Last year I bought a Lund 1625 Rebel XL SS package with the 50 hp 2 cyc. Merc and the Shorelandr trailer that's part of the package. (Great package, great boat for a retiree that does a lot of fishing alone! I love it. Upgraded the bowmount to a MinnKota, but otherwise it's the standard Lund package.) The rig made two trips to NW Ontario last summer, only limited local fishing because of a back injury during the 2nd Canada trip, and one Canada trip thus far this year.

My question concerns very uneven wear of the bunk carpet. Having only had roller trailers in the past, I'm not familiar with bunks and what's usual. The trailer is set up specifically for this boat/package. After one year of limited use, the carpet on the front third of the bunk on both side is almost totally worn off. The back two thirds of the bunks shows some limited obvious wear, but nothing out of the ordinary. The wear is the same on both sides.

There is no adjustment possible for the bunks, they're fixed as to distance apart, height, etc. But it seems to me that the boat and trailer are not matching properly. The only adjustment I can think of is the position of winch post, but it has never been moved from the factory set up position. Any ideas from you more experienced bunk trailer owners, mechanics, etc.

By the way, I always have the winch strap tight enought to keep the boat firmly against the bow stop, and I use the transom tiedowns that came with the boat, not gunwale tiedowns. Any ideas?

Most center bunks will wear like that. That section of the bunk gets the most wear and will wear sooner than the rest of the bunk. The hull is wearing the spot while loading and unloading, especially on steeper ramps...when unloading, as the stern raises it forces the bow down causing wear near the front of the bunk as you back off the trailer. When loading the hull is hitting that same spot.

Silicone spray will help. Boat unloaded, bunks dry...give the bunks a good spray down paying special attention to the front of the center bunks. The silicone spray will help the boat load/unload easier and it will cause less wear. I spray my bunks once a month or so. Another thing that helps is...before loading, back the trailer in so all the bunk gets wet, then pull forward to where your boat loads best...on most trailers the front bunks are out of the water a ways, this is the spot that wears, by getting that section wet, the boat will slide easier and cause less wear.

When it comes time to replace the carpet, use quality carpet that's thicker. The cost is going to be more but you'll get much better life out of it. I'm guessing the stuff that comes stock on the shorelander isn't a very quality carpet.

BIRDDOG

Last year I bought a Lund 1625 Rebel XL SS package with the 50 hp 2 cyc. Merc and the Shorelandr trailer that's part of the package. (Great package, great boat for a retiree that does a lot of fishing alone! I love it. Upgraded the bowmount to a MinnKota, but otherwise it's the standard Lund package.) The rig made two trips to NW Ontario last summer, only limited local fishing because of a back injury during the 2nd Canada trip, and one Canada trip thus far this year.

My question concerns very uneven wear of the bunk carpet. Having only had roller trailers in the past, I'm not familiar with bunks and what's usual. The trailer is set up specifically for this boat/package. After one year of limited use, the carpet on the front third of the bunk on both side is almost totally worn off. The back two thirds of the bunks shows some limited obvious wear, but nothing out of the ordinary. The wear is the same on both sides.

There is no adjustment possible for the bunks, they're fixed as to distance apart, height, etc. But it seems to me that the boat and trailer are not matching properly. The only adjustment I can think of is the position of winch post, but it has never been moved from the factory set up position. Any ideas from you more experienced bunk trailer owners, mechanics, etc.

By the way, I always have the winch strap tight enought to keep the boat firmly against the bow stop, and I use the transom tiedowns that came with the boat, not gunwale tiedowns. Any ideas?

sounds to me like you are right, something is wrong when you have bunk carpet almost worn through with only 1 year of limited use. bunk carpet should last longer than one year especially with limited use. Either bunks not set right or cheap carpet

"especially on steeper ramps...when unloading, as the stern raises it forces the bow down causing wear near the front of the bunk as you back off the trailer. When loading the hull is hitting that same spot."

That may be it.

maybe the ramp that you do use the most is uneven and the wear side is the side your trailer sits up higher? Do you back in your trailer far enough when you load, so that you are floating more up on the trailer for less friction.

It doesn't seem like loading/unloading would cause that much wear in so little time. Instead, I speculate that it is wear arising during towing.

If it is wear due to towing, and since it is at the front of your bunks, I guess your bow is lifting during towing.

A winch strap/cable pulls at near a horizontal direction. I found with my rig, on certain roads, the bow of the boat moved up and down several inches because there isn't much to stop the bow moving vertical when towing. This motion is a function of the spring action in the rear axle of the tow vehicle, combined with regular bumps in the pavement such as expansion joints.

Consequently, I installed an additional bow strap the runs from the boat bow ring vertically down to the trailer. Combined with the winch strap, the bow is held solidly in place this way. Even if this doesn't resolve your bunk wear problem, you should have a second bow strap for safety, and it will settle a lot of the boat motion and your rig will run smoother when towing.

Thanks for the replies with the insights and suggestions they offer. Ya'll have given me a variety of things to consider and pay attention to as I launch, load, and tow. Appreciate it..........JayM

You know what happens when you "ASSUME". Lots of time the dealers set up the boat and trailer. That is what happened to me. And, it was wrong. I had to reajust the whole thing. Found out later, the dealer had some idiots working for him.

Jay,
If you don't have one, buy and use a bow tie down strap as follows:

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_23467_225010000_225000000_225010000_225-10-0

The bow tie down strap, keeps the boat from bouncing vertically on the trailer causing bunk wear.
The winch strap and transom strap keeps the boat from moving horizontally, but you need to buy and use the bow tie down straps to keep the boat from moving vertically.

Take care
REW

p.s.
If you don't have a tie down point on the trailer, it is nice to install one to avoid having to loop a strap around a trailer member for a bow tie down strap.

If you have a solid mounting point directly below the boats bow eye, you can simply drill a hole in the trailer and bolt in a 1/2 inch sized bolt - bow eye. Then, use a double ended snap over latch - web strap to tie the bow eye down to the trailer eye bolt.

Take care
REW

Yes... a lot of wear for the short period of time.
I agree...obviously this is happening when you are trailering the boat...not when launching and loading.

If it is a ShoreLand'r...it is adjustable
Crawl underneath , take your tape measurer.....and make sure that both bunks are set the same.

I suspect the worn bunk is set one hole too high on the front end of the bunk. Or is mounted intoward the center more that the other.