2016 Ranger RT188 Trailer problems

[TritonTRXV8]

Definitely something to be keeping an eye on after what i seen. The metal on that winch stand is only 1/8” thick. Pretty thin IMO should be 3/16”. Would never be any problems then. Thousands of others may be cracked too......

[Panama]

Checked mine yesterday and it is fine, but I believe it would not hurt at all to brace it a little. I tow mine a lot - back and forth to Florida and down there for a few thousand miles a year for over four years.... However I agree fully with BTO and think it should have been made out of a thicker metal. I think I am going to add some extra support to mine in these areas. The boat is on the lift at the lake behind the house so it is a perfect time to do some preventative maintenance on the trailer. Thanks for the heads up.

[King_Fish]

Checked mine yesterday and it is fine, but I believe it would not hurt at all to brace it a little. I tow mine a lot - back and forth to Florida and down there for a few thousand miles a year for over four years.... However I agree fully with BTO and think it should have been made out of a thicker metal. I think I am going to add some extra support to mine in these areas. The boat is on the lift at the lake behind the house so it is a perfect time to do some preventative maintenance on the trailer. Thanks for the heads up.

X2... What is your initial thinking in terms of an extra support, something welded?

[crankwv]

I have not looked at mine due to the rain but i was thing about a support under the roller to make a triangle. It seems the problem is the boat pressing down on it. And the steel being to thin.

[TritonTRXV8]

On my cousins i just v grooved the cracks and re welded for the sake of time we had enough to do with the stand base. I told him if something else cracks up top we will address it then. For me i wouldnt even waste my time with the factory one 1/8” has too much flex. You have to figure the boat is pulled against it and its the only item stopping the boat from moving forward not the best place to skimp but thats beside the point. If his requires repair I will make an entire new top piece out of 3/16 steel and start over. If you did want to brace for now or go that route you can weld the crack. Grind it flat then stitch weld a thicker plate on the inside of the side pieces and tir it into the winch stand post. Then just clean it up and paint it black.

[crankwv]

Got the stand off to look at it. It is cracked on both sides. I will groove the crack and weld it up. I am going to brainstorm the bracing. The bottom of the stand scares me a little. I like what you (BTO) did to you cousins. I will do that when i start over this winter. fingers crossed.

[cards21]

This is what it looked like after the 35 mile drive home. First picture was at the ramp, after loading the boat. I removed the stand and took it to a welder to be fixed.

[n2ratfishin]

Wow, that stinks! Glad you made it home with no damage to the hull!

[Original Tin]

In all my years I've never seen a trailer do that!?!? Hope y'all can get this corrected...good luck.

[Original Tin]

On my cousins i just v grooved the cracks and re welded for the sake of time we had enough to do with the stand base. I told him if something else cracks up top we will address it then. For me i wouldnt even waste my time with the factory one 1/8” has too much flex. You have to figure the boat is pulled against it and its the only item stopping the boat from moving forward not the best place to skimp but thats beside the point. If his requires repair I will make an entire new top piece out of 3/16 steel and start over. If you did want to brace for now or go that route you can weld the crack. Grind it flat then stitch weld a thicker plate on the inside of the side pieces and tir it into the winch stand post. Then just clean it up and paint it black.

**See...I told you BTO would know how to correct it.

[TritonTRXV8]

This is what it looked like after the 35 mile drive home. First picture was at the ramp, after loading the boat. I removed the stand and took it to a welder to be fixed.

The thing that jumps out at me and my dad and i were really looking at the piece from my cousins. Look at the metal closely. Look at how grainy it looks almost like pot metal. Its very clow grade you can tell how i welds too wont take the heat normal 1/8” steel will so be careful welding it cuz it will burn through very easy. Hopefully they can get that twist out of it too you may want to consider getting a heavier new upper piece made by a fab shop or you will likely have issues again unless you brace it heavily. Sorry to see that guys need to keep an eye on these.

[wsdv135]

I pulled my boat a little crooked with boat slightly leaning on trailer guide. Immediately put it back in the water and straightened it out. Driving down the road I look out and see the trailer guide hanging off the trailer only by the road armor. The weak welds cracked after bearing about 1/3 weight of the boat for 30 seconds. Very frustrating...not sure if I'd go with RT 188 if I could do it again.

