The realities of owning a Ranger Tug

[T-Bone]

I have a brand new 2026 R25.

Overall, I like the boat. I wish I loved it.

The quality control coming from the factory isn’t good on this boat. Within the first month, the depth finder stopped working. This is a common issue on these boats and Fluid Motion has to know about it but hasn’t fixed the issue. Not a big deal, I fixed it myself. The stereo on this boat was absolute junk. I honestly would rather they have just left a hole in the dash for me to put a new unit in. The stereo stopped working in the first week of ownership. I replaced and upgraded. Now onto the many electrical gremlins. I’ve had many issued with the inverter and the GFCI tripping. The dealership replaced the unit and it still kept tripping. They finally looked at wiring in other parts of the boat and found that many connections were loose, including those on the Lithium batteries. They went through and tightened everything and it worked…for awhile. Today on the boat, the GFCI on the inverter keeps tripping when I try to turn on the port side outlets. It trips even with no load. I’m sure there is a wire somewhere in the bowels of this thing that is loose. There are other, smaller issues, but these are the most irritating and are clearly simply a case of poor quality control.

Most of these things are minor and I’m sure someone will jump into the comments and give me some garbage line about owning boats and expecting stuff like this. This if the fifth boat I’ve owned and the second I’ve purchased new. I’ve had more issue with this boat that I spend $200k on than any of my other previous boats.

I remember when I bought this boat a friend told me I had better bring my toolbox. He was right.

I’m seriously reconsidering my purchase and hope this post serves as a warning to others thinking about this brand. If you do buy, go into it with your eyes wide open and bring your toolbox.

 

[JMarshallR25]

I have a brand new 2026 R25.

Overall, I like the boat. I wish I loved it.

The quality control coming from the factory isn’t good on this boat. Within the first month, the depth finder stopped working. This is a common issue on these boats and Fluid Motion has to know about it but hasn’t fixed the issue. Not a big deal, I fixed it myself. The stereo on this boat was absolute junk. I honestly would rather they have just left a hole in the dash for me to put a new unit in. The stereo stopped working in the first week of ownership. I replaced and upgraded. Now onto the many electrical gremlins. I’ve had many issued with the inverter and the GFCI tripping. The dealership replaced the unit and it still kept tripping. They finally looked at wiring in other parts of the boat and found that many connections were loose, including those on the Lithium batteries. They went through and tightened everything and it worked…for awhile. Today on the boat, the GFCI on the inverter keeps tripping when I try to turn on the port side outlets. It trips even with no load. I’m sure there is a wire somewhere in the bowels of this thing that is loose. There are other, smaller issues, but these are the most irritating and are clearly simply a case of poor quality control.

Most of these things are minor and I’m sure someone will jump into the comments and give me some garbage line about owning boats and expecting stuff like this. This if the fifth boat I’ve owned and the second I’ve purchased new. I’ve had more issue with this boat that I spend $200k on than any of my other previous boats.

I remember when I bought this boat a friend told me I had better bring my toolbox. He was right.

I’m seriously reconsidering my purchase and hope this post serves as a warning to others thinking about this brand. If you do buy, go into it with your eyes wide open and bring your toolbox.

Glad you like the boat! Sounds like you've resolved your minor issues, except for the inverter tripping. Is it tripping on shore power or off? Maybe check the connection of the ground wire to the inverter. The R25's included stereo is not great. I replaced with a TD50 that fit nicely in the spot. The actual stereo is a Fusion hideaway. Hope you continue to enjoy the boat and the projects. It's fun learning the systems, how everything is put together, and how to make upgrades and tweaks. There is a lot of great content on this forum for boat upgrades.

 

[scross]

Welcome to the age of post-COViD poor quality control. It’s not just boats. Think travel trailers, 5th wheels and Class C & A motor homes. Quality control disappeared industry wide in 2020.
By now you would think quality construction would have been restored to pre-COVID levels. Nothing I read supports that.
The manufactures just want to get product out the door and let dealers deal with the problems. Some dealers are decent but many are overwhelmed by both the volume of warranty work and poor reimbursement practices from the manufacturers.
If you are not happy with your RT I dare you to find ANY manufacturer who is delivering an exceptional quality product today.
I buy used per-COVID with detailed professional surveys to know what I’m getting.

 

[OverTime]

Plus, the boat building process isn't completely robotically automated like a lot of manufacturing is these days. The human element is still very high, hence, quality control is more hit and miss. (A lot of miss these days.) It also raises the price of the "finished" product.

