TRACKER HULL FAILURE 2024
Pa Angler reply :
Hi, I'm the Pa Angler I have been away from the forum for a while betwwen working O.T. at work and caring for my Home Hospice Father I haven't had a lot of time doing much else.
This is about my 2004 Targa 17SC Deep V I know it's not a Bass Tracker but it's an experience I need to share. In 2008 & 2009 my boat was sent back to Tracker to re weld the keel and stringers with no shipping charges. The boat was coming apart at the seams.
Tracker Marine as stooped to new lows as they wanted to charge freight to and from their repair facility in Missouri to fix my hull total bill $2,000.
The service manager at Bower's Marine told me the hull was shot as some may have seen the auto bilge pump ran all the time it would pump out water as fast as it came in. Fixing it is no longer an option as the hull has failed three years in a row. When Tracker was asked by Bower's Marine for free replacement hull Tracker said no, When asked to pay the trade in value on a new boat Tracker said no in the end the dealer had to buck up on a bid for salvage rights only then did Tracker decide to paid less than trade in value and that was only after the sales manager raised hell. So...... I took the only real option available and applied the $5,000 trade in allowance on a new boat, a Nitro Z-7 with a 150 Pro X/S Optimax color is PR56 it's listed in the 2010 model specs in the BULID THIS BOAT link. Nitro no longer offers a 200 for the 2011 model year on this boat even though it's rated for such 150 is tops. An aluminum boat was out of the question that's all I needed another failed hull year after year. There's no Lemon law in PA for boats.
Tight Lines
Pa Angler
Tin reply :
Those dam icebergs will get you every time.
Any info as to why the hull was a disaster?
J Francho reply :
QuoteAny info as to why the hull was a disaster?
It says "Tracker" on the side....
This is the 5th report of Tracker hulls coming apart I've heard this year. My buddy Jim experienced this with his Tournament 18. His solution was a 20' Bullet.
Tin reply :
Wow, that is surprising. I used to sink mine to get under bridges, skate across sandbars, ect ect and never had a hull issue. Sad to hear about it.
Pa Angler reply :
QuoteThose dam icebergs will get you every time.Any info as to why the hull was a disaster?
Poor design that was changed for the 2006 model to current. I fished with a Buddy's 2006 felt more solid than mine. The front of the hull curved up and when rough hit it the hull would get pushed in so far that the stringers failed and the keel began to split apart.
Tight Lines
Pa Angler
cart7t reply :
So you had a horrible experience with a BPS owned/Brand boat and you go back out and buy another from them??
that'll teach those guys a lesson.... 
Bassn Blvd reply :
QuoteSo you had a horrible experience with a BPS owned/Brand boat and you go back out and buy another from them??that'll teach those guys a lesson....
LOL, never a dull moment.
lynyrdsky1 reply :
Me and my dad were thinking about getting a Tracker Grizzly for duck hunting but we may need to think twice about getting it now.
J Francho reply :
QuoteMe and my dad were thinking about getting a Tracker Grizzly for duck hunting but we may need to think twice about getting it now.
Get a G3 or an Xpress
lynyrdsky1 reply :
QuoteQuoteMe and my dad were thinking about getting a Tracker Grizzly for duck hunting but we may need to think twice about getting it now.Get a G3 or an Xpress
Yea our friend has I think a 13 or 16 foot Xpress maybe wrong on the length, but he loves it. The only thing we want a Grizzly for is because the pointsystem at Bass Pro
Pa Angler reply :
QuoteSo you had a horrible experience with a BPS owned/Brand boat and you go back out and buy another from them??that'll teach those guys a lesson....
I didn't have much choice no other brand will trade a damaged hull the only way I'm getting the $5,000 trade in value (Buyback) is on another Tracker brand. I could have turned it to my insurance but the amount would have only been used on another hull a Tracker hull. Getting a Nitro was a better way of using what Tracker was willing to give me it beats getting nothing.
Tight Lines
Pa Angler
bowfish12 reply :
QuoteQuoteMe and my dad were thinking about getting a Tracker Grizzly for duck hunting but we may need to think twice about getting it now.Get a G3 or an Xpress
Or a Lowe, I'm about to install the blind on it this weekend.
J Francho reply :
Lowe = Tracker.
done reply :
That sucks man. I can imagine few things as frustrating at that experience.
I never get companies doing stuff like that. I mean no matter who they are (even Lexus, BMW, etc), sooner or later they are going to make a messed up product. Seems to me the way to really grow customer loyalty is in those failures. I mean if tracker was to man up and deal it it right, they would win customers left and right.
