Worst mistake of my life. Would not recommend a ranger tug.

Bobby Beard

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 11, 2016
Messages
45
Fluid Motion Model
C-288 C
Vessel Name
Salty Hobo
I bought our 2017 ranger tug 29 CB in November after spending months of researching. I was under the impression the service was great and they would take care of you. After owning several big boats (silverton, carvers etc) I was tired of always worrying about them breaking down and having to work on them. I decided to buy new for worry free warranty period and having everything new. It has been everything but that. It started small and now has escaladed to full blown nightmare. If I can manage to get the repairs needed, the boat will be sold asap.
A brief summary..
on delivery I noticed the strike plate for the door was bent pretty badly. Requested a new one and was told they would send me one. 5 months and still don't have it after several request.
Rope lighting under bed was missing. Was told they must not put them in anymore even though the bedroom light switch had two switches. After exploring the boat on day of delivery I found the wiring under the bed for the rope lighting. I called and requested the rope lighting again. I did receive it and had to install it myself.
Shortly after noticed toilet leaks, run down edge and into the shower drain also wetting the wood at the base of sink. Have also requested this several times over 3-4 months. Was finally told last week for me to find a local guy to look at it. I did so beginning of this week and was told to have the guy in my area to contact ranger before he went out. He has left a voicemail with no return call yet.
One of the windshield wipers only works on high. Was told that was normal.. no attempt at repair and no final answer if it's normal or not.. I know it's not.. that's been reported for several months.
The starboard side window leaks water on to the engine controls and the thruster controls. I was told to check the wiring from the running light. I called back and told them no access to the wiring. Been 3 months and numberous request. Still not resolved. The water is entering the top of the window frame and getting the wood wet. Still waiting..
Now it goes down hill...
last weekend we had good weather and took our first family trip for the weekend.
First day out. The boat wouldn't do more than 2100 RPMs from either helm. Made it to our destination and found the entire back of our boat was covered in black soot as well as our brand new factory dinghy.
Anchored and tried to enjoy our day.
An hour or so later the generator stopped making power. Was running but It wasn't putting out power. Had happened once before when I was running it to excersise it. I tried to reset breaker all day and into the night. Wouldn't reset until the next morning... generator won't run both air conditioners...
Used dighy for the first time noticed with in a few minutes water was in the bottom of dinghy. Found the dighy is leaking from the transom. Brand new!
Heading back the motor wouldn't do over 2100 RPMs again. Stopped and shut off batteries to reset everything.
That worked and was able to get back to dock at regular speeds.
Sunday while removing the bedding from the cave my wife found the mattress soaking wet. I pulled mattress up and found foam and water everywhere. Black mold had already set in, was on flooring and growing up the carpeted walls. I'm guessing the ac isn't draining and is instead dumping all the water into the cave. Question is for how long? Mattress and carpet on walls are ruined.
I called Monday to request service on motor, genertaor and ac. It's Friday and still no word.
A lot of money tied up in a bed I'm can't use and scared to use.
If you were like me and looking at this thread to help you decide if you want to buy a ranger contact me first!
I have pictures of all of this, I have the numerous text messages and emails.
This is a nightmare and the worst purchase of my life!
 
Oucheeee.... All of that experience sounds really bad. I feel your pain especially after doing your research and spending the money. I would expect Ranger Tugs to chip in here pretty darn quickly to help you solve these issues. I guess there will always be 'lemons' but your story is out of the ordinary for sure.

Good luck with getting things sorted.
 
I will apologize in advance for any errors, spelling or otherwise as I posted this from my phone while traveling. I didn't proof read it.. 😱
 
The possibility of it being a lemon doesn't bother me as bad as the complete lack of customer service.



baz":aukxpr9t said:
Oucheeee.... All of that experience sounds really bad. I feel your pain especially after doing your research and spending the money. I would expect Ranger Tugs to chip in here pretty darn quickly to help you solve these issues. I guess there will always be 'lemons' but your story is out of the ordinary for sure.

Good luck with getting things sorted.
 
