Trailer conversion( rollers to bunks)

[gman 82 aquasport]

Was wondering how hard it is to convert a roller trailer to bunks? The way the cross beams are laid out on both sides of the axles(if front of and behind about 5 ft apart) makes it seem to not be that bad, just wondering if you need a cross beam closer to the front for a keel roller or small bunks to hold up the bow area? The biggest obsticle I've come to so far by looking at it is that I may have to move my fenders out 1 to 1 1/2 inches per side to get the boat on with bunks as it may ride a little lower than it does on the rollers ..and I may not be able to drop the motor all the way down unless it's on about 3 inches of planks or I have a 4inch divot under the foot.Any advise will be appreciated. :pirat: I am thinking of doing this as bunks can be put under the stringers and all my rollers need replacing and I thought this would be a good time to change it over as it would probably be less expensive to convert than to buy 32 rollers and hardware to put them on. :)

[John Jones]

Pictures would help but with bunks, very little if any weight should be on the keel rollers or V-guides.  On a properly built and adjusted trailer all the weight goes on the bunks.  Weight on the front keel is a good way to knock a hole in the keel.  (think potholes)

$0.02

[gman 82 aquasport]

I was thinking the keel rollers would only be used to guide the hull on until it gets on the bunks, such as on the rear crossmember, the keel roller is only there to keep the hull off the crossmember until the hull gets on the bunks....on the front, I was looking to put a keel roller or something like that to align the hull so it would go right to the winch upright without dipping to low...I will post a pic or 2 of the trailer as itsits now wiyh rollers tommorrow after gatting home from station in the AM..

[gman 82 aquasport]

OK today we have pics..

This is a side shot of the front area, was wondering if I would need to add a crossmember here to put a small set of bunks for the front or something of the sort..

This is from the front, I have 2 crossmembers to attatch bunks to..the problem I think is that the bunkd will have to be high to clear the hull over the fenders, as it sits on the rollers the sides of the hull are just inside the fender line but above them about 2 inches, I can move the fenders out about 1 in or so each side.

Front crossmember in front of front axle..

Rear of trailer, I would have to slide boat forward about 3-4 inches. I have room to do so, front upright is toward the rear as is..

My thought was to use the brackets that hold the roller arms to the crossmember as the brackets that would hold a 4x8 piece of wood for the bunk, or buy new brackets that hold a 2x4 flat  for the bunk. these brackets come in lenghts  from 6in to 16in...any input is appreciated :pirat:

[Curious]

I did a lot of work on a trailer that was given to me recently.  New washers, nylon bushings, hog rings, etc.  In hindsight I should have converted to bunks.  If I were you I would just use the L shaped brackets that come off the crossmembers to slip a carpeted bunk in on edge.  They are pretty much infinately adjustable as far as width.  You just need to figure out the angle to cut into the run of the bunk to match the hull angle so you don't have the hull sitting on a sharp edge of wood.  Once you get it set up you should make sure the bunks are directly under your stringers for the best support.  I plan on doing this in a coupld of years once everything I just replaced is rusting off........

[roadasprin]

I just changed my trailer from rollers to bunks and was a fairly easy job. I used the L brackets that bolt to trailer and had a local saw mill cut my bunks out of 4inchwide and 10 inch tall cypress and put nylon bunk covers over them worked out great and about the cost of 2 of the roller sets. I also put center rollers the keep the hull off the trailer while loading and unloading . And as previously mentioned had them cut at an angle to match hull .

[gman 82 aquasport]

Thanks roadasprin and Curious for the info, my plan seems to leaning toward using the brackets that attatch the roller assemblies to the crossmembers as brackets for a beam, will try and find cypress around here if possible, if not I'm thinking of using lvl(laminated beam) I can get one of them in 1 day....2 keel rollers for the crosmembers to keep the keel off the crossmember while it's being loaded, just wondering if anything is needed up front between front member and the winch.... I can get a new crossmember fairly easy..I don't want a problem with the bow dipping and having to run up on the winch roller.. :pirat:

[dburr]

It would be wise to add a support forward for a keel roller and would also allow you to run the bunks further forward. If you have any doubts and you can add a piece just do it and you will sleep better and worry less when you are going down the road.  

