venus horror stories

[AB7R]

I have an rt188 reserved with a deposit from a local dealer. I was interested in a nexus avx 1880 or 1980 but the nearest dealer is in MN. Today I found one much closer. I have only seen a couple posts complaining about cracked hulls. Lots of them for ranger...though ranger's warranty is longer.
The dealer with the deposit warned about cracks with Lexus that he knows of two locally. The nexus sales guy warned about ranger.

I really like the vexus.

Are the vexus negative remarks just unavoidable due to tin and the ranger issues more of a systemic problem?

Vexus dealer 4 hrs away vs 6 miles for ranger.

Thanks
Greg

[madmurph]

Is there a nexus between Venus and Lexus?

[AB7R]

Is there a nexus between Venus and Lexus?

I noticed that right after posting but unable to edit the title. :)

[E-rude_Dude]

Do you see any posts about cracked Vexus hulls

[Pagregss]

Do you see any posts about cracked Vexus hulls

Yes.

[ncbass]

Just get what you want, there will always be issues regardless of brand/manufacturer and there will always be people posting about how bad said brand/manufacturer is. Don't let that "new boat dread" creep in....and ruin the new boat experience

[Lou22]

My Vexus dealer is 4 hours away, and I have had my 1880 for 2 years. Besides a recall that was resolved without issue, I fish the Everglades and Lake Okeechobee often, and 0 cracked hull issues is to speak of.

[Panama]

They have been making the Ranger RT series since about 2012... think about that. Of course you are going to see more posts..... Most of the RT owners are VERY happy with their boat. Of the thousands they have sold....yes you will hear a bad story here and there... Of all the owners here there might be some problems...probably not many.

Now, I like the Vexus boat. If buying today, I might buy one. That said, I would rather FISH from the front deck of the RT...There is quite a bit of difference. Look at them both and look how the Vexus narrows and gets pointed toward the front. I spend about 95% of my time in the boat on that front deck. I am happy with my RT188 .... but I would not mind at all having the Vexus either... but I would stay far away from the Tracker.

[Extremeboating]

They have been making the Ranger RT series since about 2012... think about that. Of course you are going to see more posts..... Most of the RT owners are VERY happy with their boat. Of the thousands they have sold....yes you will hear a bad story here and there... Of all the owners here there might be some problems...probably not many.

Now, I like the Vexus boat. If buying today, I might buy one. That said, I would rather FISH from the front deck of the RT...There is quite a bit of difference. Look at them both and look how the Vexus narrows and gets pointed toward the front. I spend about 95% of my time in the boat on that front deck. I am happy with my RT188 .... but I would not mind at all having the Vexus either... but I would stay far away from the Tracker.

What's wrong with Tracker? Not posing that argumentatively, genuinely asking here.

[FloridaFlyer]

What's wrong with Tracker? Not posing that argumentatively, genuinely asking here.

I am not a Tracker fan, I'll admit that....but my experience being around them that friends have owned will keep me from ever owning one. People will come here to defend their purchase when the shortcomings are mentioned. That's fine. My feeling is --- don't ask yourself....is this ok?....ask yourself .... would I rather have a boat built differently?

The Tracker has wood in the boat. Maybe the last manufacturer to do this. I had rather have one built differently.
Tracker uses hollow tubing for their trailer. It has to hold moisture. I had rather have one built differently.
My buddies have had lots of trailer problems. I would rather have one built differently.
I don't think the carpet is the same quality.
I am not a fan of how high the front end sits...as compared to the back. The boat is very low in the back with someone back there.


I could go on... but... will it float? Yes. Can it fish? Yes. Is it the cheapest price? Probably.

Also I don't like the resale value.

[TritonTRXV8]

I am not a Tracker fan, I'll admit that....but my experience being around them that friends have owned will keep me from ever owning one. People will come here to defend their purchase when the shortcomings are mentioned. That's fine. My feeling is --- don't ask yourself....is this ok?....ask yourself .... would I rather have a boat built differently?

The Tracker has wood in the boat. Maybe the last manufacturer to do this. I had rather have one built differently.
Tracker uses hollow tubing for their trailer. It has to hold moisture. I had rather have one built differently.
My buddies have had lots of trailer problems. I would rather have one built differently.
I don't think the carpet is the same quality.
I am not a fan of how high the front end sits...as compared to the back. The boat is very low in the back with someone back there.


I could go on... but... will it float? Yes. Can it fish? Yes. Is it the cheapest price? Probably.

Also I don't like the resale value.

