Glass to aluminum

[RSteed]

Thinking about going from my Triton 18TrX to the Ranger RT 195 P. Has anyone made a similar move and been happy with the decision or not. I’m on a smaller lake and want a slightly lighter boat for hand parking purposes in my garage. I don’t care about speed but I do care about ride and fish ability.

[PatriotAW4]

Might be better off just getting a single axle trailer for your current boat.

[RSteed]

Might be better off just getting a single axle trailer for your current boat.

It’s on a single axle

[PatriotAW4]

It’s on a single axle

I would keep what you have or find a different aluminum boat like a Tracker 195 with a 150 or an Xpress X19 with a 200. I have been in and gone through several Ranger 198s and I am not impressed, the storage is severely lacking for that size boat in my opinion.

[ford4wd08]

Thinking about going from my Triton 18TrX to the Ranger RT 195 P. Has anyone made a similar move and been happy with the decision or not. I’m on a smaller lake and want a slightly lighter boat for hand parking purposes in my garage. I don’t care about speed but I do care about ride and fish ability.

I basically have the same boat and find it easy to move on a concrete surface in my garage.

Do lover the jack when you try to move the boat? It definitely makes a difference.

[jtrac]

I went from a Triton 19 TRX to a 2024 Ranger 198P. I was surprised at how well it handles and fishes. I can get 57 mph out of it by myself. More room on the decks than in my Triton. I mostly fish a smaller lake also but occasionally get on some bigger ones. I wouldn't want to tackle 3 foot swells but it rides pretty good in the smaller stuff. I have a tandem axle that I park at an angle in my garage and then push the nose over to straighten it out. I got a couple of wheel dolly jacks at Harbor Freight that I put under the front axle tires and raise it enough to get the tires off the concrete. Very easy to move the nose over.

[Boostr]

Lord, did someone say Tracker over Ranger?

[Extremeboating]

Get a Lowe Stinger 188. It's a pad hull. 18'10" weighs 1,541 lbs and allows up to a 150HP engine. If that's a touch too large for you in comparison to your 18'8" Triton then get a Stinger 178. 17'10" and weighs about 1440 lbs. Pad hull, and allows up to a 115HP. A lot more quality than WRM's Ranger models in my opinion and you won't have to deal with cracking hulls like they have been known for.

[PatriotAW4]

Get a Lowe Stinger 188. It's a pad hull. 18'10" weighs 1,541 lbs and allows up to a 150HP engine. If that's a touch too large for you in comparison to your 18'8" Triton then get a Stinger 178. 17'10" and weighs about 1440 lbs. Pad hull, and allows up to a 115HP. A lot more quality than WRM's Ranger models in my opinion and you won't have to deal with cracking hulls like they have been known for.

For sure, better option than the Ranger 198.

[bassfishinglawyer]

I went to an aluminum (G-3) and it stayed outside under a carport. I got tired of the condensation building up in the rod lockers and other compartments and and making my rod handles moldy and other things wet, so went back to glass (it did not happen with it). I do have a Ranger RT178 on a lift at a private lake but do not have that problem. Not sure others' experiences, but just something to think about, especially if you live in a high humidity climate.

[FlFedAngler]

I went from a Ranger 188VX, w/175hp (fiberglass) I had for 15 years to a RT188 Ranger Alum, w/115hp and now have a RT 178 Ranger, w/70hp. The RT's have been great boats. I really don't have any complaints. I still fish a couple tournaments a month with it.

[RANGER487]

I just sold my Ranger 487 and figuring my next move and most likely will be an aluminum model. I have researched the RT188 and have not seen any bad reviews at all. I watched one last might were the guy doing the review has a Tracker 190 and he compared them gave most compliments to the Ranger.

[goodman_fishing]

If hand parking were the priority, I would get an electric tugger to resolve the concern. My father in law has a Parkit360 and loves it.

That said, I've been doing some aluminum boat research on my channel for upgrading my 190TX. Headed to the Vexus factory in a couple of weeks to check it out.

