Boat slip during bunker replacement

[dwayneb]

Anyone know or have the best method of replacing carpet on trailer bunks...do you try renting a slip? My lund is 21ft and around 3,000lbs. Trailer bunks are pretty long...I've heard of guys making a jig and jacking up the boat high enough to get the old bunks off but with an aluminum boat of this size im not so sure...

Thoughts please?
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[packfish]

I am sorta in the same position- I am going to go down to the lake and tell me son-in law to go trolling for the afternoon and I am taking the trailer and dealing with it.
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[perchinski]

Buddy & I changed out his 4 bunks on 18' Crestliner Fish Hawk last summer..........
glue & carpet your measured replacements at home, take necessary hardware & tools with you, drop boat in lake, replace up in pkg lot, saw up old bunks & toss in dumpster.
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[Kent]

I have built my bunks at home, launched the boat at the marina and installed the bunks in the marina parking lot, and then went fishing.
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[TRUBBS]

What the others have said, Helped my buddy do his just last weekend, he had it all glued up and ready, launched the boat & did it in the parking lot
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[wiperhunter2]

Yea, people do it without renting a boat slip all the time, if the docks are too busy to leave your boat tied to it, just beach your boat on the shore.
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[dwayneb]

Good ideas thanks everyone I think I'll use mantua cause its not so bust and I can just beach the bow...
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[wiperhunter2]

If you do go to Mantua, you might want to call Barney first, just to make sure he won't give you a ticket for working on the trailer in the parking lot[:/].
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[jekern1015]

When I did mine a few years back on a 17' tracker, I cut and carpeted the bunks first. Then I grabbed a 2x10 that i had laying around , I beleive it was 8', and put under boat and jacked one side of boat up untill it was no longer touching bunk. I used 2 bottle jacks on the 2x10, slid old bunk out and put new bunk in its place. Then repeated the same process for other side. Did all this on the side of my house.
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[Old_Coot]

+1
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[Therapist]

I did mine last summer. Made the bunks at home, hauled em to AF Harbor, launched and tied up at the dock, then switched em out. I even threw the old ones in the dumpster at the harbor.

Now, if you don't want to make em yourself, Metal Craft Trailers in SLC will make em for you, for a price. Measure your existing bunks, make sure you let them know where the lags are located and they will make em up. Not sure on price.

Have fun??

[Tin-Can]

I know this is several months behind your original post. I just saw it. Had been changing the bunks for my 14 ft. Lund same way many here have stated. Put the boat in the water at Willard south, replace the bunks in the parking lot. This year I did something a bit different. I got 2 pieces of 2x4 Trex 10 feet long. Drilled the holes for the stove bolts, counter sunk them so the bolt heads are recessed. Mounted the 2x4 to the bunk brackets, then carpeted it with gray indoor / outdoor carpet from Lowes. Wrapped the carpet around to the bottom of the planks, and fastened it on with 1 inch course thread hex head screws. Now I shouldn't need to replace the planks any more (Trex is water proof) and can replace the carpet as needed without pulling the bunk off.
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[Kent]

Where does one purchase Trex?
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[wiperhunter2]

Not sure where Forest got his Trex but I got mine at Lowes but I bet Home Depot has it as well. Its the same as the stuff you use for decking. Its pretty expensive compared to wood but like Forest said it doesn't rot, so its money well spent, especially if you plan on having the boat for a while.
http://www.lowes.com/search?searchTerm=pricing+for+trex

http://www.lowes.com/cd_Trex+Decking_1336057156_
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[Tin-Can]

The Trex I bought is thicker than the decking material. It is a "real" 2 x 4 size, and was difficult to find. Lowes and Home Depot had the decking stuff that is about 5.5" wide by about 3/4" thick with the contours on one side that allow air to pass between the bottom of the decking and the support joists they are screwed to. That is too thin over an 8 to 10 foot span on a boat trailer that only has support brackets at each end unless you sister 3 or 4 layers of trex decking together, and that is way more expensive than I wanted to pay. I went to Burton Lumber off of Gordon in Layton. They had some 2 x 4 solid Trex timbers 20 feet long. They charged me $20.00 for one of them and even cut it in half for me so it would load in my truck. Should last several years more than even the pressure treated 2 x 6 I used last year. Course, my boat isn't real heavy, and the bunks are holding up quite well. If you have a longer boat & trailer and can support the trex on each end as well as near the middle, I think it will work quite nice.
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[Kent]

Thanks, next time I need to replace one of mine I think I will go with Trex.
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