Nickle and diming someone ain't gonna do it. What you get is that first customer who will never buy another one of your products and all his buds and family too.
Now i have beat the snot out of my PT 175 txw and so far knock on wood, it has performed flawlessly. Course it is a different hull design than the Targa
K_Mac reply :
QuoteLowe = Tracker.
Franco I've never heard of any of these issues from Lowe owners. I don't have either one, just curious what your experience has been?
bowfish12 reply :
QuoteLowe = Tracker.
How do you figure? I've never seen any connection between the two, and I called the plant a few months ago and was able to speak to the someone in management in less than 2 minutes.
Also, mine hasn't fallen apart as the above mentioned tracker.
boneil reply :
i'd be curious to see the welds and seams where the boat came apart. Its possible that it could have been bad welds or a bad batch of material. If it was a design issue I'm sure we would have heard of more failures. I would have thought tracker would have done you better.
Micro reply :
I've had a 1548 Tracker Grizzly since 2004. I've treated it rough. I've banged into everything imaginable: rocks, duck blinds, cypress trees. I've had it hung up on top of those cypress srouts so badly I've had to actually get out and push the boat off. I've even drug/pushed it over a log that I couldn't run it over. The paint has worn off it so badly that I've since repainted it completely with Krylon flat olive green paint ($6 per can versus Trackers $14 forest green paint). Not a single problem. Welds are still solid. One tough boat. I'd buy another (ony bigger) in a heart beat.
Look hard enough and you will find problems with any brand. I looked at G3 and thought there were too many complaints about transom problems. Now I realize that people that think their boats are okay don't post. People with complaints do, so that's what you hear.
cart7t reply :
QuoteQuoteSo you had a horrible experience with a BPS owned/Brand boat and you go back out and buy another from them??that'll teach those guys a lesson....
I didn't have much choice no other brand will trade a damaged hull the only way I'm getting the $5,000 trade in value (Buyback) is on another Tracker brand. I could have turned it to my insurance but the amount would have only been used on another hull a Tracker hull. Getting a Nitro was a better way of using what Tracker was willing to give me it beats getting nothing.
Tight Lines
Pa Angler
I think I would've consulted a lawyer given the amount of money you were talking about. A boat hull that is falling apart at the seams after only 2 years is incredible. The fact that it did it again just 2 years after a factory fix is even worse.
Avoiding getting into the whole Tracker/Nitro is a piece of cr*p thing, that boat conglomeration (which includes your boat despite the "brand" name) has a long history of very poor customer service/satisfaction. I had a friend that bought one of the Tracker Marine "Tahoe" deck boats that turned into a nightmare so going from the aluminum side of the equation to fiberglass won't help any. With that conglomerations boat building, it seems as though it's a roll of the dice as to whether you'll get a good boat or not.
BTW, early BPS tracker aluminums built through the late 80's were infamous for leaking BADLY after just a few years on the water.
Good luck on your new boat.
farmpond1 reply :
QuoteThat sucks man. I can imagine few things as frustrating at that experience.I never get companies doing stuff like that. I mean no matter who they are (even Lexus, BMW, etc), sooner or later they are going to make a messed up product. Seems to me the way to really grow customer loyalty is in those failures. I mean if tracker was to man up and deal it it right, they would win customers left and right.
Nickle and diming someone ain't gonna do it. What you get is that first customer who will never buy another one of your products and all his buds and family too.
Now i have beat the snot out of my PT 175 txw and so far knock on wood, it has performed flawlessly. Course it is a different hull design than the Targa
I agree. It would be different if, say, the boat were involved in an accident (on the road or on the water) but otherwise trying to dodge any liability for a lousy boat (design, material, workmanship, or otherwise) just sends the message out that Tracker is not a company to be trusted. Although my boat is sufficient for my purposes, I'm now less inclined to consider Tracker.
Pa Angler reply :
QuoteQuoteQuoteSo you had a horrible experience with a BPS owned/Brand boat and you go back out and buy another from them??that'll teach those guys a lesson....
I didn't have much choice no other brand will trade a damaged hull the only way I'm getting the $5,000 trade in value (Buyback) is on another Tracker brand. I could have turned it to my insurance but the amount would have only been used on another hull a Tracker hull. Getting a Nitro was a better way of using what Tracker was willing to give me it beats getting nothing.