I've owned Ranger Tugs since 2009 and have found RT Customer Service to be excellent. Mind you, I do live with a few miles of their sales office and their factories in the Seattle PNW area (which quite honestly shouldn't make a difference).

However, many here will vouch for RT's excellent customer service. If you don get this kind of service then something really odd is going on. You should call RT directly and chat with them ASAP.
 
Hi Bobby,

I'm very sorry to hear of the issues you're having with your R29. I'm the warranty administrator and would like to help get you taken care of. Can you please get me your contact info so we can see what we can do to help get you back up to speed quickly? I can be reached at ralfhenkel@rangertugs.com

THank you!

Ralf
 
Ralf H":2pl7nzyq said:
Hi Bobby,

I'm very sorry to hear of the issues you're having with your R29. I'm the warranty administrator and would like to help get you taken care of. Can you please get me your contact info so we can see what we can do to help get you back up to speed quickly? I can be reached at ralfhenkel@rangertugs.com

THank you!

Ralf

Now that's customer service.right on Ralf.
 
Bobby,

First of all, let me chime in and tell you that I am very disappointed to hear of this news. You and I have spoken from the first day you were considering a Ranger Tug and the next time I hear from you, this is what I read! There are no excuses from our end and none from our dealer. We want the opportunity to make this right and we want the opportunity to make you feel comfortable with the boat and change your opinion about us and the boat you purchased. I have asked Ralf who runs our dealer warranty to get on the case as well as the dealer you purchased the boat from. If I need to get some guys on a plane to Florida to address everything, we will. Please give us until Monday to have a complete resolution in place. Is that satisfactory to you?

Thank you Bobby,
 
Bobby,

I'm very sorry to hear about your issues! I hope that they get resolved quickly. We received our R-29 CB back in September and for the most part everything has gone well. We did have some minor issues that needed to be addressed but both our dealer and the factory have been responsive. We're in California so we are also long-distance relative to the factory.

We did the factory experience so we had a chance to meet and work with Andrew and Kenny - both excellent gentleman to have on your speed-dial! For example a question came up the other day so I called Andrew - and he quickly addressed it. As you've noticed, they do pay attention to this forum.

Good luck!
Eric
 
Ralf and Andrew thank you for the reply.
I just spoke with Ralf to further explain the situation. He requested an emailed list of issues. Will be sending the list shortly.
 
Scuba Too":1ln8ijqw said:
Bobby,

I'm very sorry to hear about your issues! I hope that they get resolved quickly. We received our R-29 CB back in September and for the most part everything has gone well. We did have some minor issues that needed to be addressed but both our dealer and the factory have been responsive. We're in California so we are also long-distance relative to the factory.

We did the factory experience so we had a chance to meet and work with Andrew and Kenny - both excellent gentleman to have on your speed-dial! For example a question came up the other day so I called Andrew - and he quickly addressed it. As you've noticed, they do pay attention to this forum.

Good luck!
Eric

Hey Eric I'm glad to hear you guys aren't having any issues! Most of mine are minimal and expected to some degree. It's the long delays, lack of response and the ever escalating issues that concern me the most. My dealers response is for me to figure it out and make the calls. I suppose I do all the foot work and they just pay the invoices. Not exactly what I assumed a warranty would be. Im just ready to get everything fix and move on. Find another boat with less issues.
I can only assume at this point my mistake wasn't contacting the factory months ago. I will see how that goes now that contact has been made.
 
Bobby terrible to hear about your issues. However, please give The Ranger Factory an opportunity to get involved. They are an amazing team and very focused on customer satisfaction. The Ranger family was a driving force behind why my wife I ordered our new R29. We could have bought any boat but we bought a Ranger because of the people behind the company. Give them a chance to help you I'm sure you will be happier after they get involved.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Craig":3o6f5zqf said:
Bobby terrible to hear about your issues. However, please give The Ranger Factory an opportunity to get involved. They are an amazing team and very focused on customer satisfaction. The Ranger family was a driving force behind why my wife I ordered our new R29. We could have bought any boat but we bought a Ranger because of the people behind the company. Give them a chance to help you I'm sure you will be happier after they get involved.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks Craig. One of the main reason I bought the ranger tug was the reported customer service. I'll know soon.
 
