Posts: 32885
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Many of the ads for Tuffy Boats onsite here are boats that have sold, we need to update those. I'll tell you why there are lots of Tuffys and lots of Rangers for sale here; lots of folks buy both brands. Plus, there are a number of Tuff Team folks onsite who advertise their boats for sale after a year or so, with the intent of buying a new Tuffy; and a number of Ranger Team folks doing the same. Another point, this is a Muskie website, and Tuffy builds Muskie boats. Might be a bit of an influence there, don't you think?
The storage issue in the E Mag was a pain for years in the rear storage hatch especially. That was redesigned and now it's sealed, and won't let water in unless the latch seal gasket fails, which CAN happen. Interestingly, Ranger doesn't promise dry storage, and in fact in the 2007 warranty won't cover leaking hatches or other designed openings, and for good reason; water is GOING to occasionally get into the best designed storage lockers. Crestliner, Lund, and a host of other brands didn't even try to go there, most of the storage is just plain wet sometimes.
A bit more of a warranty explanation; the hull, stringers, and transom are 10 years on the Ranger, lifetime for original owner and this is only transferable ONE time, according to the 2007 published warranty. Now Ranger knows, just like Crestliner and Lund, the average guy owns his new boat for between 3 and 5 years. So the second owner has a few years warranty ONLY on the hull, transom, and stringers, and those only if there has been a failure deemed to be Ranger's problem, so to speak. If the boat didn't have any problems after 3 years, it is extremely unlikely it ever will.
Gelcoat finishes including blistering, cracking, crazing, fading, chalking or discoloration are not covered, nor is crazing; carpet and upholstery wear, fraying or tearing or any other problem covered under the three year warranty unless it's deemed to be a workmanship or material defect by Ranger. Many of the components in a Ranger warranted for three years Tuffy covers for five, like the seats, carpet, and main electrical. If they didn't fail after 3, they probably won't by 5. Ranger offers a transferable warranty with a $100 fee; one transfer only, Tuffy doesn't care if the boat has had 4 owners, if it's within the 5 year warranty schedule, it's covered. Most Tuffy owners keep their boat for more than the 5 years, anyway. If a Ranger has a two year birthday at a dealer, then the warranty the customer gets when buying that non current is running from the date of manufacture, so 1 year on some things or zero if the boat is 3 years old, nothing to transfer but the hull, stringer, and deck warranty. A non current Tuffy will be covered for 5 years from the date of sale, regardless of the model year or date of build. Subtle differences, and really not that big of a deal, but I'd guess the dealers are keenly aware of the warranty issue, and drop the price of a Ranger approaching that 24 month in stock barrier to sell it while the full warranty applies for the customer. That might explain the great prices one sees on two or three year old new Rangers now and again. No idea, but it makes sense to me. By the way, if you are after a new Ranger, our good friend Chuck Nelson went to work at Heckels in Eagle River, I bet he'd love to have a shot at the sale.
My experience with a stringer or hull failure on an older Tuffy has been they take care of the customer UNLESS there was abuse or serious neglect, and even then will offer a deal most customers are delighted with to fix the problem. I bet Ranger does the same, on a one to one basis. The warranty is only as strong as the company, and both exceed the warranty sometimes to keep a customer happy and talking up the brand.
As far as owning an older Ranger or Tuffy, some folks 'old' boats are other folk's 'new' boats. Thank goodness for that, or there would be a ton of guys fishing from shore. Every one of you who own an older boat ARE an eventual prospect for a new boat, be it a G3, Tuffy, Ranger, Polar Kraft, Skeeter, or whatever. All will do the best they can to win you over.
Face it, both are great boats. One is a national builder, the other regional. Neither worries all that much about the other, we get along out there just fine. Both will get their share if they innovate and build cool new products.
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