Roller bunks, love em or hate em?

[cwphoto]

When I did some research on bunks, it seemed the vast majority of people prefer to stay away from roller bunks. I happen to have two 5' roller bunks that are brand-new, but debating whether or not I want to use them. I could definitely see where I would not have to back the boat as far into the water. It seems like as long as you don't do something foolish like release your winch cable before you're at the water's edge all should be fine. A gentle nudge, and the boat is launched.

On the flip side I can see where when loading the boat the friction of the non roller bunks would help to keep the boat from sliding back into the water. On some smaller boats I would imagine you don't even need to power the boat back onto the trailer with roller bunks. With a couple of side supports and a winch cable, just push the boat out into the water and then pull it back onto the trailer via the winch cable, and crank er up. I actually watched a guy do this with a 18 footer one handed. He had one rope on the stern as well to keep the boat parallel with the trailer. He sure made it look easy.

This would kind of be handy with my 14 footer, but don't think I would try it with anything bigger. Anyway, pros and cons? I'm sure it's been discussed before, but could not find anything in the archives.

Thanks,

Troy

 

[Keystone]

My '97 Tracker came with rollers. Loved them the first year or so. After that I wished I had bought a trailer with bunks.
I sold the Tracker in 2003 and have had bunks since then. I have never wished I had rollers.

 

[jethro]

I can load my pretty heavy 14' extra deep V with floor and side console by hand on bunk boards real easy. I have never had roller bunks but I know I like the boards with carpet on them.

 

[Clint KY]

The deal with roller bunks is that for the first year or so they are great. But as you use the boat and trailer, and miss the angle loading just a bit and bump the rollers once or twice and as they get older the rollers don't roll as they used to they become more of a liability than an asset. Being difficult to maintain since they are unreachable when the boat is on the trailer makes them age not so gracefully. I have gone to non-roller bunks but I covered mine with PVC rather than carpet. Slick and easy to launch and load and no maintenance other than perhaps wiping them down before backing the trailer down the ramp to load the boat.

I am considering a set of roller bunks as my guide-ons. You can adjust them closer to the hull than carpeted guide-ons to force the boat into the proper alignment on the trailer. My guide-ons now are covered with the outer sheath of surplus fire hose which works well but still not as slick as rollers would be.

 

[cwphoto]

My thanks to all who responded. I had never considered the longer-term maintenance issues with the rollers, but makes a lot of sense. I do like the idea of plastic as opposed to carpet on hard bunks, and have seen a few plastic runners that can be purchased off of Amazon. Sounds like tried-and-true is best.

Troy