Much of a difference?

I was just flipping through the new Overton's catalog, looking thru the trailer section to see if there was anything they offered on the lines of trailer paint/coating(my other posted question) & came across bolt on roller bunks to replace the wooden, carpet covered ones that are on there now. The price was pretty decent & I figure I'll be spending almost as much to replace with new wood & carpeting. I've got a 17' boat & I'm wondering if the roller bunks will make all that much of a difference. Has anyone converted their trailer from wood slide bunks to rollers & what/how much of a difference did it make? TANX, MAXX

Re: Much of a difference?

Maxx,

I've only used the wooden bunks once (with our 17' bowrider) and the rollers once as well (with our 22' cuddy). The rollers were much easier to load the boat, and the cuddy just rolled right off when launching. Obviously not enough experience with either to give a valued opinion....

If you are going to replace and the rollers do not cost too much more, why not go with rollers ;-) Just be certain you have enough to reduce the stress on the hull at each roller.

Good luck!

Re: Much of a difference?

Thanks Robb, they look to have quite a few rollers per bunk. I've never really seen these before & as long as I have to take care of the rotted wood bunks on trailer anyway, might as well give these a shot. Like I said, the price difference isn't really all that much. Thanks again, MAXX

Re: Much of a difference?

I've looked at those same rollers thinking the exact same. Post your reviews once you get them on and try them out!

My biggest concern with them is that if you look at your bunk boards with the boat loaded, they are not flat anymore. They conform to the shape of the hull. With the rollers, that isn't going to happen, they are mounted to channel metal. So it might look like there are alot of rollers, but depending on the shape of your hull, very few might actually be touching. Is it a problem? Hard to say, especially considering that with bunks most of the pressure is within a couple inches of the mount points, the space inbetween does very little to support the boat.

(the more I type, the more I convince myself not to get them!)

Re: Much of a difference?

Ya, I'm not too sure either, I'm back & forth. I'll see what happens over the next few weeks with the deck work, during deck work & I'll have it off the trailer, that's why I'm looking into it now. I was on the Durabak website to ask about the prep required to apply their product to a galvanized trailer & depending on their reply will help me decide where to spend the cash I have. The weather here is going to be in the mid to upper 50's over the next 7 day's (or so the TV weather guy says) so the cover over deck I slapped in last year will be coming out & I'll get into checking stringers & transom. If I do end up with those replacement roller bunks I'll let you know how they work out.