03 Tracker PT185 - Stress Cracks

[Chris Bumgarner]

Hello everyone, would just like a little adivce or help with a problem I m having with my 03 PT185. It has some major stress cracks in the hull. One on each side of the boat towards the front, and the cracks are exactly where the stringers are on the inside of the boat. And the ceel which is the worst part has some really bad stress cracks.

I first took it to the tracker dealer (1 1/2 hour drive) left it there for 3 weeks and they could not even get a picture taken properly of the cracks and sent to tracker. Found that out by talking to the tracker customer service dept., the only thing I got out of taking it to the deal (RV Outdoor and Marine World) was a cracked cowl cover on the motor, they ran something into it and put 2 nice cracks in it.



Well between the dealer and tracker customer service, I could not belive that NOTHING was done, I never even got a call back from tracker customer service after I picked up my boat.



I have tried to fix it myself with some JB Weld, but the hull is stressing so much, the JB weld is even cracking back off after about 2-3 trips on the water.



And the cracks are not even where the hull is welded, they are in the main part of the aluminum. I even called my insurance company to see if they could do anything, but since I was not in an accident they would not do anything about it.



Well now I am pretty well screwed, I have boat that is worth nothing if I try to sell it/trade it in. Tracker won't fix it and the insurance company was no help either.



I sure am glad Tracker has a LIFETIME HULL WARRANTY that they stand up to.



Any thought's, ideas, suggestions or a possible backdoor into tracker to try to get this problem fixed/resolved. Because I think they owe me a new hull. Even though I really dought that will happen.



Included below are pictures that I took of the cracks...

 

[TOMMY RICH]

Got a couple of questions first....

Are you the original owner?

Has it been damaged by impact ?

 

[Chris Bumgarner]

Yes I am the orignal owner (Even paid extra for the Silver Anniv. Package)



Yes the boat has some dents on the sides from the wind pushing me into stumps, but there are no dents or anything like that where the cracks are. The worst dent is right along one of the weld lines and it has not had any problems, its the main aluminum itself thats cracked.



I sent an e-mail off to Nathan at Tracker Customer Support last night after reviewing some of the other posts on here, hopefully he can help provide me some answers or help. I have a new local Tracker Dealer close by, but it's the same company I took the boat to last year, that I got my boat back in worse shape then when I took it to them (The cracked cover on the motor.).

 

[TrepMan]

Chris - with the crack in the motor cowl, did the dealer replace that and admit their error?

 

[Chris Bumgarner]

Nope, the Service Manager at the dealership the day I picked it up refused to even talk to me. And after I found the crack when I got home with it I was to POed to call them about it, because I was not ging to drive another 1 1/2 hours to take it back.



I just noticed looking through the rplies that Nathan is no longer the Customer Service contact does anyone have another e-mail address for someone I can send the info I sent to him to.

 

[TOMMY RICH]

I can also add just by looking at the welds, that they don't look very good. Looks as if someone inexperienced had the arc too hot and actually melted the aluminum itself. I've seen this done many many times.

Anything less than 1/4" aluminum is a little tricky to weld...there's a fine line between just right and weakining the bond. It still does not explain the long cracks.

A word of advice because I have been thru something similar with Tracker only my problem was with the deck welds underneath.....

Stick with the dealer as long as you can then, you may have to go to corperate headquarters.

 

[Chris Bumgarner]

Thanks for the info guys. In the spots where I have the dents on the sides is where I would expect for the cracks to be. But the location the are at, just does not make an sense to me. Like I said I will full admit and you can see that it has the bumps and brusies, but thats why I bought an aluminum boat to begin with, I have had the wind push me into stumps and ran over some going along with the trolling motor, but I have never hit anything like that when going along with the big motor. I have had alot of people look at it, some with 20-30 years of boat ownership, and everyone of the has said that where the cracks are at should have never happened.



Nathan Long replied back to me, and he sent my e-mail to him on up to the CS Manager at Tracker, so I hope to hear from him soon.



Even the new local dealer that is the same company as the one I took it to in Columbia, SC, said the guys at the one in Columbia were worthless. I went by there to pick up some parts to repair the back light on the boat and talked to them, and could not belive what they had to say about the shop in Columbia. After hearing back from the CS Manager I will probably end up taking to the local dealer, but refuse to leave it with them after what happened last time.

 

[Chris Bumgarner]

Oh yea, about the welding, I know 2 other people who had the 03's and both boats had the same problem, it came down to like you said bad welds. Especially on the inside of the boat, they hand welded the stringers in and messed them up.

 

[TOMMY RICH]

I ve seen a new 190 on the showroom floor that I pointed out to one of the salesmen and he just looked at me and said, "that's a GOOD weld"!

I of course had to straighten him out directly.

Nathan is a good man but, don't be afraid to go over his head ( I did ) if no resolution is met.

Bottom line is if Tracker is actually monitoring this board..They should make it right.



Good welders are getting hard to find thesedays. My boat on the other hand has some of the best welds I've seen on any aluminum rig. It does happen ...even in the upper end like Triton and Express.

 

[Chris Bumgarner]

The problem with that is the place I bought the boat from original is no longer the tracker dealer. When I first went to take it back I found out the original place was no longer a tracker dealer, but RV Outdoor and Marine World (2 Buildings Down) was now the tracker dealer. And thats were the problems with the customer service started.



Nathan is no longer the the Customer Service guy, so he sent my e-mail over to the Director for Customer Service, I also found the e-mail address of Johnny Morris (BPS/Tracker Marine Owner) on this site and if it's the correct e-mail address he also received an e-mail from me last night.



