My new Avalanche paint falling off

[Brian Chambers]

I bought a 2002 avalanche from BPS in Cincinnati in November. I took the boat out in December to break the motor in. A couple of days ago my brother noticed a chunk of paint missing and a patch of bubbles above the spot where the paint is now gone. Is anyone else having problems with their paint coming off? The boats always garaged. Now should i contact BPS or another dealer? Any comments from a BPS rep would be appreciated.

 

[Bill McElroy]

That's a warranty issue,...take it to the Service center in Cinci and have them get it repaired for you....they'll take care of it.

 

[Greg. Avery]

Brian I had this happen to me with my Magna & called BPS & they took care of it. I did not want to take it back to the dealer(bad dealer & BPS was not in Mi. yet) so they sent me the paint & decales & paid my brother-in-law to do it.

 

[Rob LaMoy]

Is the paint sprayed on the Ave's or baked on. I seem to recall something new age about the finish as well. Do they just spray them like an auto? If so, bad primer or dirt can cause that problem under the paint. In the late 80's most Dodge and Fords in blue had that problem. I had 2 and they both flaked off to the primer. Is there ever primer on an Ave?

 

[TrepMan]

Rob - According to the Tracker web-site " The hull then gets an automotive-type baked-on finish that shines like a luxury car. " You KNOW i'm not a car guy, so I don't know what that means!!LOL



Brian - What Mac said, immediately call the dealer you bought the boat from, explain the issue and make an appointment to bring the boat in for them to repair.

 

[Rob LaMoy]

A baked on paint is a tough finish. Probably some dirt or something under there that didn't allow the finish to get a good "grab" on the hull. We use a lot of bake on paint finishes here at work for transit purposes and unless something gets kicked up off the rail and literally hits the frame, that paint isn't coming off. It's even hard to scrap it off with a screwdriver.

 

[TrepMan]

Hey Rob, what DO You realy do for a living??

 

[Rob LaMoy]

Don't you pay attention? It's hard to be a year round fishing guide when your home water freezes solid for 3 1/2 months. I keep a marketing/sales job for benefits and winter income. I work steady all winter and into the spring but then have an arrangement for my guide service starting in May until November. I usually guide 3 days a week sometimes up to 4. The company I am with now designs, manufactures, and repairs HVAC for the transit industry. If you've ever been on a light rail (Amtrak) or subway car, chances are the heat or AC came from our plant and I sold all the aftermarket parts to keep it running. I am hoping to put my marketing and sales skills to work full time in the boating industry soon, or to take my guide service full time with a branch in TX or FL for the off season up north. But it's NOT easy. Most people don't understand, or appreciate the costs of operating a larger successful outfitter/guide service. I wanted a B&B to be able to offer lodging and accomodations, but the Stonehelm where everyone stayed for the rally sold for $800k!!! Way too much for what is there. I think I will just get some land on the lake and build small cabins and do the same down south. Then go full time guide/pro. If you could catch fish, I would put you on staff, but you need to attend a few more BASS university classes first! LOL

 

[TrepMan]

It was the NON fishing/hunting/B&B I didn't remember! LOL



As to taking more fishing classes, my good looks, engaging personality and killer instincts aren't enough??? LOL



Knew you sold/marketed something, for some reason thought you were a used car salesman!!!

 

[Rob LaMoy]

Me thinkie you funny, jarjar!

 

[Charlie Nethaway]

Sorry to hear about your paint Brian, as I stated in another post... paint on tin is downright stupid. My TV-18 is getting scratched all to hell and will continue unless I stop fishing. Any thing you rub will mess the paint up.

Your problem is on YOUR NEW TRACKER BOAT and I know the feeling about having a bad dealer so I suggest that you take it to any TRACKER service center that YOU want, that is what any salesman will tell you, "but we would love to service it for you also" (because we know how much money we can make off of tracker service)



Hey guys ya'll just say take it in they will take care of it, how good of a paint job will they do ? how long will it take? (keep your fingers crossed) and what about fishing wile this boat is in the shop??? they don't have loaners do they? Year round fishing in Texas. minus 90 shop days last year.



Just thought about my paint job on my TV-18 and I will tell you it is not nearly as good as the factory finish and wont last nearly as long. And I'm talking about both gunnels from the counsels back. But it wont be pretty paint for ever anyway so to you and all others with pretty boats " FISH ON" and for those of you that fish Fork, you know how to climb over the stumps and get back to the ramp and cry about the scratches ! LOL bring your old boat to fork.



well just my opinion and we all know what that is worth. what do the Indians say? "squat"



fish on my friends

Charlie



ps best of luck Brian but most of all enjoy the badazz boat you have!