[Transom]

I know when I was shopping the ranger brand trailer was a check in the minus column for me. I liked the fact that it was c channel and had the oil hubs but I felt that it was flimsy and medicocre at best. Probably the only true negative that I found imo.

The tracker trailers and most tin boat trailers are not great but I think they cut corners to keep costs down. I think the 19 foot ranger tin comes with a stronger trailer. I wish most of these manufacturers used a beefier frame with these 18ft plus wide beam tin boats.

[Bill Reynolds]

I also looked at the RT198P trailer yesterday and it is much stronger. It is made from 4X2 channel instead of 3X1 1/2 and it has 4 bunks instead of 2. There are design arguments for each style trailer and a properly sized and braced channel trailer can be a good design but two 20 + foot long three inch channels held apart by 3 lateral braces isn’t it. As for cost, it has to be more expensive to galvanize inner and outer surfaces and powder coat a channel as opposed to spraying rubber coating on an open channel.

I don’t mean to bash either brand, just giving my opinion on design elements. After all I just bought another Ranger Trailer. LOL

[fishon396]

I appreciate most post on this forum especially rt 178 /188 post problems or diy projects. I also read the Tracker post with interest and have got lots of good advice from Gator Glenn and BassTrackeroptimax along with other Tracker owners. They are by far the most common boats talked about on this forum, and I am not saying they are the best just that there are lots of them on the water.

[crankwv]

Just finished welding mine up. I put two pieces of 1 inch angle on the top and boxed it in near the roller. It had a lot of flex in it. Now it has none. I have seen better steel and it should be thicker. On the plus side the coating comes off crazy easy. That may be more of a negative. Just need to paint and bolt back up.

[Pipercub]

Why is it that every time some BS breaks out on this board, it's always the same person? Just something I noticed.

As for the RT trailer problem, mine is only seven months old but so far so good. My last boat was a Tracker and the previous owner (a friend of mine) power loaded it all the time and I mean power loaded it! The winch stand was so mangled I had to fabricate another one when I bought it. It was not a defect just a product of him ramming the hell out of it.

[gatorglenn]

Well anyone looking to buy a Ranger 178, 188 or 198.

I took a little drive today. Down to Indy, to pickup my flotation foam. For my boat. Passing by I stopped at the Cabelas. I looked at all three boat trailers. And happy to report that ranger has made some changes. The op’s problem still could occur. But the winchstand base does have a plate of 3/16” with a triangle gusset all welded on the front side but not on the back. So comparing this to my friends 178. It is much better but not as good as what Roy did to his cousins boat. And yes I would agree with the camp, on the 188 is better then the 198 on storage. And not so cramped feeling.

Out of the three. The 178 was the driest. Only a small amount of water in the rod locker. The 188 and 198 where soaked with inch puddles in nearly every locker. This is after a good rain storm the night before. The salesman who tried to sell me one said he believes the water is coming in from the handle and lock on the lids. And from what I can see that just may be the case.

This post is for potential new buyers. NOT BASHING!. I do like these boats.

I have a 12 year old boat and trailer that is spotless as if new. I like my HULL. For its ride and performance. So much that Iam willing to refresh or rebuild what every one wants to call it.

I am a boat freak, brand name be dam. I see short comings in all brands. But hate none. So all of you that pm me with questions or advice. Regardless the name on the side. I will be here and happy to help. Glenn

[cards21]

My original post wasn't to bash Ranger, if someone thought that. It was strictly for safety reasons, that is all. I had my problem areas welded up. From Ranger, the whole winch stand is considered 2 parts. I am waiting on a quote from the dealer for the 2 parts. From pictures of another post, the areas that tore on mine, have been changed recently. I hope mine is the worst case scenario.

[Bill Reynolds]

My original post wasn't to bash Ranger, if someone thought that. It was strictly for safety reasons, that is all. I had my problem areas welded up. From Ranger, the whole winch stand is considered 2 parts. I am waiting on a quote from the dealer for the 2 parts. From pictures of another post, the areas that tore on mine, have been changed recently. I hope mine is the worst case scenario.

Hymmmm— the two part answer they gave you confuses me. I would have sworn the top part that the winch is mounted on was welded to the vertical post. Guess not.