Any 06 Tracker Pro 175 TX owners here?

[rickd]

Well I did a reality check and found that a glass boat was out of the picture, I would have to get a new vehicle etc.

So I went down and checked out the Tracker 175 TX and have a few questions for folks.

How well does it fish with two fat boys around 210 to 260?
Was looking at getting the 40hp Merc EFI, enough power for this boat?
I have a Taurus with a v6 enough pulling power, it’s only 1500lbs?
Should I get the breaks for the trailer?
How well does it handle rough water?
I don't think I could fish most tournies with a 40 horse?

Thanks ahead of time.
rickd

[mac (Doyle McEwen)]

It is a good boat, doesn't handle real well in rough water, but can still be safe..It will hold two big guys, but it really wasn't made to..The 40 will get you there and back, it just won't do it very fast..Don't know about your tow though, it should work..

mac

[bryanw80]

I have the 2004 175 TX with the 50 4 stroke, exact same boat as the 2006. It is a great boat and handles well in my opinion. I was out on the delta with 10-15 mile winds and it cut right through the choppy water with no problms at full throttle. The only downside is that a 50 is not enough motor for the size, diffenently not a 40. You holeshot power will be minimum and top speed with a 40 will only be 20-25 on glass water. I can only get to 30 on glass. I would say yes on the trailer brakes also. Hope this helps.

[rickd]

The "sales" guy had a Merc book that laid out the motor size and speed and it read that the 40 would get to 30 and that the 50 or 60 would only gain 5-7 mph?

Is it the hole shot or overall speed that you are looking at?

And what is the dif between the ELPT and the Opti if you know?

Thanks again,
rickd

[Ken C.]

Rick, he's a salesperson. Don't believe it unless he's willing to put it in writing. Do yourself a favor. If you are wanting to buy new, put the MAX HP on the back. It will greatly improve your ability to sell it when the time comes, and in reality it won't cost that much more. And believe me that time will come sooner than you think ! For that boat the max is 75 HP. That would get that boat scootin' fairly decently. A forty would be grossly underpowered...

But in all reality, my personal feeliing is that you'd be doing yourself a bigger favor by taking the money you'd be spendin' on that new boat and doing the search to find something bigger and better for the same price. IT CAN BE DONE!

Feel free to email or PM me and I'll be happy to talk with you about it

[bryanw80]

I agree look for something slightly used to get more of a boat. I wish mine had a 50 or at least a 60. I gaurantee you will not get that boat to 30 mph with a 40, you will need at least the 50.

[gt5bass]

I have a Taurus with a v6 enough pulling power, it’s only 1500lbs?

I use to tow my old 175TX with an Acura Integra (4 cyl). No problems towin' it at 70 on the HWY. Got over 20 mpg towin ta boot Always gots some wierd looks when I show'd up at the ramp though

It had the old Merc Classic 50 (40hp) on it. Ran about 32mph (GPS). Teaches you to fish thorough and close to home as it only had a 12 gal gas tank. Fished it on the Delta, Oroville, Folsom, Shasta, and all the LA area "ponds" Casitas, Castaic, Pyramid, Piru, and Cachuma. Finally fried the motor and split a bunch of the rivets. Sold it off to a guy for $500 (sans graphs) and went lookin' for a glass boat.

[DPetty]

I own a 01 Tracker Pro Team 175 TX with a 60 hp Mercury. Handling-it handles fine for what it is. I don't believe a 40 hp will do 30mph. I get 32mph (with GPS) with 2 adults, full gear, full tank and three batteries.Towing, I pull mine with a Ford Ranger V6. Brakes on trailors is always a good idea. Rough water-You can get through it, you'll take on spray in high winds but, it's just water. I've run through the middle of Oroville and the Delta in high winds, just use a little common since. Tourneys-there are a couple of small boat divisions out there but, you can fish anything you can brave through. It's not the boat that catches the fish. Good fishing to you.

[Gator]

I used to have a Tournament TX with an Evinrude 40 and with a full load of fuel, three batteries, tackle and me, it would GPS 32-34 on smooth water.

Good fishing platform, just be cautious about where you run if you are on the bigger bodies of water.

You can also get a 15-17 glass boat (used) for less than a new Tracker. What are you talking about towing it with?

[fishnrich]

I previously owned a 03 pt175 with a 50hp 2stroke meck. The ELPT stands for power trim and the opti is an approved 2 stroke motor. I tend to agree with getting the 75 hp. The 50 did the job but it was slow. I wouldnt worry about trailer breaks either. I just sold my tracker after replacing the carpet. I got 6k for it, could have got more but I was selling to a friend. The only major issue I had was with the welds cracking on the hull. It seemed to be inherent with the 03's. Good luck.