 

[James D.]

had a fried with a s-10 truck that paint would not stick on the bumper. He had it painted like 4 different times and each time, after a couple months, it would start peeling off. ended up being some type of chemical reacation or something in the metal. He ended up getting a new bumper and the paint stuck to it - for about 2 yrs. i was wondering how well the paint would hold up on the Ave's. only time will tell.



jd

 

[Steven Atwell]

Rob, if you are planning to come to FL, there is no better location than the Stick Marsh. It's a catch and release only lake, and loaded with lunker LM. I could help you out, maybe give you a tour of the place, or a place to sleep for a night. later

 

[JAMES MOORE]

Just so you know I have the 2002 Avalanche also, and to this point I have a hard time even getting a scratch in it. That baked on paint is tuff. I put probably 75 hrs. on mine and the biggest problem I had with mine was the trolling motor. The boat itself has had know major problems. take it back to the dealer first, sounds like some oil or a contaminant got on the boat when they hot dipped it. Mine does have a few very small bubbles in it, but thats metal fragments from the grinding process they go through. Good Luck and keep us posted on how things work out. Jim Moore

 

[JEFF WHITE]

ok,my 2 cents on the paint subject.the main cause of paint flaking off aluminum finishes is the base metal(aluminum) needs to be sanded throughly with at least 180-220 grit sandpaper.you have to make sure the paqrent metal is thoughly sanded with no shiny spots,or oxidized looking spots.a good self etching primer/sealer should be applied to the finish.then it should be tacked off with a tack rag and then painted when the sealer has setup,within 24 hrs or less.



unfortunately with production of vehicles,that cant be helped,it might sit all weekend,or not setup,or not sanded properly.the key is time must be taken to get the surface clean and sanded properly to get the paint to stick.



have you ever noticed how your cars finish scratches too easily?that is because the cleaqrcoat is soft,not hard.they make many diffrent types of clear,the auto maqkers use the quickest setting clearcoat so they can push the cars out the door,if you do it yourself,get the best clear the slow setting stuff.it will set up hard and never have to worry about scratching it easy.



ive said enuf!

 

[Brian Chambers]

OK im impressed with BPS. I put this message on the board at 3:30 am yesterday. I didnt get a chance to call BPS today but when i got home about 20 mins ago and checked my answering machine i got a call from the BPS service center in Cincinnati. Said he got an email saying i was having problems with my paint and to give him a call to set up an appointment to get the problem resolved. So id like to thank whomever sent that email and thank BPS for a quick response. Oh one more question to you Avalanche owners out there with that 115 4-stroke. Are those motors holding up good any problems with anything? I only had the chance to take mine out for the first 2 hours of its break in period but the motor seemed to run very well and boy was it queit.

 

[JAMES MOORE]

I wish I could answer that one for you but keep us informed on how well yours runs and everything with the 115 4 stroke. I'm hoping they come out with a 175 4 stroke that can be mounted on the Avalanche. It would be a screamer with a long distance capability.

 

[gone bye bye]

IF you dont want the paint to come off or you dont want stress cracks...keep it on the trailer....



It happens to all boats....use it, love it....



Mini

 

[Staci Matheis]

Brian -



Yes, metal can develop stress cracks. Back in 1970, I drove a 1963 TR-3 that was the perfect example - the metal in the hood and fenders flexed so much while driving that the hood and area around the headlights had severe cracking.



However..... Because of the design and support structures, it is highly unlikely you would ever see stress cracks develop in your boat.



me!

 

[Brian Chambers]

Thanks for the info Scott. Ill keep my eyes out and see if any develop. Course its gonna have to get warm enough to use it so i can find out.

 

[Charlie Nethaway]

Scott-

FYI I didn't expect the local service shop to fix anything that Rhoades messed up nor did I blame anything on anyone that was not responsible for the boat or work performed on it.

Ultimately tracker is responsible for making sure that every customer is satisfied. If someone has a problem with a dealer or service shop tracker should do something about it.

Brian-

As far as using a different service shop other than your dealer, any tracker service shop can service your boat, find one you can trust is the most important thing.



I have learned to look over the boat when picking it up and don't receive it until it is fixed correctly.

once again just my opinion

 

[Anotherdink Scott Chambers]

no insult tooken about bro's boat but like he said he has only gone through first 2 hrs of break in, I was with him. it wasnt from inpact we where in a average of 60+ ft of water and it was flat as ice and with that 4 stroke would of heard a impact plus the blisters about a foot above looks like it got a bad dip or wash ever how they do it. I crawled all under with a flashlite and couldnt find any other problems but a few blimishes they painted over but hardly noticable and paint looks good otherwise.



BPS- I'm real impressed so far, will wait and see how it all goes, especially since I have a 901 on order due in in march, would hate to cancel do to lack of fixing a prob that was created in factory, but would . But with the speed of service so far dont see any problems only cudos.



Charlie- I dont blame you I would be agravated to from all I have read and believe me I have read a lot of post on here before deciding to buy a nitro, and you and a few others have made me think even harder. Thanks for the heat you have put on them It may of helped others even if you havnt got all your problems fixed. Plus all the triton boats in my club made it a real hard decision because I like them and the skeeter but bang for the buck I still feel nitro is the way to go but Ill definitly say a prayer before I take dilevery and git rid of my trusty old hydrosport, it may be old but it catches fish and it always starts.

 

[Staci Matheis]

Charlie -



Tracker is not responsible for errors on the part of the Dealer.



me