Tight Lines
Pa Angler
I think I would've consulted a lawyer given the amount of money you were talking about. A boat hull that is falling apart at the seams after only 2 years is incredible. The fact that it did it again just 2 years after a factory fix is even worse.
Avoiding getting into the whole Tracker/Nitro is a piece of cr*p thing, that boat conglomeration (which includes your boat despite the "brand" name) has a long history of very poor customer service/satisfaction. I had a friend that bought one of the Tracker Marine "Tahoe" deck boats that turned into a nightmare so going from the aluminum side of the equation to fiberglass won't help any. With that conglomerations boat building, it seems as though it's a roll of the dice as to whether you'll get a good boat or not.
BTW, early BPS tracker aluminums built through the late 80's were infamous for leaking BADLY after just a few years on the water.
Good luck on your new boat.
I talked to an Attorney sometime ago Tracker is willing to honor the warranty of fixing warranty doesn't cover transportation to and from Tracker or hull replacement.
Thank You for your feedback
Tight Lines
Pa Angler
bilgerat reply :
There's one school of thought that says to write letters, make phone calls, be the squeaky wheel, etc.
That's all well and fine dealing with small to mid sized companies where there's a good chance an owner or someone with the authority will step in and make things right.
When that doesn't work, sometimes your only recourse is to take your lumps and protest with your wallet by spending your money elsewhere. That's the language they all speak. It sucks big time you went through what you did. You posted your experience to over 30,000 people here, you accomplished something whether you realize it or not.
I recently posted about buying a Honda when my Ford sh** the bed at 79,000 miles. A Google search revealed the problem was very widespead and Ford knew of it. What good would it have been to contact Ford ? A form reply along the lines of "We're sorry, better luck with your next Ford product ", as many others in similar situations recieved ? I don't think so.
Glenn reply :
I had a similar issue with an aluminum Smokercraft bass boat. It had a 10 year warranty on the hull, and I bought it from the original owner after 2. In less than 1 year, the hull literally split in 2 places, and developed leaks around most the rivets.
I contacted Smokercraft, and they wouldn't honor the warranty because I wasn't the original owner. A rather sneaky and dishonest way of getting out of their obligations. >
After much hollering, letter writing, and phone calls, they finally agreed to fix the hull. However, I would have to ship the boat to their factory and back at my expense! That would have cost me nearly 2 grand! >
So I found a local welder to fix the hull, replaced 28 rivets with FAA approved super rivets, and then got rid of it asap.
I'm a happy Ranger owner now. 8-)
Pa Angler reply :
QuoteI had a similar issue with an aluminum Smokercraft bass boat. It had a 10 year warranty on the hull, and I bought it from the original owner after 2. In less than 1 year, the hull literally split in 2 places, and developed leaks around most the rivets.I contacted Smokercraft, and they wouldn't honor the warranty because I wasn't the original owner. A rather sneaky and dishonest way of getting out of their obligations. >
After much hollering, letter writing, and phone calls, they finally agreed to fix the hull. However, I would have to ship the boat to their factory and back at my expense! That would have cost me nearly 2 grand! >
So I found a local welder to fix the hull, replaced 28 rivets with FAA approved super rivets, and then got rid of it asap.
I'm a happy Ranger owner now. 8-)
Good for you Glenn, after the third year of failure I need to move on. Ranger is without question a better ride. I just hope the newer Z-7 hull design works out better for me than the Targa. At the first failure on the Z-7 I'll get it repaired and unload it something I should have done with the Targa.
Tight Lines
Pa Angler
cart7t reply :
Better yet, unload the Z7 ASAP before it has a chance to break and get into something better.
scrutch reply :
Next summer, take that Nitro out to the middle of the lake...and sink it. Then take the insurance money and buy a Ranger.
(spoken in jest, of course)
Pa Angler reply :
QuoteBetter yet, unload the Z7 ASAP before it has a chance to break and get into something better.
That sounds like a plan but I have a need to at least enjoy some of it before it goes it's a wait and see deal for this coming 2011 season.
Tight Lines
Pa Angler
Pa Angler reply :
QuoteNext summer, take that Nitro out to the middle of the lake...and sink it. Then take the insurance money and buy a Ranger.(spoken in jest, of course)
Shhhhh, Lets keep that quiet I don't need any insurance investagators snooping around.
Tight Lines
Pa Angler
Jason Penn reply :
best of luck with your new boat!!!!
I hope I'm not a disgruntled Tracker owner one of these days. I've only had my 02 PT175 for a short while, but it's soooo much nicer than the 1436 I fished out of for years.
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