Ranger vs Triton

[Bill Reynolds]

How do I tell the difference ?

This is a C channel trailer frame as you can see the sides are open so water/moisture cannot collect there. I don’t have a picture of a tube frame but it is a completely closed box which can collect water and lead to rusting. Unfortunately if the frame member rusts, it does so from the inside and often you do not know it until the member fails.

[Big Al]

I'm getting one with a 60

You should try one before you buy if you can. You may not be happy with the performance of a 60. I have a G3 Sportsman 17 with a 90 SHO which is max HP. It does 39 GPS. Feel it is still underpowered.

[Pipercub]

If speed is not your thing I think you’ll be fine with a 60. I have a 75 on mine but I never run WOT. I don’t tournament fish and going fast in a boat has never been important to me. I’m never in a hurry when I’m fishing...lol. If you’re looking for a great fishing platform you’ll be quite happy with a RT 178 with a 60hp motor.

[TimH]

I'm getting one with a 60

You'll be fine. You're obviously not expecting to go fast or you wouldn't be looking at a RT 178. I'm betting you're a lot like me. You want a nice boat that is stable, and good to fish out of. A RT 178 is exactly that. No, I can't go that fast, but it doesn't matter to me. I've got a 60 hanging on the back of my 178 and I hit 34 MPH one morning when it was glass flat and at WOT. Otherwise I run from spot to spot in the mid to upper 20's and it suits me just fine.

[Cape Fear]

You should try one before you buy if you can. You may not be happy with the performance of a 60. I have a G3 Sportsman 17 with a 90 SHO which is max HP. It does 39 GPS. Feel it is still underpowered.

I have the same setup. What size prop are you running?

[King_Fish]

The Ranger RT series is much better with the TM down than the Triton brand, that includes the Triton glass boats....
Speaking from experience.

[Big Al]

I'm not saying you have to go fast but when a boat is underpowered it "plows" through the water and it is not fuel efficient. I don't fish tourneys either and don't need to go fast but I do like the boat to perform right.

[gunslinger78]

60 HP is more than enough to easily get these boats on plane from my research.

[TimH]

60 HP is more than enough to easily get these boats on plane from my research.

It is. My 178 doesn't plow water at all. It gets up on plane and rides well. As for gas consumption, it couldn't be better. This is my third boat and the best I've owned for many reasons, including fuel efficiency.

[King_Fish]

gunslinger78 - get as much HP as the wallet will allow. No one ever says they have too much HP. I strongly suggest trying to arrange a test drive before you buy one. And if you can, get yourself and a passenger in there and fill the live-well with water i.e. as much weight as you can for a true test of how she planes and holds on plane.

Good Luck

[fishon396]

I have a 75 and you can expect around 38-39 top speed and with a 60 maybe 33-34 depending on how your boat is loaded. So not a huge difference and you can save some money and weight with the 60 and it will get you around the lake just fine.

[jm_middleton]

I purchased a 2020 ranger RT178c in May. I think it was built in March of 2019. It looked awesome in the showroom. I got it home and noticed it was wavy down the sides. You could also see where every internal piece had been welded on the inside. That might have caused the wavy look. It had one paint run on the inside of the gunnel. It had tons of aluminum shavings throughout and bubbles in the stickers. It doesn't look bad after a good cleaning and a little work to remove the bubbles and wrinkles from the decals. I didn't expect that from a new boat. I would still purchase it again and am very happy with it.

[MidwestBoater]

That was me. I ordered a 2020 deep vee in December, all of the website and brochure photos showed the c channel trailer, it arrived in May on a tracker trailer. Since delivery the trailer has had the same bearing seal replaced twice and it still leaks, and one of the tail lights was full of water, the dealer just drained it siliconed it up. I’ve since replaced the tail lights, and will be ordering triple lip bearing seals.
If you order a Ranger, don’t accept anything less than what they depict in the website photos and brochure photos and “standard features” list. My boat was missing a seat slide, bow cushions, had the wrong cranking battery, and the door over the trolling motor pedal tray was missing. The list of QC issues was pretty long and has just now been mostly ironed out, it included trailer load guides that didn’t fit the boat (smashed against the hull) and rubbed through the paint, wrong USCG capacities sticker, motor was over propped, motor was mounted so high that I could barely get it on plane, steering assembly at the console was dangling by one screw, the floor panel was loose because some of the holes were stripped out, it had a livewell hose with a hole in it that caused the bilge pump to kick on every 30 minutes to pump gallons of water out, the wiring was a mess, and multiple fasteners were loose throughout the boat.

WRMG still has the photos of the c channel trailer on the website in all of the photos even though it hasn’t come with it in about 5 months now. They also have 2 year old photos of the boat show items they don’t come with anymore (like the TM pedal tray door).