[catdude28]

I went from 35 years of glass bass boats, the last 4 being BCB’s, to aluminum last year. My current rig is a Lund 1775 Impact with a 115. I am not a fan of the mod V hulls, so I went with this V hull from Lund. It is a very good riding rig. I am not sorry about the switch to tin, but, I do miss the elevated deck of the bass boat. That is why I am now looking at the Lund Pro V Bass or a Vexus AVX 1880 or 1980.

[lugbolt]

in about 2001 I bought a well used glass boat, 17' (do not remember the brand). Had a 90 mariner on it. Worked fine, did what I wanted to do. In 2004 I discovered a small river (more of a creek) that holds a lot of trout, but I realized that the bass boat wasn't really set up for fishing that river. In 05 I bought a Grumman 1542 with a 25 yamaha. After using it a few weeks, it became apparent that I can do everything in the little tin boat that I could do in a glass boat, except go fast. So I sold the bigger boat and kept the tin around until 12 when I bought a new war eagle (548LDV), put the existing motor on it and kept it for 12 years (actually still have it). I can go anywhere on the bigger waters that anyone else can go for the most part. There's ramps everywhere, so if I want to run 60 miles, I put in at a different ramp and run 10 mi to that hole. I quit tournament fishing in the 1990's so I don't need the bass boat. But I bought a Triton anyway last year and may or may not keep it. Wife and I are a litlte more comfortable in it, and it's bigger so she can lay out on the back deck if she wants (her fishing concentration level is on par with a 10 year old), rides a lot better, obviously a lot faster too but we rarely run more than 35mph anyway.

So depending on where you fish, pick a boat that can do it all.

[Redngoo]

I went from 35 years of glass bass boats, the last 4 being BCB’s, to aluminum last year. My current rig is a Lund 1775 Impact with a 115. I am not a fan of the mod V hulls, so I went with this V hull from Lund. It is a very good riding rig. I am not sorry about the switch to tin, but, I do miss the elevated deck of the bass boat. That is why I am now looking at the Lund Pro V Bass or a Vexus AVX 1880 or 1980.

I seen a 1980 in person on the body of water I fish. Big boat! Lots of deck space. Gentleman ((older and seem very honest and sincere) said the boat road great, had dry boxes without sweating and wind did not blow the rig around alot.) It was a very nice looking rig. Compared side by side on the water with my p2.... I looked small.
He let me step in.... very little rock from side to side when moving around

I love BassCatt but with the market shifting to all 20 footers and me not needing the Vexus and a few other bay style boats might be my next purchase

[Panama]

Thinking about going from my Triton 18TrX to the Ranger RT 195 P. Has anyone made a similar move and been happy with the decision or not. I’m on a smaller lake and want a slightly lighter boat for hand parking purposes in my garage. I don’t care about speed but I do care about ride and fish ability.

How small would be a good question. My RT188 with a 115 F series Yamaha has been a very good boat. It stays on the lift behind my house and gets used a good bit on a lake of about 10,000 acres. I have fished much bigger water with it also and it does a good job. I am looking at buying another boat for a place out of state and will probably get a RT178 made before Johnny moved the plant to Trackerland.

[davidsa]

for a lake with good ramps and free of things that could damage glass, I prefer glass for most stability I can get and for slowest drift in wind. the case for Tin for me is access to places where glass should not go.

As I was taking out yesterday, some guys told me about a canal area that holds alot of nice fish. The ramp is dirt and just drops off if water is low. No dock and rocks on shore. This is where I miss my tin boat. But to do this requires a fairly light tin boat. 150hp motors, hulls as heavy as glass start to offset the benefits of tin in my opinion and do offset effort to move. Our trailers don't know if our boat is tin or glass; just what it weights.

Ensure you have load D tires on your glass boat. I find they don't squat like the old load C's after sitting for a month or so and that allows me to get it moving easier.

[Highcentered]

Lord, did someone say Tracker over Ranger?

Just depends on what someone is looking for in a boat. I like the Tracker 195 a lot but don't like the idea of a 150hp on .100 aluminum. I went Xpress and that boat is a tank compared to the Tracker 175 I had.

[Moonshoxx]

My biggest issue going from glass to aluminum is the fact that the wind blows my tracker 190 all over the place. I would go back to glass in a heartbeat