Pontoon Boat Trailer Replacemnet bunks?

Big Bubba · #1 December 29th, 2008, 09:16 PM

Hello to everyone and Happy Holidays to all of you,
Anyway, I am thinking about Springtime/summer time already and I want to start getting my pontoon boat ready for the water when that first warm day gets here. Here is my question, I want to replace all the bunks on my pontoon boat trailer and I was wanting to know what you guys do and were you go to get the supplies at for a cheap price. What I was going to do is measure my existing bunks to see ehat I need to get wood wise and buy some grey outdoor boat carpert to cover the pressure treated wood up and I was going to use wood staples to staple the wood onto the new bunk wood. I was going to get all of this stuff from the local Lowes in town. Just wanted to get your thoughts before I went out to buy this stuff. Thanks again, Bob

tashasdaddy · #2 January 1st, 2009, 06:15 AM

#1 do not use pressure treated, the chemical can leach thru the carpet. the chemical is not good for aluminum. HD, and Lowes has a 2 ft wide gray carpet runner, Heavy Duty, it make fantastic bunk carpet, and hold up for many years. i have to do mine this year also. i plan on launching the boat. and running the trailer back home (only 2 miles) do the bunks, and reload. i will do this on a week day, because right next to the ramp is my friend who has a welding shop, he will cut all the bunk bolts off so i have a clean slate to work on.

5150abf · #3 January 1st, 2009, 08:42 AM

I used just run of the mill 2x4s on mine and they are still fine after 6-7 years.

If you wanted you could put something like Thompsons on them first but that is only if you want.

I would see if you can get some stainless steel staples as that will be your weak point as they will probably rust first but other than that it sounds like you have it down.

I had a bunch of stainless screws laying around and used those to hold my carpet on.

Good luck.

tashasdaddy · #4 January 1st, 2009, 09:12 AM

roofing nails work well also, just seam the carpet on the back side.

Big Bubba · #5 January 1st, 2009, 10:50 AM

Happy New Years everyone. O.K. so I will not use pressure treated wood and use regular pine wood and I will treat it first with Thompsons water seal after I cutt the wood to proper length and drill the mounting holes in it. TASHASDADDY do you have a picture of what that runner carpet looks like so I have an ideal what to buy or make sure I buy the right stuff? Thanks again for your help and one more thing will regular pine wood purchased from Lowes be o.k. to use for bunk replacements on that Pontoon Boat trailer or do you purchase a different type of wood besides pressure treated since it eats threw your aluminum toons? Take care, Bob

tashasdaddy · #6 January 1st, 2009, 11:50 AM

regular pine with a few knots as possible, http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=287120

Big Bubba · #7 January 1st, 2009, 02:57 PM

Thank you Tashasdaddy. I will go to Lowes and get the best looking non-treated pine without any knots on it. I will probably treat the wood, since it's not treated, with Thompson water treatment just to make sure she last a while and I will get the 2 foot wide hall carpet runner grey color your talking about to cover the bunks up. I am looking forward to doing this myself but I have to wait until the weather warms up in the spring time to do it. I am just pre-planning this task right now before I actually do it. Thanks again, Bob

Big Bubba · #8 January 2nd, 2009, 09:05 PM

Hello again,
I went to the Local Home Depot while my wife and 2 daughters where getting there haircutts so I could keep myself occupied and keep from getting bored watching them get hair cutts today, LOL

. Anyway, at Home Depot, I see they sale 6 foot wide carpet Grey color that is used to go on and around the pool deck area and it is pretty cheap, $.49 a square yard and is used for both indoor/outdoor. Will this work or should I go with the 2 foot wide hall runners instead? Also, I can get Cedar wood for the replacement bunks and can be spcial ordered for the size I need. They only sale it in 8 foot long boards and I need 10 foot long boards, I believe, becuase I still have to measure the length of my current bunks that is on it. Sorry to ask so many questions but I want to do this job good a right the first time without having to worry about replacing the bunks again in say about 1 year. Thanks a bunch, Bob

Goodwater · #9 January 3rd, 2009, 05:01 PM

BB,
Check the underside of your runner to see how it is attached. Maybe all you will need is a cordless drill, and an undersize drill for the lag screws a socket wrench, and maybe new carpet.
I changed mine twice, took it to the lake on a wednesday when no one else was around, beached the boat , brought along the supplies and did it in about an hour. Used the same carpet, took out the old staples and put in new. Bought a new heavy duty stapler at Home Depot, made it easy.
Kept the boat for 15 years, and now regret selling it.
Bought 12' pine each time.
91'Basstracker/60 hp Ev
Good luck

Big Bubba · #10 January 3rd, 2009, 08:32 PM

O.K. That is what I will do. Me, I make things harder than what they are sometimes. I will buy untreated Pine wood and get staples for my staple gun and buy the bunk carpet at Lowes. Yes, my runners have through-bolts holding them on o I am hoping to use the same bolt nuts and all I have to do is buy new wood, carpet and staples to hold the carpet onto the new wood bunks. Also, what length staples do you recommend me getting? Take care, Bob

tashasdaddy · #11 January 4th, 2009, 07:02 AM

i use 1/2 inch staples. check out your situation, and see if you can use lag bolts rather then, thru bolting. i hate to see a head and washer on the finished surface.

crspang · #12 January 4th, 2009, 05:17 PM

"and it is pretty cheap, $.49 a square yard and is used for both indoor/outdoor"

I'll bet it is $.49 a square foot. There are nine sq feet in a sq yard. The cost of the carpet is probably $4.50 per yard.

tashasdaddy · #13 January 5th, 2009, 09:51 AM

i like one piece carpet, do not like to splice.

papasage · #14 January 6th, 2009, 08:06 AM

my pontoon trailer has rollers on it . i thought about changing it to wood bunks . it is a fairly old boat it seams to not be any wear in the spots where it sits on the rollers but i moved it back of the rollers a few inches to keep the wear frome the same spot .i think i will leave them .
as far as wood and carpet the bunks don`t git wet enough to worry about rot . i use old scrap house carpet . if it rots i take it to the lake while it is off the trailer i just replace it . i also use galvanize roof nails instead of staples .pine is a little to soft for staples .