Re: Boat Trailer Repair
Well...we took the bat to the river and had a good day...upon going to get the trailer my wife noticed one of the long bunks was almost completely ready to fall off!! Two of the screws were missing and the front one was barely in the wood. You could grrab the bung and move it to the side.
Imagine trying to put the boat on the trailer to have it move over! I called the dealer about getting it repaired and they quoted me $580-$620 dollars to replace them all!!!!!!
You guys should check the screws on your trailers for them getting loose. The warranty on the trailer is only one year so I basically am on my own.
I feel your pain bought my Tahoe used and had to replace all of mine with in a couple of months. From what I can figure is the boat was stored outside with a cover and when it rained water just rolled down the side of the hull and into the carpet on the bunks holding moisture over time and just rotting them with in a couple of years. I keep it stored indoors now and mine are rock solid even after a few years. (also wonder if they use pressure treated lumber or not when making these since they fail so quickly)
I will throw my 2 cents in and tell you how I did mine. The bunks on my trailer came from the factory just secured with a lag bolt from underneath the bunk, screwed through a hole in the arm off the frame up into the wood and about half had already worked there way out and were missing when I realized I had a problem.
Hint #1 dont buy bunk carpet precut its way OVERPRICED ...... go to a local carpet shop and ask if they have any leftover remnant pieces of heavy duty outdoor or marine carpet that are big enough to cover your bunks.
#2 Go to Lowes, Home Depot ect buy your pressure treated lumber (in my case was 2- 2X6's inner bunks and 2 - 2X4's outer bunks dont remember the lengths ) Instead of using lag screws again get carriage bolts long enough to go through the lumber and the hole on the arm mount of the trailer, big fender washers and nylon lock nuts, you will also need something to secure the carpet to the bunk my suggestion would be stainless steel staples if you have access to a staple gun.
#3 If your boat is on the trailer more than likely you will need a second pair of hands to measure the next step. Get underneath and measure hole to hole where the mounting holes will line up on your new bunk. When you have them measured and marked drill a hole through the wood just big enough to get the bolt shaft through. Now take your bolts one at a time on each hole placing them through the wood install your washer and nut and tighten down the bolt till the head of the carriage bolt becomes flush with the top side of the wood on the bunk so when you install your carpet there is nothing sticking up under the carpet to damage the hull. Now remove all your washers and nuts and the bolt will be secured into the wood and will not come out. Now install your carpet over the bunks.
#4 Take the boat the water launch it ...... preferably somewhere that the boat can be tied up and not in the way of other people launching. Remove the old bunks and install the new ones provided you have measured correctly it should be a 10 minute job. Just make sure you have all the right sockets and tools needed.
Anyway like I said just my two cents, they will never come loose again and being wet all the time should never be a issue with me again accept for launching and loading. I got a remnant piece of really nice heavy duty rubber backed carpet for $10 not the cheap stuff you see tearing and ripping on other peoples bunks and most likely what they sell you that is precut in a roll. Pressure treated lumber, stainless hardware and stainless staples ran me around $60 if I remember right and a afternoon of my time. $580 to $620 is bunk in my opinion no pun intended lol...... good luck on your repair whatever route you choose.
