Replace one or all bunks?

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Paul P

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One end of a bunk floated today. It is the oiginal trailer for my 2001 Nitro 188 Sport. It it the eight season for the trailer. There are 6 bunks total. 4 longer ones at the center and 2 shorter bunks the outsides. One of the short bunks lost 1 of its 2 lag screws. I used some trusty duct tape to load today but need to fix it now.



It was dark so I couldn's see the area to guess why the bolt fell out. Either rusted, loosened, or the wood rotted. Any way, if I need to replace that one bunk, do you think I should bite the bullet and do all 6 or just the 1. It the bunk is not rotted then its a simple fix and I'll just replace the 1 bolt.



Thanks



Paul
 
Replace all. Believe me from experience replace all. Use the ones taken off for measurements and be sure to drill pilot holes for your lag screws. Also don't reuse the old screws.



fatrap
 
Another line of thought ... check the bunks out to determine if they're rotting; if not, let them be. How does the carpet look? If worn through to the bunk then perhaps replace the carpet. Eight years is a long time, but hey, if something is lasting that long don't reward it by trashing it before its time. When I had one bunk go bad, I replaced then all and ended up replacing three good bunks. I'm not sure why you couldn't use the same bolts unless they're rusted badly. My bolts came out clean as a whistle. When you put the bolts back in coat them with some marine silicon.



But then again, once you've switched over to 100 mph tape, who needs lag bolts?!
 
Sorry Mr Klein, But replace one , replace all. Why do it twice or three times? Do it now while you can do it at the ramp. Make your parts and do it all at once.



BF
 
I'm for doing it all at once. The next time you may not notice a bad/loose bunk and gouge a big ol' hole in your perty lil' boat! Minimal investment for peace of mind.



JP
 
Don't be sorry; I didn't know this was a one or the other issue. If a person has good money [and good bunks] to throw away, then by all means, replace them all when one goes bad. It doesn't take that long to replace a bunk, so from my perspective it's no big deal to replace a bunk now and another a year later or the year after. It's not like pulling a car engine; your boat is already off the trailer at the lake. I check my bunks every time I unload my boat so to be surprised and poke a hole in the boat would be an extremely remote possibility. It doesn't take that long to pull on the bunks after launching the boat; a loose one would be obvious. And to have one floating and not notice it when loading the boat would be darn near impossible.



Of course, the upside of willy-nilly replacing them all when one goes bad is that you will have a boat load of spare bunks.

 
ha ha ha........you're too funny Marty-Man. Another bonus of the replacement theory is you'll have a spare bunk to smack the smart a** willy-nilly's at the ramp!:lol::lol:;) Ya'll be good now, ya hear.



JP
 
I replaced only the one that was floating earlier this season. I too have a 2001 Nitro but, I have the 175 Sport. I checked all the others and they were in good shape with all screws tight. Launched the boat on average twice a week since and all others are still good.



Although I can't argue about replacing all if you replace one, I decided to wait. I intend to look at them real good when I get ready to put her up for the season (in my garage). And, at that time make a decision on if I want to replace the others.



Just as a point of reference, if one bulb goes out, I don't replace them all either.
 
I'm with the All At Once crowd on this one. My 2000 Tracker had one go, just like Paul mentions it was one lag bolt rotted out of one bunk. For $20 total and one time at the ramp/dock I did both of mine. 10 mins once I pulled the trailer out, took the old ones off and the new ones on with 3M silicone sealent. Followed John Foster's DETAILED plans in the Grab Bag and was finished (my Tracker had 2 on the bottom and the sides were fine and didn't touch the boat, so if they ever needed replacing I could do it in the garage).



I agree with the light bulb Firedog, but floating your boat off the ramp (especially if you don't live 5 mins from the ramp) and tieing it up at the dock, if one goes i'm better safe then sorry.



But, both sides have a point. So i'm a do all at once and no worries for the next few years (I went with Treated 2x4's so my Tracker shouldn't need them till the carpet wears out!) LOL



Trep
 
Yep im with the all at once crowd too. When i did mine on my 882 only one tore loose but all 6 had signs of bad rot. Not on the outside where i could easily see it but they were rotten on the inside when i cut them up to throw them away. It wasonly a matter of time before they all failed. Personally i would rather do it once and not have to worry about it again for along time.
 
I got rid of the lags all together. I used countersunk carrige bolts, lock washers and nuts. I think the pressure from power loading causes the lag bolt and wood to flex a little. After time the hole is unlarged and the lag comes out. I have a 2001 896 and did mine last year. I did all of them at once because the nearest water is about a half hour away.



