Rusty boat trailer.

bassin butch · Post by **bassin butch** » Thu Aug 07, 2003 2:07 pm

I bought a Nitro Bass boat package from Bass Pro Shop in 1998. The boat, motor, and overall quality I'm pretty pleased with. The trailer is another story. I noticed the steel gauge was too thin from day one. That was a comment from a buddy in 98 "nice boat but why do they use such a cheap trailer"? I have had failures of lighting, bunk boards coming loose, cracks in and around cross members. Now more lights out! I decided to re-wire the trailer. I found excessive rust and water inside the frame tubes. I would advise anyone buying a nitro to pay for an upgraded trailer. I only wish my salesman would have recommended an upgrade trailer to me but he did not.

Bassin Butch

brendanc · Post by **brendanc** » Thu Aug 07, 2003 2:25 pm

Butch,

I have heard the same thing about nitro & tracker trailers. Sales is the culprit here... they have always used price as the motivating factor in people buying their products. Unfortunately for the consumer, they cut corners to save money and keep the cost down. In the long run, you end up having to pay more money to fix the problems that could have been avoided if they just charged more up front and provided quality components.

Sorry to hear of your bad experience... It's too bad for Nitro, because usually when people have bad experiences like this one, they don't come back and buy from the same company again. Here is a statement that came from a marketing research company some years ago, which I have always found true:

"On average, a happy customer will tell 1 or 2 other people about their good experience with a company, but an unhappy customer will go out of their way to tell as many people as they can about their BAD EXPERIENCE!"

MMT · Post by **MMT** » Thu Aug 07, 2003 4:14 pm

Butch, can you drill the tubes to let the water drain? A few small holes might work. How about shooting ot full of foam or silicon to prevent water from getting in.

bassin butch · Post by **bassin butch** » Thu Aug 07, 2003 6:30 pm

Craig; I think drilling some holes will help and I'll give it a try. I don't want to use foam or silicone because that would trap moisture that's in the frame. It would take 6 months to dry out the rusty sludge in there. Brendan your (spot on) my next boat will be a Charger. One thing that really bugs me is the salesman not recommending an upgrade. In 98 my wife took me to breakfast and returning home we passed BPS. She asked if I wanted to look around the store. Upon entering she told me to select a boat. Boy I love her!
Bassin
Butch

brendanc · Post by **brendanc** » Thu Aug 07, 2003 8:25 pm

Wow, it sounds like you got a "Great Wife", but a but the sales rep needs to go!

mofish · Post by **mofish** » Thu Aug 07, 2003 10:31 pm

Soory to hear of your trailer problems. I too have a tube steel trailer. I drilled the holes and that helps but I have another idea I want to try.

Since the paint is chipping and it is rusting from the inside out I am going to repaint the trailer with the bed liner material you can get at Wal-Mart for about $40. To coat the inside I am going to use a pump spray can with a long hose and a spray tip on the end of it. Then I can runthe hose through the tube and when it gets to the end I will start spraying and slowly pull the hose out so that it coats the inside of the tube with the bed liner material. They advertise it not to rust or chip. Then I will repaint the outsid of the trailer with a good spray gun. I hope the $40 investment will save a couple of grand in replacements.

You might try that as a fix.

Conley

6.54BASS · Post by **6.54BASS** » Fri Aug 08, 2003 3:10 am

Butch, I agree, I wish they had made the changes earlier, I am a Tracker staffer, and I have already re-wired my own trailer (it's only 4 months old now). They have made good strides in putting holes where they need to be, mine drains very well and is usually dry by the time I get home from the local pond. Hopefully they have corrected the weak link. Conversely, the only way they find out is from the consumer. At least it's here for the rest of us to be able to as a few more questions before we buy.

bassin butch · Post by **bassin butch** » Fri Aug 08, 2003 3:38 pm

Mofish: I like the idea of bed liner material. Please let everyone know how it works out. To help feed the hose through the frame you might want to use a fish tape. Electrical contractors use these to route wires through conduit. Taping the sprayer tip onto the fish tape end and feeding through might be effective.

Thanks
Bassin Butch

mofish · Post by **mofish** » Tue Aug 12, 2003 11:21 am

Good Idea Butch!! All I got to figure out now is how to get enough pressure on my spray can to feed that paint through the hose. I was thinking of using some kind of sprinkler head, (the small ones used in flower beds)on the end of some tubing. That way once it dries in there I can throw it away without much money lost. I just wonder if my pump up sprayer for staining my deck will work? Any Ideas out there on how to shoot it with that much hose? Do think that pump up sprayer will do the job?

catt951 · Post by **catt951** » Wed Aug 13, 2003 9:39 am

Having lived my entire life on the Gulf Coast has taught me a valuable leason, when possible buy a galvanized trailer. Most companies offer them but you have to ask. Another trick we have learned down south is there are companies that do spray under coating.