 

[venajeff]

As an engineer, when designing any system, there are three main considerations when sourcing components. Lead time, price, and quality. If a component isn't available then it doesn't matter it's price or quality. If its price is to high it doesn't matter it's quality.
You try to choose the best of the bunch that are available, but testing each individual one through real world wear testing is generally unfeasible.
I always try to put myself in the shoes of the person or people trying their best to design and build anything I purchase. It's difficult, stressful, and mostly unrewarding. Customers like to focus on the mistakes and faults.
My feeling is always the same, if someone thinks they can design and build the perfect product, please do it, I will be first in line to purchase it.

 

[T-Bone]

As an engineer, when designing any system, there are three main considerations when sourcing components. Lead time, price, and quality. If a component isn't available then it doesn't matter it's price or quality. If its price is to high it doesn't matter it's quality.
You try to choose the best of the bunch that are available, but testing each individual one through real world wear testing is generally unfeasible.
I always try to put myself in the shoes of the person or people trying their best to design and build anything I purchase. It's difficult, stressful, and mostly unrewarding. Customers like to focus on the mistakes and faults.
My feeling is always the same, if someone thinks they can design and build the perfect product, please do it, I will be first in line to purchase it.

I was waiting for the Fluid Motion white knight! How about tightening nuts and bolts? Is that too much to ask? How can other manufacturers produce a product that actually works when it is delivered? Is that too much to ask as well?

 

[venajeff]

I know exactly what type of customer you are, and I have no doubt you were waiting for my response.

 

[T-Bone]

As an engineer, when designing any system, there are three main considerations when sourcing components. Lead time, price, and quality. If a component isn't available then it doesn't matter it's price or quality. If its price is to high it doesn't matter it's quality.
You try to choose the best of the bunch that are available, but testing each individual one through real world wear testing is generally unfeasible.
I always try to put myself in the shoes of the person or people trying their best to design and build anything I purchase. It's difficult, stressful, and mostly unrewarding. Customers like to focus on the mistakes and faults.
My feeling is always the same, if someone thinks they can design and build the perfect product, please do it, I will be first in line to purchase it.

Also, my car that I just purchased has been perfect. Everything has worked exactly as advertised. Is that impossible???

 

[T-Bone]

I know exactly what type of customer you are, and I am sure you were waiting for my response.

I'm the kind of customer who expects to pay almost $200k for something and have it work! Crazy right?

 

[venajeff]

I completely understand your frustration. But do remember that vehicles are mass produced and are in a totally different league. That said I have had major issues with brand new $50k vehicles before. And as for expensive purchases, I have heard horror stories about people purchasing brand new homes worth over one million dollars that are plagued with problems.
I just feel like this forum should be used to find and focus on solutions.

 

[OverTime]

I too have a boat that is less than a year old. I have fixed a few issues. Every vessel I have ever dealt with, from my first homemade raft to a US Navy aircraft carrier, to my current R-29 has had things that need to be addressed. It's the nature of the beast. I have found though that the more I "tear into" my Ranger Tug, the more connected I feel with it. It helps to build confidence in the systems and an ability to fix them when needed. I predict that the longer you have your tug it will truly become "yours" and you will end up loving it...not just liking it.

 

[venajeff]

As to your issues with the GFCI outlet. GFCI outlets have tormented me for the last 30 years. I am so frustrated by them that I often feel like death by electrocution is an acceptable alternative. I wish you the best of luck getting it resolved.

 

[T-Bone]

I agree. Those things are challenging. I had to have several replaced in my home. I’m sorry if I came off too harsh earlier. I’m frustrated, but that doesn’t give me the right to criticize someone else. My apologies.

 

[venajeff]

No need to apologize. I have been in the frustrated tent so many times I can't count. I am sure you will get your issues resolved and then in the future when someone has the same issue you are going to be a hero when you tell them the solution.
In my experience, my Ranger Tug is not perfect, but overall I am very impressed with the thought and care that went into creating it.

 

[venajeff]

I don't know if you want to try to fault find your problem on your own or have your dealer address it. But if it was my boat I would find which circuit is causing the GFCI to trip, and then do a thorough inspection of each of those outlets or devices. Any dust, lent, or spider's web on those terminals can be enough to trigger a GFCI when the humidity is high enough. Which could explain why the issue seems to be intermittent.