Gene
 
Thanks for all the feedback!



I was surprized to see a bunk foating because I do check them just about everytime I launch the boat and it has always been solid. I'll do an inspection later today to figure it sort out why it floated. If the bunk need to be replaced then my inclination is to replace them all. If I get lucky and can just replace the lag screw then thats what I'l do but will make all new bunks this winter so I am prepared.



TTYL
 
A trick I do is NOT carpet the bottom of the bunk...the carpet holds water.
 
Perhaps power loading does put across the board all bunk damaging stresses on all bunks at once; I don't know as loading my boat is a nice easy drive on, drop down onto the bunks experience.



But that's what is great about America--I can replace one bad bunk at a time while you guys replace a whole bunch of bunks [some bad, some good: not even addressing why your guys bunks all go bad]; some guys can buy trucks and some guys can Chebbies.



Good point on the uncarpeted bottoms; my original weren't and my redos aren't.



One shoots willy-nillies ...
 
Think of bunks like a set of tires. You can replace one tire and be on the way when it wears out, but didn't the others travel the same amount of road? If you replace just one you are setting yourself up for a bad experience. The bunks don't always pop to the surface and float free. Sometimes one end comes loose and shifts without being visible from the surface. You'll find that one when you load and hear the nasty sound of a big lag running the length of exposed hull. (It can look like a can opener on a tin rig.) Then it's off to the body shop. Seen it more times than I care to. By all means, do what you think you need. Just wanted you to have some food for thought. ;)
 
The nicest way to solve this problem is to buy a brand new rig every couple years.



fatrap:lol:
 
REPLACE ALL BUNKS.

When my trailer was only one year old I launched the boat and one of the bunks floated off. ONLY ONE YEAR OLD. After inspecting all the bunks, they were all basically mud, not wood. The only thing holding it together was the carpet. After calling my Pro Staff connections being Im on the team. The Tracker Marine plant informed me that they use regular 2x4's, not even using pressure treated. They straight out told me its not cost effective to spend the extra few dollars to make them last.

Once again....replace all the bunks.
 
YOU DON'T HAVE TO REPLACE ALL IF YOU DON'T NEED TO DO SO. OF COURSE, I SEEM TO BE BLESSED WITH THE ONE DANG NITRO BOAT AND TRAILER THAT WAS BUILT CORRECTLY.
 
Marty,

Why the yelling? I think we all understand that you don't have to change them all. Some people prefer too so they dont have to mess with it again later.



Really there is no right or wrong answer here. Its a preference thing.
 
I will replace them all.



I looked at the grab bag plans for replacing them. Some questions ..



1. - This plan did not have the carpet being glued to the wood on the side where the boat contacts the bunk. Is glue necessary?



2. - What size lag screws?



3. - Is it necessary to seal the PT wood and if so what is a good sealer.



Tha bunk carpet is pretty expensive. I looked on BassPro for the carpet (see link below). It is $14 for a 12 foot strip. I have 6 bunks and may need 6 rolls which would be $84 alone for the carpet. Supplies for this job are easily over $100.



Thanks,



Paul
http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/s...01_1074_200004006_200000000_200004000_200-4-6
 
I will replace them all.



I looked at the grab bag plans for replacing them. Some questions ..



1. - This plan did not have the carpet being glued to the wood on the side where the boat contacts the bunk. Is glue necessary?



2. - What size lag screws?



3. - Is it necessary to seal the PT wood and if so what is a good sealer.



Tha bunk carpet is pretty expensive. I looked on BassPro for the carpet (see link below). It is $14 for a 12 foot strip. I have 6 bunks and may need 6 rolls which would be $84 alone for the carpet. Supplies for this job are easily over $100.



Thanks,



Paul
Click to expand...





When I re-did (both :rolleyes: ) of mine a couple of years ago I bought my carpet from a local carpet store that stocked boat carpet. Much cheaper than BPS I'm sure. The guy there knew what he was taking about when it came to boat carpet. He told me to glue the top side only with outdoor carpet adhesive, so I bought a pint and a throwaway trowel. The reason for glueing the top side, he said, is to prevent the boat from bunching up the carpet when you load the boat. The reason for only doing it on the top and not the bottom is to allow water to drain from the bottom.



I don't remember what size the lag screws were.... seems like they were around 3/8" which would make the head around 1/2" or 9/16" ... I'm not sure about that. I did shop around and found some stainless steel screws and fender washers.



I don't know if it's necessary to seal pressure treated wood. Seems to me it's already sealed more or less. I did drill pilot holes and shot some silicone in there before I screwed the lag screws in.



