Time to redo my bunk carpet. Suggestions welcomed

fishs · #1 11-17-2020, 05:42 AM

The last foot of my 2017 bunk broke on my shorelandr trailer so I have to replace that and the carpet on all 4 bunks also needs replacement. I'm guessing I may have another surprise or two when I remove the carpet. Never did any bunk repair before so any suggestions are welcomed. There were mushrooms growing on the broken section (no joke).

REW · #2 11-17-2020, 07:49 AM

Obtain some nice oversized cyprus lumber and redo the bunks.

The key is to use very rot resistant wood for the bunks.

Some of the most rot resistant wood is soft wood. If that is the case, then oversize the bunks from the current bunks to have sufficient load carrying ability.

https://creatorskills.com/woods-that-do-not-rot/

Best wishes.

egladding · #3 11-17-2020, 08:47 AM

Buy pressure treated and use gatorbak xp bunk covers. They can be expensive depending on the size and length of your bunks but totally worth it in my opinion. It cost me about $450 to do mine for my ZV18 trailer. There were 2 6' sections and 2 11' sections of 2x6's. By using these covers the pressure treated will last longer than non treated and the PT will never come into contact with your aluminum if that is the type of boat you have.

djcoop52 · #4 11-17-2020, 09:48 AM

You can go online BP or other sources and get a roll of the carpet for bunks get a roll long enough and the width needed to match close to yours, remove the carpet from your bunks use that as a template to cut the sizes you need buy some stainless staples and a staple gun if you dont have one, replace the lumber if needed (personally I would stay away from pressure treated) and install the new carpet not a hard job at all im sure there are you tube videos if that helps.

therealjoeblow · #5 11-17-2020, 12:11 PM

Question, why are bunks carpeted all around? It seems to me that the only benefit is for aesthetics, but at the cost of longevity, because having carpet on the bottom locks in all that moisture unnecessarily and keeps the wood soaking wet way longer than it needs to be causing earlier rot. And mushrooms to grow, as you found.

I just carpet mine over the top and folded down over each side 3/4", just enough to get stainless steel staples in. I also put a few beads of silicone on the top of the wood and spread that out to a thin coating with a spatula and let it fully cure before putting on the carpet. That keeps the wet carpet from saturating the top of the wood longer than necessary. The wood dries out very quickly that way after coming out of the water.

Cheers
TRJB