[Dan McKenzie]

First, I know there are some good tracker boats out there and this is statement is not to say they are all bad, but... I wouldn't touch one with the preverbial 10'ft pole. Tracker marine has one of the lowest ratings of ALL boat manufacturers out there. Whe I started to seriously consider buying a bass boat, I wanted "new" didn't want someone elses "old" boat. I have to thank my brother for talking me out of buying a new tracker, his advise in my opinion was dead on. A glass boat is a better platform, they don't have leak issues (welds/rivets) such as most aluminum boats, re-sale is superior. Just look up all manufacturers your interested on the net, look at consumer affairs complaints, talk to as many owners of various manufacturers and you will come to the same conclusion I did, I didn't want to take a chance on a boat/mfg'r that had as many complaints as tracker marine, again I know there are poeple who have been served well by their tracker, just wasn't willing to take that big of gamble with my money.
I spent 5 months looking for a used boat, I paid less for 97' 185zx Skeeter w/150 yam than I could have bought a new tracker for, there is no doubt my glass boat fishes better, will hold its value longer, no problem with rough water or being underpowered. If you are patient and look at enough boats you will find the one that is right for you. There is no way you would be satisfied for long with a 40 or 50 hp motor, going 20-30 mph, yes 2 big guys could probably fish out of it, but it is going to be moving all over the place and not a very stable platform. If you do pursue a used boat, do your homework, there are some really good older boats-especially some of the Rangers and Champions and Skeeters out there well taken care of, get set up with a good shop who can check out the motor, leak down and compression check is a must. I am very happy with what I got, it ain't new, has some dings-now some of the dings are mine Good luck and remember to be patient, summer is not the best time to swing a deal, there are a lot more boats that become available in the fall/winter, bum rides till then.

[rickd]

Thanks for all the responses.

Dan you make total sense, I’m not very patient right now! Since my buddy blew up his Ranger I have been crawling the walls. I do spend most weekends out there but without a boat and it’s killing me! I do have friends that have boats but I want to fish where I want and go out when I want.

The boat would sever 2 purposes; the first would be bassin and the second would be murdering duck and geese. Wrap a little camo around that sucker and I’m good 2 go!

Right now I don’t have the vehicle to pull a glass boat around and would fit into my current situation.

I think I’m going to proceed but take Ken’s advice and put a 75 on the back.

Thanks again,
rickd

[MIKE VAN WAGNER]

BEFORE YOU GO OUT AND GET AN ALUMINUM BOAT PLEASE GIVE ME A CALL. WE ARE NOW HANDLING STRATOS BOATS AND WE HAVE A NEW 176 STRATOS THAT IS WITHIN ABOUT 400 LBS OF THE ALUMINUM BOAT. THE PRICE POINTS ARE DESIGNED TO COMPETE IN THE ALUMINUM BOAT MARKET. PLEASE GIVE ME A CALL.

THANKS
MIKE VAN WAGNER
C&C MARINE 2
7812 AUBURN BLVD
CITRUS HEIGHTS CA. 95610
916-729-0590

[Sacto John]

I pull a 16 foot glass boat with my 4 cylinder Subaru, so a small glass boat is one way of going. You can also look for a older truck to use just as a pull vehicle. I looked into buing an older truck for just that purpose and they can be found for around $1500. Just something else to think about

[Dan McKenzie]

Rick,
Take Mikes' advice and call him. If your still thinking aluminum look at the other manufacturers. Talk to some of the delears that used to carry Tracker and don't anymore. If you get a good one then your o.k., but..... if your boat ends up with problems, it can and is a nightmare for some check out:

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/boats/tracker.html

I pull my 18.5 glass boat with a Nissan Frontier (not overpowered by any stretch) with the addition of trailer brakes it pulls a lot better than I ever imagined. The key is to be sure the tow vehicle and the boat are level, there are a lot of fairly inexpensive things you can do to get them set up right and unless you plan on taking it up to the mountains a ton, you'll pull a little heavier boat without any problems, set up is the key.

[XMAN]

go with a used glass boat, in 2 years you will anyway--this winter you will have hella deals--im seeing 3 yr old 520s for the mid 20s-yea baby--xman

[Quantum_Kid]

You may want to give Crestliners a look. We have an '04 1750 Fish Hawk, and it is an Awesome boat. It has a 90 horse 4-stroke Merc on the back, and fully loaded with two people, and the standard aluminum prop, we have gotten 45 on gps. They are all welded, and we have had no problems since we have had it. Their website is www.crestliner.com Bob's Marine in Modesto is a good place to look, and their site is http://www.bobsmarine-ca.com/index.htm

Good luck,

Scott Trummer

[rickd]

I called C&C, we'll C what happens!

[rexford]

Hey Mike,

I agree with the others. 40HP is WAY under powered.
If I recall those are Deep Vs hull designs? That combined
with all your gear and passangers is trouble. Getting on
plane with all that in a 20mph head wind is going to be
some work I think.

Something to ponder is buy a used glass boat with 150
ponies and then get a beater truck to tow it. I see trucks
all the time in the $1500 dollar range and I know you can
get a nice used boat for $10-$15K. I think your still under
budget and have a boat you will not be sorry with. You
can upgrade the truck later if you want.

[rexford]

Sorry Rick I called you Mike.

[Trackerbass]

I have an '06 175. So far I love it,but it is my first bassboat. It's got the 60 hp Merc. Not a race boat,but fast enough for me.With 2 guys(235 & 200) it tops out at 38 mph on gps. With 3 guys,the 3rd being 300+, it still went 35 but took a long time to get on plane.Wanna go for a ride? I'm east bay also.

[MIKE VAN WAGNER]

RICK

I MISS QUOTED THE WEIGHT DIFFERENCE ITS IS ONLY 102 LBS DIFFERENT WITH THE SAME MOTOR BETWEEN THE TRACKER AND THE NEW 176XT STRATOS.

MIKE VAN WAGNER
C&C MARINE 2
7812 AUBURN BLVD
CITRUS HEIGHTS CA. 95610
916-729-0590