Replacing Trailer Carpet on the Bunks

[JETJOCK]

I have a Myco trailer and want to replace the Bunk Capret with new stuff. Where is the best place and best product? Any "gotcha's" when doing this? I assume its done with a staple gun?

I want to do the best job possible!

[t500hps]

You can buy the carpet at Home Depot/Lowes and make sure you use Stainless Staples.

[OBNOXUS]

If I can make a suggestion.

I was about to do that to my last trailer,,,, I looked around for carpet,,,,, then I decided to call Eagle ( the mfg ) and price carpet,,,,, then for chits and giggles, I asked if they sold precarpeted bunks,,,,, it eas only a couple bucks more,,,,

Id call Myco and see if they would do the same !!!!!!

[Dan The Man]

I called Eagle Trailer for mine. The price was very reasonable (can't remember exactly what I paid). Anyway, they sent me the exact color my trailer originally came with. I painted my bunks flat black on the side that faces the road because to me it just looked better than wood showing where the carpet doesn't meet. My bunks are lag bolted from the underside facing up. My friend re-did his MYCO and his were carriage bolts from the top side and through bolted with a nut which seems a little better. His took longer to accomplish with the carpet going over the bolt and lining everything up.

[Magic Medicine]

these guys already made the points I would have made, if you get it from a place like west more than likely the section won't be long enough to cover each bunk with 1 piece of carpet. I would call the trailer manufacturer

[Chris]

If you're buying carpet, look for a berber. They're typically made of an olefin which won't stain the bottom of your boat or promote bacteria growth. And they're not as slippery.

A couple years ago, a guy towing a Top Gun that had just been pulled out came over a rise and hit the brakes for a stopped vehicle. The boat tore the winch stand off, went over top of his tow vehicle and killed the guy in the car in front. Obviously straps could have prevented this but slippery bunks can be a contributor.

[Sydwayz]

SOB! I just typed out a long reply and my connection went down and I lost it.
Here goes again.

I just did this on my Myco. I suggest removing the bunks and recarpeting them on the garage floor/pavement. You will be able to finish the carpet much better this way. This is also the way Myco first installs the carpet. You probably will not be able to buy carpeted bunks from Myco because the carriage bolts are installed (driven) into the wood according to the trailer tab mounts, and then they are carpeted.

Buy the longest SS staples you can find. They are harder and harder to come by.

I bought berber-like indoor/outdoor carpet from Home Depot.

I suggest buying some lumber while you are there too. My Myco trailer was only 4.5 seasons used when I bought it, and the wood was DESTROYED. As best I can tell, it was only regular pine on there. I replaced all of it with Pressure/Salt Treated Grade A Pine. (I called a friend & SOS member who owns a Cypress logging operation and mill and he said a good PT piece of pine will last as long as a piece of Cypress; just FYI.)

If you are using the same wood, you have to remove the old carpeting. If you carpet over, you will significantly lessen the life of the new carpet and the wood inside. (My trailer had been over carpeted.)

I also bought a small tub of indoor-outdoor carpet adhesive and coated the face of each board with a thin layer via putty knife. I did this on my last trailer and it really helps to keep the carpet from bunching.

I also suggest buying a 'hammer-tacker' type of staple gun. Trying to do this job with the normal palm trigger type of gun will kill you, and the electric ones are junk, or at least the ones I have tried and returned. When you have the bunk off the trailer and upside down (staple side up), you can actually swing and come in at an angle and pull the carpet tight and fasten it at the same time. It will take a bit to get the swing right, but it works awesome when you do. Do one long side of the board. Then do the other long side of the board. Then come back and do the ends. When you cut your carpet, leave a couple of LONG tabs at the ends. This will give you plenty of carpet to fold to the staple side of the board, as such you can pull the ends tight and put lots of staples in the end. You can cut off the excess when finished. I recommend leaving a 2" or so gap of wood showing between the two long sides of the board. I also did not paint mine as I was more concerned about the wood being able to dry well vs. look slightly better.