Have not heard back from the Director for CS yet, but hope to by the end of the week. I'm sure I will end up taking it to the local dealer, for them to look at it. Which probably means I am going to have to get under it and try to get all the old JB weld and Marine Silicon off of it so they can see all the cracks. And I am going to make them look at it right then and there and take the pictures, and tell me exactly what they are going to report to tracker.

 

[TrepMan]

Chris - Just out of curiousity, why did you trade the 01 for an 03?

 

[Chris Bumgarner]

I didn't trade an 01 for an 03, the 03 is the first boat that I have ever owned.

 

[TrepMan]

Chris - My Bad, I saw Harpo's comment about his '01 and mistook it for yours below, sorry.



Hope it all works out and Tracker and the dealer make you whole.



Trep

 

[TOMMY RICH]

Chris...if it makes you feel any better and just because I know your situation and what I had to go thru....firmly believe Tracker will make it right.

So chin up and GitterDone

 

[Chris Bumgarner]

Thank's guys like I said I have very much appreciated the help and support. Will keep you updated on the situation and how things are going with it.

 

[Steve Rizza]

Don't see how Tracker could give you any trouble. Looks like the welds were too hot and penetrated too deep, causing the then too thin alum to crack.



The top basically looks like the flexing of the sides against the stringer caused them to push through. Stringers too loose ?? Rubbed the metal thin ??



Impact damage would be easy to spot, you can see the outline of all the stringers on the bottom rear half of my boat. No question it is from too rough of water. Lake Erie and Trackers don't mix very well.



Just my opinion based on what I can see in the photos. Unless you just can't see the whole side is beat in from impact.:blink:



Good luck, I really hope they came through for you.

 

[Chris Bumgarner]

The side has one really bad dent and a few others down the side on the back. But they are well away from where the cracks are at, on the passanger side of the boat. But the drivers side does not have anything but a few spots towards the back, and the cracks along the stringers are happening in the exact same spots. The bottom has some dents in it from going over the top of stumps with the trolling motor but these also are well towards the back of the boat far away from where the cracks are.

 

[Rick Hale]

Well 1st off -- Welcome to this board Chris..



A great bunch of guys here .



Keep up the pressure on Tracker and dealer.



Keep us updated.



Good luck.. Rick

 

[Chris Bumgarner]

Hello again everyone, I am bring this post back to the top for a little more help.



After all of the above, nothing was ever done to fix my boat, the best offer that was made to me was that if I paid to but it on a truck and ship it to Tracker Headquarters from S.C. they would look at it.....



Well I pretty much had given up on ever getting anything done to fix this, I have kept it patched up so I can stay on the water. Well last week I bought some new carpet for the boat and began to take all the floors out to put on the new carpet. Well once I got them front deck and the middle floor out of the boat I noticed some writing on the inside of the hull....it had in large permenant marker CRACK with an arrow point to where a weld was cracked at. Which is exactly where the keel started cracking from, and also noticed several other cracks on the welds right above this area on the main support beam that runs across the boat.



Well needless to say I am now very upset that I have been round and round on this with Tracker and the Dealers to find out it was shipped from the factory like this. I called Tracker CS yesterday, and told them to have the CS Manager call me, but he has yet to return my call. I know they are going to ask me to take it to a dealer, but now the closest dealer to me is over 100 miles away 1 way.



If anyone happens to know of another e-mail address or phone number for someone up in Tracker Management that I cal call or e-mail it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Bill McElroy]

Call an attorney,...you've bent over backwards and got NOTHING but grief and lies from TM. An official complaint on your behalf on an Attorney's letterhead, asking for immediate and complete resolution, along with photo's and documentation (previous workorders, etc) will shake things loose. It's too bad it has to come to this,..but it's NOT your fault...and TM's customer service leaves a lot to be desired. Good Luck...keep us posted!

 

[Chris Bumgarner]

Just so you can see what I am talking about.....

 

[Jim in VA]

Chris - I am typically loathe to involve attorneys as well, but this is a clear case where you've been had. Tracker's lifetime hull warranty should have resolved this in the first place. With the additional discovery of the marker notation, you no longer have just a failure to honor warranty, but a potential fraud case as well. Find a consumer products attorney in South Carolina and have not only a letter sent to Tracker, but let them know that all documentation will also be forwarded to the State Attorney General's office - Consumer Fraud Division for follow up unless you get satisfaction. Your situation is ridiculous!

 

[Greg Meyer]

Chris,



Just a few weeks ago I was pondering a favorable thought... I had not seen any Tracker Customer Service issues posted.



WOW... then yours. I reviewed your info with my son (an attorney here in Illinois) and he advises you to seek legal help immediately. He, too, feels that the sale of this boat to you with the "CRACK" noted on the hull is clear evidence that the hull was defective when built. That it then got shipped out and sold... well... he says... get a good lawyer...



He also suggested that if your local TV, Radio or news outlets have a consumer advocate you should conttact them.



Tracker should eat this hull, replace it with a new one and fix your motor cowling just to keep you from getting deeper into their pockets.



Good luck

 

[larry Everett]

just wondering what has happened with your boat. I have had the same thing happen to me with tracker. I have about 3 or so little cracks up to around 3inch as being the biggest. on the bottom of my 2001 pro team 175. I try to get something done around 2 yrs. ago or so. and they took pictures and sent them to tracker and after about 2 months of nothing they finaly said I could take it all the way out to tracker in springfield and I live about 9 to 10 hr. drive from there and wasn't worth the time. still fishing out of the boat and does take on water just have to turn on the pump once n awhile. just like to know what has happend with your case?