I plan on making the same conversion at some point for my 222 only my worry is going to be that the tralier frame is about 2 feet shorter then I would like it to be.

[Curious]

The trailer that I fixed up recently is a little too short for my 222 FF, but it was free.  I moved the winch stand forward a little which obviously translates into more tongue weight but I don't have to go too far so its not that big of a deal.  I do have a problem with the bow wanting to bump into the forward crossmember where the trailer transitions into the tongue so I'll have to put a keel roller there.  I'll try to get a picture to show you what I mean.  

Bottom line is you are on the right track with converting to bunks.  A friend of mine has a 25 Grady on a bunk trailer and it slides right off no problem.  Putting it back on is just as easy.  One guy on the winch cranking and one on the throttles helping it on.  He has starboard glide slicks on top of the bunks.  Just make sure you get the angle right to match the deadrise and get them under the stringers.  And watch out if you screw glide slicks onto the top of the bunks. After repeated wet/dry cycles the screws have a tendancy to loosen up and back out.  Sucks to put gouge down the whole length of the bottom.

Here's that picture:

[gman 82 aquasport]

curious,  thanks for the info, I have been looking at a small roller that mounts on the end of the tongue so it doesn't let the keel dig into it. going to remove the roller chassis tommorrow while the paint on the boat is drying. I already have my keel rollers picked out(trailerpartsdepot.com)just need to order them and find some cypress for the bunks..If I measured right my bunks will be between 10 and 12 inches tall. need to get the boat up within 2 inches of where it was on rollers so it will clear the fenders good. I have about 3 inches to play with between the fenders, before it sat about 2 inches above them, but still inside the fender line. I'll post some pics as I get to putting it together.. :pirat:

[gman 82 aquasport]

Bunk Question!!!!
I have been looking for cypress bunks, can find them,they would be 4x10x 10 ft, but have a question about bunks in general, hopefully someone on here can enlighten me....
I have been looking at the type of bunk suppports that are galvanized metal and bolt to the crossmembers, they come in differing heights and have a swival top to set hull angle and you can use 2x4 or 2x6 for the tops( bunks) covered with covering of your choice....Will these work on a Aquasport hull and not cause any support problems...my setup would be 2 bunks on these supports placed under the stringers and they would be about 10 to 10 1/2 feet long, would use keel pollers on both crossmembers to keep keel off them and would have a front low rolller at end of the tongue to keep keel up so as not let the bow dip and hit the winchstand below the bow roller... any info is appreciated as I will be ordering parts one way or the other on Monday 4/2

[gman 82 aquasport]

Plus, sorry had a brainfart this morning, I have seen the brackets with a 4x6 treated used on them and covered, it was on a 22 ft  bowrider with a V-8 I/O....it was riding on 2 bunks and had keel rollers that were not supporting anything, just to keep the keel off the crossmember...had to weigh more than my C/C 19-6 footer with an outboard(150) :pirat:

[Curious]

Try easternmarine.com, trailerpartsdepot.com and boattrailerpartssuperstore.com

[gman 82 aquasport]

Done deal, ordered keel rollers and brackets and a disc brake setup from trailerpartsdepot, ordered bunk brackets 8in for solid standup bunks from easternmarine, brakes came in Friday, other stuff will be in Monday..going to use a triple 2x10 Treated beam each side 10 ft long for bunks , will make the bunks 4 1/2 inches wide rounded on the end and covered with marine carpet for now...anybody need 4 roller chassis , with good rollers and all new bolts(2011) Pm me and I'll send pics, will probably be listing them on here and craigslist

[Curious]

Make sure you take some pics and post them here before you but the boat back on.  I'm probably going to end up doing this at some point down the road.  Thanks for the thread.