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Difference Between Carpet and Plastic Boat Trailer Bunks

Difference Between Carpet and Plastic Boat Trailer Bunks
December 19, 2017 Ultra High
carpet-vs-plastic-boat-trailer-bunks

Difference Between Carpet and Plastic Boat Trailer Bunks

One of the ques­tions we often get asked by read­ers and cus­tomers is the impor­tant ques­tion; What is the dif­fer­ence between car­pet boat trail­er bunks and plas­tic boat trail­er bunk guides.

The aim of this arti­cle is to high­light the main prop­er­ties and dif­fer­ences of each mate­r­i­al so you can see how and when each boat trail­er bunk can and should be used and why.

In Amer­i­ca; boat trail­ers around the coun­try rely pri­ma­ry on a bunk set­up to help launch and retrieve boats. It is impor­tant to use the cor­rect mate­ri­als on your boat trail­er to enable a quick, easy and effi­cient launch and retrieve at the boat ramp. 

Carpet Boat Trailer Bunks

boat-trailer-bunk-boards-carpet-ripped-blackCar­pet boat trail­er bunks are tra­di­tion­al­ly designed to be used on fiber­glass boat hulls. Marine car­pet is gen­er­al­ly made out of a polypropy­lene mate­r­i­al which is actu­al­ly the same as plas­tic boat trail­er keel rollers and oth­er bunk cov­er pro­files just in a dif­fer­ent form. The over­all prop­er­ties of the two are very sim­i­lar in nature.

Car­pet boat trail­er bunk use with alu­mini­um boat hulls: In the past, only avail­able to boat own­ers in the US were car­pet boat bunk guides. When using car­pet with alu­mini­um hulls, you are short­en­ing the lifes­pan of your bunks. Due to the car­pet pro­file, alu­mini­um hulls cause fric­tion when launch­ing and retriev­ing. Your boat will be hard to push or pull onto your boat trail­er, and even­tu­al­ly the car­pet will begin to rip or tear which can cause dam­age to your boats hull and trail­er cost­ing you alot more mon­ey to repair.

Car­pet boat trail­er bunk use with fiber­glass hulls: For boat own­ers with fiber­glass hulls; whether you own a bot or jet ski is often the pre­ferred mate­r­i­al to sup­port your ves­sels hull. Often viewed as a more ide­al mate­r­i­al as it is soft­er in nature it is believed to pro­tect the fiber­glass gel coat and allow for a more gen­tle launch and retrieve. Over time; fric­tion between the two mate­ri­als can occur and your car­pet will begin to dete­ri­o­rate which will mean you will need to replace your bunk car­pet. With prop­er care of your ves­sel and boat trail­er, Fiber­glass hulls can enjoy a sim­ply use when using car­pet boat bunks.

Plastic Boat Trailer Bunks

Boat Trailer Bunks PlasticAlthough rea­son­ably new to the US boat­ing mar­ket, plas­tic boat trail­er bunks are per­fect for use with alu­mini­um boat hulls and trail­ers. Plas­tic boat trail­er bunks man­u­fac­tured by Ultra High Plas­tics are made out of polypropy­lene mate­r­i­al. Plas­tic boat bunk guides allow for alu­mini­um hulls to rest bet­ter while in tran­sit on the boat trail­er to and from the boat ramp. When in the water, the prop­er­ties of both mate­ri­als (polypropy­lene plas­tic and alu­mini­um boat hulls) allows for a quick and easy launch. Many boat own­ers who use plas­tic boat trail­er bunks often find they only need to touch their boats and they come slid­ing off with lit­tle to no effort when launch­ing. When retriev­ing; the boat own­er can winch or dri­ve their boat back onto their trail­er again with lit­tle to no effort at all. 

Unlike car­pet bunks which act as resis­tance to alu­mini­um hulls when launch­ing and retriev­ing, plas­tic boat bunks do the oppo­site. The two mate­ri­als are designed to work with each oth­er. Unlike car­pet which tends to rip and tear over time, plas­tic is designed to do the oppo­site and offer the boat own­er a much longer life span and eas­i­er use when oper­at­ed correctly. 

Plas­tic boat trail­er bunk guides by Ultra High are UV resis­tant & extrud­ed using vir­gin mate­ri­als makes them per­fect for use in all weath­er con­di­tions. Ultra High has start­ed devel­op­ing boat trail­er parts for the Aus­tralian boat trail­er mar­ket over 30 years ago and is now the indus­try stan­dard prod­uct for use on boat trail­ers for alu­mini­um boats. 

Which Material Is Better To Use? Carpet or Plastic Bunk Guide Material?

It is the opin­ion of many that; if you own an alu­mini­um boat, jon boat, bass boat, fish­ing boat — you should use plas­tic bunks to help sup­port and launch / retrieve your ves­sel. Long life, UV resis­tant, tough and durable, nat­u­ral­ly slip­pery (no lubri­cants required) & less like­ly to crack, split or tear like car­pet bunks help make these boat trail­er parts per­fect for use. 

If you own a fiber­glass boat, due to the soft­er designed pro­file, it is often found that many boat own­ers pre­fer marine car­pet. Despite being hard­er to launch and retrieve, marine car­pet is often more gen­tle on the gel coat­ing of your boat which can help you save costs in the long run if it were to get dam­aged at all. 

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