Bobby,

Again, I'm disappointed that both the engine and generator had issues on the same day last weekend. That's no fun and it's not something we all would expect from these products!!

We have contacted Marine Maintenance who is the authorized dealer for both the Volvo engine and generator....just waiting for a reply with regards to their scheduling, should be early next week. As far as the other items, Rick is scheduled for Monday. Otherwise, Carl is due back Tuesday and can visit the boat as well. Thanks Bobby.
 
Wow. I don't blame you for being upset. I bought my R25 new in January 2012 from Marc Grove at Wefings Marine in Apalachicola Florida. Wefings arranged delivery of the boat to me in Ohio in March after installing a canvas enclosure.

Unlike you I had great customer service even though I was a long way from both Wefings and Ranger Tugs. I know nothing about the new Ranger Tugs dealer in that part of Florida, but Marc and his team were quick to answer any question by phone and for those things that required it, Andrew and Ranger Tugs were great. Like you I've had lots of boats from Jon Boats to a 40' Searay. But I've never had a factory guy like Andrew give me his cell phone number.

I use a boat dealer/service center on Lake Erie to service and store my boat in the winter. In February they called me about an issue with my bow thruster. I texted Andrew. This, mind you on a 2010 R25. I was just seeking some info. Within minutes I had a reply.

I also had none of the major problems you've had like water entry, engine issues, etc. But for those things that have popped up over the past few years Ranger Tugs has been excellent. And even though Wefings is no longer a Ranger Tugs dealer, Marc Grove has remained someone I could call if I needed to.

I have been really amazed at how much those guys seem to care about doing the right thing. Now that you have their attention, let us know how it goes over the next few weeks.
 
Sorry for your issues Bobby.
I am sure Andrew and Emile will resolve them all.
We bought a 2014 used R31CB from Seagate in Stuart and they faced all items found in survey, most due to lack of use.
It has been a great boat and I would recommend Ranger Tugs to anyone.
We have had very few issues in the year and 120 hours we have owned the boat.

Bill & Pat "Radio Active"
 
Thanks for the replys. It's nice to know they are known to take care of their customers. Hopeful for the same results.
At this point I would be ecstatic to get a strike plate in the near future....
 
So sorry you have had a difficult start with your Tug!

I also can testify that I have experienced only the very best of customer support from everyone at Ranger Tug. I can't speak to dealers, as I have only worked directly with the factory (I am local). I have had timely, expert support on both of my Tugs (classic 29 and now a 31). Based upon my personal experience, I am confident that Andrew Custis and the whole Ranger team will work hard to make sure that all of your issues get resolution!
 
Sorry to hear you had such experience. I downsized from a larger boat to a ranger 27 for the reason of the great support and did not regret it. The staff at ranger is great and wonderful to work with.

I suspect your experience is with your local dealer who may not have your satisfaction on their mind. Perhaps some of those problems could have been found during final seatrial before taking over the vessel. But some will may only show up at a later time, oddly enough one day after warranty is over 🙂

However, if your local dealer is not giving you the attention required to address your problems, the factory stands behind their products. Don't let those problems discourage you to enjoy your boat once they have all been addressed and corrected. They will get to the cause of those problems and find solutions.

Fair winds
 
No doubt about the great service and product Ranger has. However, I think they could save themselves a considerable amount of time and cost along with customer heartache if a Total Quality Management system were in place. Bobby's situation should have never escalated to the point of having to make his post. TQM not only eliminates many manufacturing issues from leaving the factory, it also includes a system of rapid response required by all the dealers with the proper technical support at a point of sale local level. Someone at Ranger should look at this situation and ask, what are each of the issues, what caused them and how can they be prevented in the future.
Additionally, these boats have complicated systems and many times many issues are end user induced. A thorough systems training and knowledge experience should be mandatory.
Just my point of view as a former business owner who's business was known for quality product and excellent customer service. I can hang my hat on TQM.

Mike Rizzo
 
Back
Top