Second Hull Failure on my 2017 Ranger RT 198 P

[SWbass]

are there this many poor/bad professional welders or maybe some poor batches of foreign aluminum ? that sucks I hope that your problems are resolved quickly and you get some time on the water

[FloridaFlyer]

You might really be better off to find someone locally and have it REALLY FIXED. I know you would have to pay for it, but at least it would be done quicker, and you could actually go watch and check the repair. If you got a buddy and did the prep work to where the shop only had to weld and add a support it might not be too expensive. I would seriously look at that and you might even get them to pay the bill or split it. Yes, you would have some time and elbow grease invested, but it might be the best solution.

These type things did not happen or very rarely happened until JM bought the company. People said on here that he was too smart to mess with Ranger reputation.... Ranger completely replaced hulls for the most part until he bought the company if my memory is correct. It is just sad.

Also, don't waste time and money on lawyers. It will not pay off. Find the best aluminum shop in the area and go get it fixed and move on.

[csurp]

I wonder if it is time to start stating the number of hours on aluminum boats when reporting cracks and other failures. I suspect metal fatigue may be the issue on heavily used boats that are primarily designed for the occaisonal angler.

[FloridaFlyer]

I wonder if it is time to start stating the number of hours on aluminum boats when reporting cracks and other failures. I suspect metal fatigue may be the issue on heavily used boats that are primarily designed for the occaisonal angler.

I believe that it has to do with manufacturing and the ability or desire of the manufacturer to use experienced welders....making hundreds of thousands of welds.

My reasoning is that some manufacturers hardly ever have a cracked weld...Xpress, Alumacraft, Crestliner, ProKraft...to mention a few. You hardly ever hear of the Xpress boats experiencing a crack and they make a lot of boats and have for years and years with thousands and thousands of hours on the water.....but I understand that they have a plant in Arkansas. They treat their employees like family and have welders with years and years of experience.

[dkeppler1087]

I wonder if it is time to start stating the number of hours on aluminum boats when reporting cracks and other failures. I suspect metal fatigue may be the issue on heavily used boats that are primarily designed for the occaisonal angler.

mine had 95 hours on the motor and was a year and half old at the time. I didn’t baby mine, but it wasn’t abused.

[FloridaFlyer]

Ranger would replace a problem hull....they did that as witnessed on here....BUT after JM bought them things changed. You never hear a story about him going above and beyond on customer service on boats. You would think that he would be rich enough that he might give the hard working customer a break....but nope....

[jlsch1]

Had a Tracker and the paint was bubbled in some spots and finally chipped off.
This was from day one it had bubbles.
The dealer finally decided to paint it to take care of me.
White River Marine which owns Tracker and Ranger are horrible on their customer service.

[Lorico]

White River Marine which owns Tracker and Ranger are horrible on their customer service.

THIS ^^^^^^

[FloridaFlyer]

White River Marine which owns Tracker and Ranger are horrible on their customer service.

Ranger went from being a great customer service company.....which help build the company.....to someone I hope I never have to deal with. Once again....that guy is rich enough (hundreds of millions) you would think he would help the working guy out.. but nope.

[dkeppler1087]

Ranger went from being a great customer service company.....which help build the company.....to someone I hope I never have to deal with. Once again....that guy is rich enough (hundreds of millions) you would think he would help the working guy out.. but nope.

All about the bottom line with JM type guys.

[PolarKraft195]

I believe that it has to do with manufacturing and the ability or desire of the manufacturer to use experienced welders....making hundreds of thousands of welds.

My reasoning is that some manufacturers hardly ever have a cracked weld...Xpress, Alumacraft, Crestliner, ProKraft...to mention a few. You hardly ever hear of the Xpress boats experiencing a crack and they make a lot of boats and have for years and years with thousands and thousands of hours on the water.....but I understand that they have a plant in Arkansas. They treat their employees like family and have welders with years and years of experience.

When I bought my 2017 Polarkraft, I researched a little, and found out that they were a small company, and their welders have all been with Pokarkraft for 42+ years, so yes, experienced welders are a big plus!
picture below is from 2018 catalog. my boat is a 2017. so these welders were the ones working on Polarkrafts when my boat was made.
polarkraft experience.jpg

[raisinrat]

What do you mean by “show there work”? I signed the papers for my boat to go back about a month ago. On the paperwork it says 1-2 weeks for pick up, 4-8 weeks for repair, and 1-2 weeks to ship back. I haven’t heard if they are repairing or replacing.

Asked for photos of what they find and before and after pictures of the internal welds.

[raisinrat]

Seems like there was an attorney a couple of years ago who posted on Reddit where he went after an aluminum boat for his personal boat weld failures and won but I would have to try and go back and find it. Keep us posted rat.

if you find it please send it to me.

[raisinrat]

You might really be better off to find someone locally and have it REALLY FIXED. I know you would have to pay for it, but at least it would be done quicker, and you could actually go watch and check the repair. If you got a buddy and did the prep work to where the shop only had to weld and add a support it might not be too expensive. I would seriously look at that and you might even get them to pay the bill or split it. Yes, you would have some time and elbow grease invested, but it might be the best solution.

These type things did not happen or very rarely happened until JM bought the company. People said on here that he was too smart to mess with Ranger reputation.... Ranger completely replaced hulls for the most part until he bought the company if my memory is correct. It is just sad.

Also, don't waste time and money on lawyers. It will not pay off. Find the best aluminum shop in the area and go get it fixed and move on.

If my only issue was the crack hull which it’s not.Ranger offered to have it done locally by a dealer. Unfortunately due to these other circumstances that the cracked hull has caused it does need to go back to the factory. There has been a massive amount of water intrusion into the foam in foam cavity areas. We agreed to have the boat weighed on a cat scale in both of our calculations shown the to boat to be extremely overweight. Which is having a major adverse effect on the boat safety and performance while on the water. There was things broken last time it was at the factory that have still not been addressed and fixed. The center rod tubes do not properly fit in the boat anymore due to the first repair and bracing that was placed into the internal parts of the Hull.

[King_Fish]

If my only issue was the crack hull which it’s not.Ranger offered to have it done locally by a dealer. Unfortunately due to these other circumstances that the cracked hull has caused it does need to go back to the factory. There has been a massive amount of water intrusion into the foam in foam cavity areas. We agreed to have the boat weighed on a cat scale in both of our calculations shown the to boat to be extremely overweight. Which is having a major adverse effect on the boat safety and performance while on the water. There was things broken last time it was at the factory that have still not been addressed and fixed. The center rod tubes do not properly fit in the boat anymore due to the first repair and bracing that was placed into the internal parts of the Hull.

What is your next choice of boats?

[raisinrat]

Lund pro v bass or a vexus

[Grizzly]

What is your next choice of boats?

Mine would be a Bass Cat Bobcat, Phoenix 518 Pro or Caymas CX18 in that order.

No more aluminum problems.

[javjoe]

Lund pro v bass or a vexus

For the waters you fish i would get the Lund. Great all around boat!

[Panama]

RASIN..I feel really bad for you. I have had a couple of major boat issues. I had Ranger customer service before JM bought them. Both were handled to my satisfaction--although both took longer than I wanted. I can just imagine my frustration and anxiety level if I had received the runaround that you are getting.

You work hard and earn money to buy a boat that you should be enjoying, and you put your trust in the manufacturer and then to have things go as sour as they have for you. It is just not right... Ranger is definitely not the same company it was before he bought them.

[King_Fish]

Lund pro v bass or a vexus

what about Xpress?

I mean, Vexus is basically yet another re-purposed beer can...