You are right there are sometimes things that you think could be made better. I would love for Ranger to put a good trailer under their tins too. My cousin had a 2014 rt188 for several years after having a basscat and now hes back in a basscat and doesnt look back on the rt experience too fondly. I repaired that trailer so many times that thing was a joke and its a 2014 so cant use most of these guys universal blame too JM this is a PRE JM boat and it was far from impressive. Too say these boats are superior is laughable because they flat out are not. Its a basic boat with a basic design thats it. You can add accessories to anything and make it better. A base Ranger rt isnt equipped any better than a base tracker or any other brand. Now has tracker quality changed yes it has their trailers are a joke to me now compared to the 08 model we had and no the carpet isnt the greatest on them but these rigs are meant to get people on the water and not cost a fortune thats it. It was an entry level boat for us which IMO is the intention. After having many good years of owning one fully customized i wouldnt own another i will admit that. As far as resale goes we sold our 11 year old tracker for not much less then we paid new for it im sure that would blow some of your minds. Hes still using it 3-4 days a week and loves it. Guess its not a total piece of shit then lol. Oh hes some pics of the high quality Ranger Trailer. The last one is how he sold it basically totally rebuilt the stand at the end. Stock form was PATHETIC. Oh and 2 broken leaf springs and road armour peeling off. I was IMPRESSED. How can this be on a pre JM Ranger they are gods gift to the boating world right? Has Tracker had their issues? Yep they sure have but they have also sold probly 10-1 the amount of boats too if not more. Odds are. Well you get the picture. The ranger rt i was around was just another tin can like the rest.
4AC8D9C8-167F-4DA7-A642-727DA7C2BBA7.jpeg. 4D609DB9-B1B4-4590-B2BB-6BCB22E3B65A.jpeg 6A29BECC-9F31-4CB7-9769-479D399AFE8A.jpeg 223D7EB8-846E-4A1F-977E-C14CCDD4E6DE.jpeg

[madmurph]

You are right there are sometimes things that you think could be made better. I would love for Ranger to put a good trailer under their tins too. My cousin had a 2014 rt188 for several years after having a basscat and now hes back in a basscat and doesnt look back on the rt experience too fondly. I repaired that trailer so many times that thing was a joke and its a 2014 so cant use most of these guys universal blame too JM this is a PRE JM boat and it was far from impressive. Too say these boats are superior is laughable because they flat out are not. Its a basic boat with a basic design thats it. You can add accessories to anything and make it better. A base Ranger rt isnt equipped any better than a base tracker or any other brand. The ranger rt i was around was just another tin can like the rest.

Yeah, but it's still the best boat out there with the trolling motor down.

[PolarKraft195]

remember, you only hear the "negative" things about products on the internet, you very rarely hear the good. When people have nothing to complain about, they don't bother, BUT! when they have something to complain about, it's posted everywhere on the internet!.......one of the only people here that posts good things about a boat is me! ..............LOVE my Polarkraft!!!

[ReefOctopus]

remember, you only hear the "negative" things about products on the internet, you very rarely hear the good. When people have nothing to complain about, they don't bother, BUT! when they have something to complain about, it's posted everywhere on the internet!.......one of the only people here that posts good things about a boat is me! ..............LOVE my Polarkraft!!!

Everyone knows your love your polarkraft, its been well documented.

[GeauxTide]

Have been extremely happy with mine. Best TM down experience and front deck in more than 40 years of owning boats. I also agree with Panama and Polarkraft195 - it is wearisome to hear the negatives more than the positives. Growing up in LA, with the narrow waterways in the Atchafalaya Basin, I always backed off the throttle when crossing wakes and would take it easy in a chop. Never had a rivet or weld failure in multiple tin boats.

[06 SB]

Venus, Lexus, Nexus….

[Mechanic Bob]

Get what you like. EVER MANUFACTURER has issues, any product! From hair dryers to boats, from trucks to scooters, they all have that De-ta-De working on the assembly line!

[Crankinh20]

Tracker is not a bad boat it’s just not the best in anything except price.
You take the package as is . The other brands have more choices and options and use a little better materials.
Trackers are cheaper for a reason but J M sells a lot of them .
id bet there are more trackers sold than all other manufacturers boats combined.

[Extremeboating]

Tracker is not a bad boat it’s just not the best in anything except price.
You take the package as is . The other brands have more choices and options and use a little better materials.
Trackers are cheaper for a reason but J M sells a lot of them .
id bet there are more trackers sold than all other manufacturers boats combined.

The fact they sell them with less options as is, is very true indeed.

I picked mine up really cheap and proceeded to sort of "one thing led to another" style pimp it out. Love the way it is now, but it was SUPER barebones as you stated indeed.

[Ajojo]

Tracker is not a bad boat it’s just not the best in anything except price.
You take the package as is . The other brands have more choices and options and use a little better materials.
Trackers are cheaper for a reason but J M sells a lot of them .
id bet there are more trackers sold than all other manufacturers boats combined.

It's also probably why you hear more complaints about them than any other tin. More boats = more people with problems. All brands have issues.