Take your time and work on your corner/end technique, especially according to the length of staples you can find. It is NOT as easy as gift wrapping a package. Try to duplicate the original carpet corner method if you can.

Myco put my trailer bunks on with just a flat washer and a regular nut. Within 10 miles of my duplicating this mounting technique, some of my nuts were already loose. I went back and removed each nut, placed a split/lock washer on each carriage bolt, and then put two nuts on each lag bolt. I will have no more loosening problems. You do NOT want to use Ny-lock nuts on these carriage bolts. When you go to remove them one day, the Ny-lock nut will hold to much tension on the carriage bolt and will spin it while trying to remove, and you will have a bigger mess on your hands.

All in all, its a bigger/longer task then it looks. My Myco has 14 boards on it, and it took me the better part of a weekend to finish including fitting, cutting, and drilling new wood. (I had one carriage bolt that refused to cooperate, and lifted itself through the new carpet; so I had to carpet 15 times total.) Then it took another two hours on the creeper to remove almost 60 nuts and reinstall almost 120 nuts and washers. I don't half ass anything, and now I know the trailer is better than when Myco delivered it new. I also did a few other improvements to the trailer while I was at it.

[Knot 4 Me]

I also recommend using some sort of carpet adhesive (I use 3M in the spray can). There is another staple material other than stainless which I used (couldn't find stainless) and it does not rust. I cannot for the life of me remember the name of the material but I picked the staples up at Lowe's (Arrow brand, I believe). I get to do this chore this spring as well. Just measured my bunks last night for new lumber.

[US1Fountain]

Monel. Better than S/S

[JETJOCK]

GREAT ADVICE GUYS, KEEP IT COMING!

Looks like I will need to do some planning before I tackle this job outright.

[baywatch]

If I can make a suggestion.

I was about to do that to my last trailer,,,, I looked around for carpet,,,,, then I decided to call Eagle ( the mfg ) and price carpet,,,,, then for chits and giggles, I asked if they sold precarpeted bunks,,,,, it eas only a couple bucks more,,,,

Id call Myco and see if they would do the same !!!!!!

How much was the shipping?? I have an Eagle as well and might need to go this route

[Fossil Fuel]

I routered the wood to a 1/2" round on all 4 edges that are next to the hull. I glued the carpet w liquid nails to the upper face only leaving the routered edges exposed. I did not wrap the bunk. No moisture, no fuss. We will see

[Sydwayz]

I routered the wood to a 1/2" round on all 4 edges that are next to the hull. I glued the carpet w liquid nails to the upper face only leaving the routered edges exposed. I did not wrap the bunk. No moisture, no fuss. We will see

I forgot about that part. I did not router the long edges of mine, but I did round over the short edges to get rid of the saw kerf.

[insanity]

If I can make a suggestion.

I was about to do that to my last trailer,,,, I looked around for carpet,,,,, then I decided to call Eagle ( the mfg ) and price carpet,,,,, then for chits and giggles, I asked if they sold precarpeted bunks,,,,, it eas only a couple bucks more,,,,

Id call Myco and see if they would do the same !!!!!!

I did that too, it was actually cheaper getting them pre-made from Eagle than doing it myself. Only thing that was a drag was the 2 hour drive there and back.

[Tony]

I found some pre cut bunk carpet on some online boat parts retailer, you ordered it by the foot and it was rediculously cheap. I will hunt for the packing slip tonight. I then used 3M spray adhesive along with staples.

[Fossil Fuel]

Pulling out the old 2000 staples is not the fun part

[Scarab KV]

GREAT ADVICE GUYS, KEEP IT COMING!

Looks like I will need to do some planning before I tackle this job outright.

When you get all good and experienced, I'll bring mine down for a visit

[JETJOCK]

When you get all good and experienced, I'll bring mine down for a visit

HA! HA!

I am gonna find a Myco Dealer and see what "other" options are available.

[Scarab KV]

HA! HA!

I am gonna find a Myco Dealer and see what "other" options are available.

lol...he thinks I'm kidding.

[Playn]

Pulling out the old 2000 staples is not the fun part

You got that right!