I filled out the survey after I took delivery of my boat and requested that Ranger contact me, they never did. Basically, while I do love the boat, I’ll never buy another Ranger.

I fully agree.... Night and day difference. The point I was trying to make is that they MOVED the Ranger and Triton manufacturing up there recently. They are not made at the Ranger plant in Flippin anymore.... That is why I said to look at a used one year to a couple of years old maybe. They also stopped making the RangerTrail trailers in Flippin at the Ranger trailer shop.

Now if you order a new boat, who knows what the heck you will get. I think that since they moved the manufacturing up to the Missouri location that there was a post here recently where a guy bought and ordered a new Ranger and it came in to the dealer with a Tracker trailer under it. Just be careful. You might even find a leftover 2019 that is new that was built before they moved them from the Ranger plant. I doubt this boat will be the same as it used to be.

[Chuck Pickel]

I used to think the tube trailers were there the Thing, until after a few years they start rusting. Water gets in them and cant escape 100%. and it makes the trailer about 30% heavier, more fuel for tow vehicle.

[Panama]

That was me. I ordered a 2020 deep vee in December, all of the website and brochure photos showed the c channel trailer, it arrived in May on a tracker trailer. Since delivery the trailer has had the same bearing seal replaced twice and it still leaks, and one of the tail lights was full of water, the dealer just drained it siliconed it up. I’ve since replaced the tail lights, and will be ordering triple lip bearing seals.
If you order a Ranger, don’t accept anything less than what they depict in the website photos and brochure photos and “standard features” list. My boat was missing a seat slide, bow cushions, had the wrong cranking battery, and the door over the trolling motor pedal tray was missing. The list of QC issues was pretty long and has just now been mostly ironed out, it included trailer load guides that didn’t fit the boat (smashed against the hull) and rubbed through the paint, wrong USCG capacities sticker, motor was over propped, motor was mounted so high that I could barely get it on plane, steering assembly at the console was dangling by one screw, the floor panel was loose because some of the holes were stripped out, it had a livewell hose with a hole in it that caused the bilge pump to kick on every 30 minutes to pump gallons of water out, the wiring was a mess, and multiple fasteners were loose throughout the boat.

WRMG still has the photos of the c channel trailer on the website in all of the photos even though it hasn’t come with it in about 5 months now. They also have 2 year old photos of the boat show items they don’t come with anymore (like the TM pedal tray door).

I filled out the survey after I took delivery of my boat and requested that Ranger contact me, they never did. Basically, while I do love the boat, I’ll never buy another Ranger.

Good grief!!!! Well, you can certainly tell it has moved close to the Tracker facility. And I remember some people here saying that Johnny was smart enough that he would not mess with Ranger. Laughable now. It will succumb to the Tracker culture.

[MidwestBoater]

I worked for a manufacturing company and experienced what happened after they were bought by a huge corporation, and what I see happening at Ranger is no different.. It's all about cost cutting to improve the bottom line. The penny pinchers are doing their "magic". Hopefully the upper executives at WRMG figure out that the Ranger brand is being damaged and reverse course soon.

Good grief!!!! Well, you can certainly tell it has moved close to the Tracker facility. And I remember some people here saying that Johnny was smart enough that he would not mess with Ranger. Laughable now. It will succumb to the Tracker culture.

[Mechanic Bob]

I worked for a manufacturing company and experienced what happened after they were bought by a huge corporation, and what I see happening at Ranger is no different.. It's all about cost cutting to improve the bottom line. The penny pinchers are doing their "magic". Hopefully the upper executives at WRMG figure out that the Ranger brand is being damaged and reverse course soon.

No different than any other manufacturers. You hit the nail on the head with your statement. I been there too. Just reflect on the Manufacturing Culture of the late 80's and early 90's.
Don't piss anyone off as they may be your next owners.

[sclark]

If you have and extra 1/2hour on your hands -
Skip to the 27:30 mark and listen to Luke Dunkin talk about - "Profit Before People"

[MidwestBoater]

If you have and extra 1/2hour on your hands -
Skip to the 27:30 mark and listen to Luke Dunkin talk about - "Profit Before People"

Thanks for sharing, I totally agree with what he said. So, when are these new aluminum deep v boats coming out? I might be ready to give Vexus a try in a year or so. Are there any specs on them? I'm hoping they'll be deep, wide, entirely made out of .125" 5052, and have a steep deadrise all the way to the transom.

[GeauxTide]

When combined with a custom-matched Ranger Trail trailer, the RT188 offers Uncommon Performance At Every Level.

2021 Models on Ranger site still have this language, meaning channel trailer. Looking at them side by side at the dealer, the trailer was the only difference.