replaced the carpet on my bunks, changed from lag bolts as these worked their way loose with trailer flexing to carriage bolts with nylon lock nuts.

Used new galv bolts & one bolt kept spinning so I could not tighten it.

Then it dawned on me, make a slot in the tail of the bolt with a thin grinder wheel for a flat blade screw driver to holt it to stop it spinning to allow me to tighten the bolt.

May be worth trying to loosen the nylon lock nuts B4 you leave home, could remove half to save a bit of time & loosen the rest for the 20 min trip.

On my 2011 boatmate trailer, took ages to remove the staples so I cut off the old carpet & took to the underside with a 20 grit grinding pad to just grind the staples off, bunks were removed from the trailer beforehand.

[5inthesun]

I just finished mine this weekend. Same as everybody else

2x6 I used pre-treated and then put an extra coat of sealant

Counter sunk T-Bolt heads from the top

Glue - Weighted to dry

Install at the dock.

Capet and wood from Lowe's

http://s1093.photobucket.com/user/Moto-xdad/media/IMG_01991_zps17651f34.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

[Jimmy Buffett]

Did mine last fall. Mine were 2x6. Used kiln-dried pressure treated wood. Cut to length and router-ed the edges. Galvanized staples and screws/washers. Bunk carpet from Boater's Warehouse www.boaterswarehousestore.com . On the PITA scale this was a 5.

[bunji169]

Way to throw the wife under the Bus!!!! Wait till Saturday afternoon at Folsom lake....Tie boat up to dock and do repair on ramp while there are 20 people in line....lol I saw someone doing that a couple years ago.

Prob not too busy on Wednesdays during the day. That would be perfect time to do it.

[Fman]

I am going to shoot for Wednesday or Thursday morning. My dad is going to come out just in case the ramp is busy and we need to float off the dock area. I'm hoping with everything pre drilled and stapled I can get this done in about 10 mins.

[Bill_AirJunky]

If you can find lumber with arsenic in it, please send it to me. I need it for a deck that has the new treated lumber, and it's rotting away. CCA treatment has not been available since 2004.

Also, the new treated lumber will corrode fasteners, so choose your stainless staples carefully. Monel is not good. Galvanized bolts and screws are better than stainless for treated wood.

Interesting. In the last 2 yrs we've jumped thru hoops for 2 permits on our beach. One for the docks & the other for a playground set. Both times the county made us prove that we weren't using pressure treated lumber near the lake. We used fir on the docks & the play set was placed 40' from the water so both were approved.

I don't think I'd be jacking around the boat when it's 1000 times easier to just put the boat in the lake & tie it to the dock & do the trailer work without the boat. Even if you did it in the parking lot.

Edited April 21, 2014 by Bill_AirJunky

[nutoz]

If you are going to use carriage bolts , I suggest that you apply anti seize on threads and run the nuts all the way up on each and every bolt.it will make sure that you will not be spinning the bolt when you are tightening . Other wise an easy repair. Good luck

[justgary]

Interesting. In the last 2 yrs we've jumped thru hoops for 2 permits on our beach. One for the docks & the other for a playground set. Both times the county made us prove that we weren't using pressure treated lumber near the lake. We used fir on the docks & the play set was placed 40' from the water so both were approved.

Wow. The new stuff is pretty sad, in my opinion. The carpenter bees have no problem making sawdust of it, and the dry rot takes care of the rest. We have a deck that was primed and painted that has rotten boards now, and the manufacturer just shrugs and comes up with excuses to not honor the lifetime guarantee. At least the ground-contact rated stuff seems to hold back a few termites.

You may want to remind your county folks that arsenic is long gone in treated lumber. It sounds like they just like to watch you react to their rules. Take them a label off of the wood and have them look it up, or contact the manufacturer to have them send the county a data sheet.

[bunji169]

I would use standard galv nuts first to snug the lags down since they should go on with little resistance. After all of the lags are tight, then put the nyloc nuts on. That sould prevent the bolts from spinning while tightening the nyloc nuts. If you have a cordless hammer drill, that would work best.

[Fman]

I was able to get a hold of sport boat today, to confirm they do use a doug fir 2x4, she said not need for a pressure treated board. The carpet will wear out before the doug fir will. Do they make a carriage bolt that will bite into the wood and hold itself?

[dalt1]

I would think that would risk splitting the wood? I will just counter sink it like Bobby mentioned, a few seconds of work.....I might be able to carpet most of the bunk and leave the ends not stapled, install the bolts, tighten and finish up the carpet.

Made it 5 years after that approach to fastening. Never split one bunk. Really didnt pull very deep into wood as carpet thickness let is sink most the way needed.

[Bawshogg]

The way they "bite" is by trying to force a square peg into a round hole. Just make sure you make the hole in the wood that goes all the way through(not the counterbore) the same size as the bolt.

A "hammer drill" is not what I would recommend. It's for installing concrete anchors. A nice cordless impact would be the correct tool. I think that may be what he is talking about. The advise about Nylock bolts only is correct. They can be tough to manage with a cartiage bolt. Use regular non-nylocks first. Then back it up with a Nylock.

You really are wayyyyy over thinking this. Quit mentally masterbating and just get it done for Christ's sake! You have all the Info and then some you could ever want here.

[justgary]

Wait, Bobby! We haven't even told him how to properly burnish the bunk carpet before he puts the boat back on. That's an important step that you can easily mess up. If you don't do it right, the water won't wick very well.

[Bawshogg]

Please don't fall for this...... Lol.

[Fman]

Yes, I think I have it covered... For some reason the thread continues to roll. I do appreciate all the feedback...

[Fman]

I was able to spend some time on my back and fully inspect the undercarriage of the boat today, prop, shaft, strut look untouched... the bad news I discovered a 2" long x 3/4" wide chip in the gelcoat right on the center keel of the boat where it made contact with the trailer rail. Its directly under the "V" bunk in the front bow area, completely hidden by the "V" bunks. Crappolie! Looks like this is going to get much more expensive, called my dealer and I am taking it down to the gelcoat repair guy tomorrow morning... more than likely boat is going to have to come off the trailer, good news is gel guy said I could replace the bunk while the boat is off trailer... I have a feeling this is not going to be cheap After 6 years my first launching accident.... oh well, what can you do....