ranger boats trailers
Question for Bass Boat and all Boat Owners!!!!?
I’m purchasing a 1992 Ranger 330V and a 135 Mercury Black Max. My family is agreed to buying it and most likely getting it. I am a young bass fisherman and now getting my first bass boat. I am real excited. Is there anything I should worry about? Performance? Engine? The Fiberglass Hull it’s Self? Trailer? The trolling motor is a brand new 2008 Motorguide. It’s 17 feet long.
And we need a truck to tow it with. Any Models/Brands that my family should look for?
NEW? OR USED?
The boat is supposed to weigh under 2,000lbs (1700? 1800?)
THANKS FOR THE HELP! 
congrats, that’s one great boat! the dry hull weight is around 1000, then add 404 for the outboard, 200 for 30 gallons of gas, 150 for 3 batteries, 300 for seats, hardware, electronics, pumps, carpet, then another 100 or so for gear and tackle. Still not too heavy for a single-axle trailer, maybe 600 pounds.
around 2700 pounds towing weight. Look for something with a 5,000 towing weight rating (3500 is too close for comfort in my book). Any full size pickup will do the trick, I’m partial to Ford F150 and they all come equipped for towing. Nissan Titan. Ford Expedition, chevy suburban. They’re all good.
Not a minivan — those are all “cars” and you need a “truck”.
With that much weight, you want a vehicle with a tow package which will include a heavy-duty external transmission cooler. It’s the tranny that suffers most from towing. A V8 Explorer would do it no problem. Myself, I like to buy a truck with 80, maybe 85,000 miles on it…get it checked by a trusted mechanic and you’re set for years.
The forums at bassboatcentral.com and iboats.com are chock full of guys that love to talk boats, a lot of whom know what they’re talkin bout. And your local fishing forum, or if you don’t have one, check out texasfishingforum.com
Learn to drive your boat…get some cockpit time before going full bore wide open. It’s not overpowered by any means, but “chine walk” (google it) is not out of the question. This boat is capable of hurting you if you get too careless — just take a reasonable amount of care.
Never run the outboard without supplying water to the lower unit — only takes a couple minutes dry running to seriously damage the water pump impeller.
Change the impeller every couple years. Use merc’s recommended spark plug at the correct gap. Treat the gasoline with something like stabil or seafoam (I use seafoam). Your outboard is more sensitive to fuel quality than a modern automotive engine.
Develop a methodical procedure for launching and *NEVER* vary from it. I have one very important rule…once a transom tie-down is in my hand, I can’t set it down *FOR ANY REASON* until the drain plug is in. that way, if I launch without the plug, at least the boat can’t leave the trailer.
Take whatever time you need on the ramp, no less, but no more…rushing leads to mistakes, so don’t get rattled by us “pros” trying to hurry you up…just don’t daudle.
Loading Ray’s Ranger Boat onto the trailer on Bob’s Lake at Cedar Haven