Protecting bunk carpet from sun damage?

[CZSteve]

I'm going re-carpet our trailer bunks and also use idadell70's idea of using the plastic lattice trick on the forward area.
The toon is kept in a slip and we only use the trailer twice a year; trailer is stored outdoors in the Texas sun.

- Anyone cover their bunks to protect from UV damage? What do you use?

- When re-carpeting the bunks: Best to leave the underside of the 2x4 open (not completely wrapped) so the wood can air out better?
(iBoats has 9"x100' bunk carpet @ $57.10 which sounds better than I can get from a big box strore - the 9" would just right to cover the tops & sides and then leave the bottom open).

Thanks,
Steve

[MH Hawker]

Mine is on a slip to so I toss tarp over mine. Yes I like to leave about a 1 inch gap to aid drying.

[Bamaman]

You can go to Lowes and get regular indoor outdoor carpet off a big roll for just a few dollars. 2 running feet will do you

I install it with 1 1/2" roofing nails on 3 sides. I see no reason to cover the bottom of the boards.

[CZSteve]

Thank bamaman.
I was at Lowes the other day and their carpet was almost 7' a linear foot; now that is for a 12' wide roll but if I want to do a continuous run on a 20' board...
However, I did stop at HD today and they have a very nice heavy duty black in 6' wide rolls at $4.50 a LF. Still a bit more expensive than iBoats but I have a fealing it's probably a little thicker / HD and would give me enough left over to re-do the bunks on the dbl Sea-Doo trailer of bump stops and guides of the toon trailer.

I was wondering the same thing between using galvanized roofing nails w/ the wide plastic cap VS stainless staples - seems the roofing nails would hold better given the wide head and textured nail; just a little more work when installing, but that's no big deal.

Thanks,
Steve

[Bamaman]

I've been galvanized roofing nails for years without incident on a PWC cradle in my boathouse.

The carpet's so cheap that you can easily afford to replace it and the wooden bunks if needed.

Wood longer than 16' is hard to find, however. When I built my cradle for my new Bennington this year, I had to splice two boards together.