I know some guys make a big deal out of using stainless steel staples and I guess that's okay if you want to. My opinion is the carpet will wear out before the tin staples rust out... especially if you glue the top side. ;)



That's everything I know on the subject.
 
Marty ain't yellin', Jim B......that's just Marty, we keep him around for entertainment value:cool: It's kind of like when you were kids and said, "Hey, let's throw rocks at that bull and see what he does?":blink::lol::lol::lol:



JP
 
So the conlusion is...

Replace them all or replace what's needed!:lol:

 
Paul,

I would glue it with some 3m spray glue. the glue will hepl th ecarpet stay put.



One the carpet itself, go to a carpet store or a place like building 19 or lowes/home depot. Ill bet they have indoor/outdoor carpet like your bunks have now for a ton cheaper then the pre cut stuff. If i remember correctly i got a peice of carpet that was perfect and enough to do all 6 bunks with extra for like 25 bucks. i got it at a carpet place.



I believe when i did mine i used the same size as what was there. I think they were 3/8" x 1 1/4" long, get washers too and make sure the whole deal is galvanized.



Opinions on this will vary but i dont think you need to seal pt wood. When i did mine i didnt and they were still prefect some 5 years later. harpo.s advice on the pilot holes and silicone is spot on.



On the staples. Get monel coated ones not stainless or plain steel. They will last forever. The regular steel ones will rust out and it wont take very long same goes for the stainless since they use a cheap grade of stainless. a guy in my club used regular ones on his bunks and within a year he had rust streaks everywhere on his trailer and the staples started to fail not long after.







 
Thanks for the info guys. I will put my list of supplies together this weekend and let you know if I have any other quetions.



Paul
 
I also used the 3M spray adhesive. It really worked good. I sprayed everywhere carpet made contact. Probably overkill, but I figured if it was good enough for the top, why not all the way around? Good luck and replace what needs to be replaced or as time and budget allows. I had my kids help measure while boat and trailer were in the garage. That way when I went to the ramp I had them made and just stuck them on. The boys also thought it was neat to climb under the boat and hold the tape:cool:!



Tim
 
If you know an installer or just go by a carpet shop (and most large ulpholstery shops) and ask them to sell you 24 or 32oz. marine grade carpet strip in whatever color. The 16oz. (at best) BPS carpet in your link is very conveniently in strips, but you should be able to get more than enough much better quality for $30-$50 over $14 per strip plus S&H. Just a thought.
 
Hi



I'm rounding up my supplies to do all the bunks. The store I was at did not have 3M silicone sealant. What is the type of silicone sealant that is appropriate for filling the pilot holes for the lag screws?



I also bought 3M Super 77 Multipurpose Adhesice which is the spray type. Does that sound right for glueing the carpet?



Thanks!



Paul
 
I also bought 3M Super 77 Multipurpose Adhesice which is the spray type. Does that sound right for glueing the carpet?
Click to expand...

No, you want to use outdoor carpet adhesive. It will be compatible with the marine backing that should be on your boat carpet. Spray adhesive won't have the bond strength. I was a floorcovering and adhesive wholesale sales rep for a number of years... I know a little bit about what I'm talking about.;)
 
Ditto Harpo. You really want an exterior formulated adhesive. 3M Super Trim Adhesive #0809 is an aerosol applied glue that I have used for years. Most real auto parts houses will have it. It's from the auto industry and used for adhering rubber backed vinyl, plastic, metal, cloth, etc. to exterior high stress surfaces. I spray both the carpet backing and the wood bunk top. When pressed together during install you have made an incredibly durable bond that you'll most likely wear through before coming loose.



Any marine grade RTV should suffice to coat the lags and the pilot holes. Have fun! :D
 
FYI



I bought some outdoor carpet adhesive to glue the carpet to the PT 2x4's. There was a 1-800 number for tech questions. I called to validate that the glue was appropriate for this application. It turns out that outdoor carpet glue will not work correctly when used with PT wood. You will see signs of it breaking down in a year. It was commented that this behavior was not specific to the brand but generally true for all outdoor carpet adhesives.
 
I just visited the local WalMart, took a quick glance at what they were clearing out in the boating stuff.. found a tube of 3M silicon sealant marked down from $4.57 to $1.00. Also saw pedestal seat mounts marked down from around $20 to $5.. didnt need them but was tempted to grab "just in case". No big secret for sure, but walmart almost gives stuff away to make shelf space for christmas goods. I grabbed a tube of silicon, cant go wrong there, passed on the pedestal hardware.
 
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