MacGregor Trailers

[kmclemore]

I got my bunk slides on ebay. I just did a search and if you type this in the search it should take you right there. They come in one strip sections so you can control costs. Easy to cut ect. helped me alot but I don't have bottom paint on yet either. But sure is easier to work with the boat. REPLACE BOAT TRAILER CARPET WITH WIDE BUNK SLIDES .

Gary

Link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/REPLACE- ... enameZWDVW

[bubba]

Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene, that is the stuff alright. I think it will be easier on the bottom than carpet full of salt and sand. Remember to counter sink your screws.

[DaveB]

I have a tandem aluminum trailer (5500lbs), it sits 2 inches higher than the old Mac. trailer and all the ramps I have been to in a year my back tires are at least 6 ft. above waterline. It tows like a dream and launches and retrives effortless. I have yet had to use the lower gear on the winch for haulout and pull my 4200 LB boat and trailer with my 10 year old f150 6 cylinder.
The toung length is approx. 3ft. longer than the Mac. trailer.
Each tire is rated for 1752 lbs, if I get a flat I can change or ride on one tire until I can get to a area off the road to change.
Dave

One of the many considerations hashed over when designing a boat trailer is, "Does the axle rate the load place on it?"

But then there is the issue of launch-a-bility. Lower is better. That is, having the trailored boat sit the lowest possible is king. It's where it's at. It's the brag-about-town.

"Yeah man, my boat sits lower on the trailor!"

Okay, break-out the tape measure dude!

Why? Because many a tow vehicle are lost in the drink because of having to back down the ramp farther if the boat don't float because of height above the water due to trailor restrictions. If you add an additional axle you have to deal with the trade-off it creates. That is a nominal figure of merit of .5 feet. Minimum. Higher in some cases. On slimy ramps, that could mean a difference of using a 4WD vs 2WD tow vehicles.

So there you go .. you decide.

Big T

[puggsy]

Has anyone come across the new material, a hard rubber, made from recycled car tyres. Strips of it are used as verticasl buffers on docks and jetties. They too are bolted on with countersunk bolt heads. Something like this might be able to replace the timber/ carpet original setup...Puggsy

[Rick Westlake]

Has anyone come across the new material, a hard rubber, made from recycled car tyres. Strips of it are used as verticasl buffers on docks and jetties. They too are bolted on with countersunk bolt heads. Something like this might be able to replace the timber/ carpet original setup...Puggsy

Uhhh ... have you considered the coefficient of friction of recycled-tyre rubber? I have my doubts that you could slide a Mac up out of the water and onto recycled-rubber bunks. Rubber is awfully sticky.

I had to replace my bunks last month, in something of a hurry - one of them was half-off the trailer frame - and so I used regular bunk carpet from We$$t Marine. I've been using Liquid Rollers" to make it easier to recover Bossa Nova. But next time I launch her, I'm going to take a few moments to measure the trailer-bunks - and see how many 54" strips of "WIDE BUNK SLIDES" it'll need.

[Rick Westlake]

Checked the website a couple of days ago - these bunk-slides are 3" wide and 54" long. They recommend putting it right on top of the existing bunk carpet (which appeals to me, as I replaced my bunks last month and covered with bunk carpet).

I just checked the bunks on my 1999 26X trailer - the midships and aft bunks are each made up of two 31"-long boards.

My belief is that I could put a 27-inch slide centered on each 31-inch board, and that would support the boat very well ... then I could buy one extra slide to cover the bow "vee-bunk" and the aft guide-bunks, for a total of three slides.

Or should I buy four strips, and cover the entire boards end-to-end? I'd be left with four 23" pieces to do the bow "vee-bunks" and the aft bunk-guides.

Well ... how much more does that cost? Maybe the extra certainty is worth the extra materials.

I got my bunk slides on ebay. I just did a search and if you type this in the search it should take you right there. They come in one strip sections so you can control costs. Easy to cut ect. helped me alot but I don't have bottom paint on yet either. But sure is easier to work with the boat. REPLACE BOAT TRAILER CARPET WITH WIDE BUNK SLIDES .

Gary

Link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/REPLACE- ... enameZWDVW

[puggsy]

Ric, you make a good point there...I was suggesting that the rubber replace the timber, and you could still have the carpet or silicone material on top of that again...The pine used on the factory built trailers seems to get a bit soggy and have a limited life. It would not be too bad if it was cedar or some other good boatbuilding timber. Puggsy

[csm]

Puggsy,
check out Rumber.........http://www.rumber.com/

[Rick Westlake]

Puggsy, that's a possibility - when you put it that way....

When I replaced the bunk timbers on my trailer, I used pressure-treated lumber; it's impregnated with some stuff that makes it extremely rot-resistant. The biggest expense was the carpet - and now that I've ordered those bunk slides, that is money that I wasted.

By the way, the eBay Motors link (above) expired; eBay doesn't keep an "auction" link or a "Buy It Now" link all that long. But I searched "bunk slides" on eBay Motors and found the right stuff right away.

$82 bought me four 54" pieces, plus shipping. It isn't cheap.

More when I get it - Rick

Ric, you make a good point there...I was suggesting that the rubber replace the timber, and you could still have the carpet or silicone material on top of that again...The pine used on the factory built trailers seems to get a bit soggy and have a limited life. It would not be too bad if it was cedar or some other good boatbuilding timber. Puggsy