Tracker PT 175 TXW vs Lowe ST170

[Craiger12]

Looking into buying my first bass boat in the next year or so and just starting to do some research. I was wondering what makes one of these boats better or a better buy than the other. The specs appear to be nearly identical and the prices seem to be comparable. Is this another one of those brand loyalty things like Shimano vs. Daiwa, or are there legitimate features that would make you pick one over the other. Also, any other advice for a first time buyer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks all.

[Jig Man]

I don't know who owns Lowe now but in the past they have been better than Trackers.  I have owned both and might consider a second Lowe sometime if I move back to aluminum but Tracker would be way down on my list.

[slonezp]

I might be mistaken but I believe I heard from a Lowe dealer that Lowe actually makes Tracker boats.

[Wayne P.]

Brunswick Corporation, a Fortune 500 company, acquired Lowe Boats n 2004. Brunswick Boat Group is the world's largest manufacturer of pleasure boats.

[TennesseeShad]

Given the option I would go with the Lowe. I think they are much better built and ride much smoother.

[Jig Man]

I might be mistaken but I believe I heard from a Lowe dealer that Lowe actually makes Tracker boats.

Tracker boats are made by Tracker Marine group which is owned by John L. Morris of Bass Pro Shops.

[slonezp]

I might be mistaken but I believe I heard from a Lowe dealer that Lowe actually makes Tracker boats.

Tracker boats are made by Tracker Marine group which is owned by John L. Morris of Bass Pro Shops.

Did some reasearch and found Lowe was originaly Appleby boats in Lebanon Missouri and due to their success Tracker began building boats in the same town.

Didn't mean to hijack your post.

[done]

I have a PT 175 TXW and love it. I do not have personal experience with the lowes but the few Lowes boats I have seen, were definitely superior in the build and structural strength.

Not sure what the cost difference is. The PT 175 TXW is a good package for the money.

[Fishes in trees]

I have a Lowe, a WF 180 new in 2002.  I looked at the Trackers at that time.  I thought they were very similar.  My decision came down to the fact that the Lowe dealer was flexible and the Tracker dealer wasn't.

For instance, the Tracker dealer was reluctant to swap out trolling motors.  The Tracker at the time came with a 46 pound thrust Motor Guide, and I wanted a much larger Minn Kota.

Basically the Tracker dealer was selling the package as is, deal with it and the Lowe dealer worked with me alot more, getting me what I wanted.

The Lowe started out a package, but I ended up upgrading the trolling motor, electronics and switching from a 2 stroke to 4 stroke.

The tracker did have better thought out storage.  IMO  Several of the bins in my Lowe are prettty much useless as they are a pain in the butt to access.

If it was my decision, I made it on the basis of which dealer I felt better about, because sooner or later, you'll break stuff on your boat.  It is inevitable.

[Craiger12]

Thanks for the help guys. Your responses have got me looking closer at Lowe boats than I would have.

[kikstand454]

id also like to say that the few engine mechs that i know wont touch a bps boat with an 8' flippin stick. they have to go back to bps or and authorized dealer.

[TopDog]

Lowe is all aluminum also, If not mistaken the Tracker has wood decks.

[done]

id also like to say that the few engine mechs that i know wont touch a bps boat with an 8' flippin stick. they have to go back to bps or and authorized dealer.

curious, what is it in the boat they won't touch? At least the new ones have a Mercury brand motor in them. Near me, there are not many aluminum boat shops anyways so i would be going to a dealing for anything hull or deck related anyway.

[Wayne P.]

Top Dog, the 2009 Tracker PT 170 TX I have has no wood anywhere I can detect. There may be some between the inner and outer transom plates, but nowhere else. The deck is aluminum sheet with aluminum bracing and aluminum supports.

The lack of wood in the make up is why I chose the Tracker. I can't remember if the Lowes does or not, but the G3 aluminum bass boats have wood in the decks. I did a lot of comparison shopping before I made my choice.

edited: just checked the Tracker boats website and the transoms are all aluminum.

kikstand454, the recent history Tracker boats are rigged with Mercury engines and any legitimate Mercury dealer/service business will work on that engine. It has nothing to do with the craft that the engine is mounted on.

[kikstand454]

no no. i know that they CAN work on the motors.... many wont though. i have heard the the warranty division is so hard to deal with that many wont bother with them (much like many reel mechanics wont work on bps reels... its not because they cant) and also anything to do with the boat....steering, gas lines, cabling etc. is a no go because of the same warranty issues.

thats just what ive heard.  the club i fish with is probably 80% outboard mechanics/dealers.  i was told not to get a tracker or a nitro. just relaying that info.

[Wayne P.]

kikstand454, Tracker does not manufacture nor do they warranty Mercury Motors. It makes no difference what a Mercury engine is mounted on, Ranger, Triton, Tracker, or not mounted on like a small size used on small boats

You stated "engine mechs". The propulsion system whether gas or electric is warranted by the mfg of that motor not the craft it is installed on.

Are you saying that your buddies will not work on Tracker boats OR Mercury motors because of warranty issues with Mercury Marine and/or Tracker boats?

For your reel analogy, some Shimano mechs won't work on Abu Garcia, or Daiwa reels either. It's more about being an authorized service facility for that brand. It sure has nothing to do with the brand of rod it is used with.

[done]

After working at a auto dealership in my early years, I have no idea why anyone wants to work with any warranty work. LOL. It was a headache to be sure and if we were not a dealer selling them we never would have considered jumping through the hoops we had to jump through.

I can understand their reluctance to deal with Tracker hulls and non motor related items. I would expect a Tracker dealer to be the guy for that. However, Mercury is such a huge name in OB's out there, seems like it would be very limiting to not work on them.

To confirm, with my tracker the Motor was a totally separate warranty. I sent the tracker card to Tracker, the warranty for the motor went right to Mercury.

Are you talking just the warranty work on the Mercury? or just any work warranty or not?

[Wayne P.]

I just checked the Lowe Boat web site and they are factory rigged with Mercury engines also. I guess that eliminates them from consideration also?

[kikstand454]

hahaha. no guys.. i think i might have misspoke.

in relation to the engine... obviously a liscenced merc. mech can perform the repair and it still be under warranty. truthfully i cant think of why they wouldnt work on that. they guy i fish with takes mercs off and puts yamahas on all day! ;D

i think maybe that it is a package warranty where esp when dealing with the bigger nitros... if you have to take an engine off to work on it.. you get involved with things that arent under the merc. warranty and start getting into bps warranty. maybe im screwing this up cause i am NOT in anyway a mechanic or a dealer... or in anyway involved with either.

i just know that i was told repeatedly by different guys in the club that i shouldnt by bps boats becasue they are hard to service and they typically have to be sent back to bps in order to avoid customer service issues.

they werent just telling me this because they dont sell bps boats either... cause they know im light years away from buying a real boat. lol.

actually... after looking up both boats on their websites... id go with the lowe hands down.  it doesnt even seem close to me. 

[done]

yeah just curious. It pretty much goes to what you can afford. I mean I would love to have been able to double the price of my boat and get something sweeter (not sarcasm, I would really have loved to). So I took what I could get which was still IMO, a nice boat, especially for the money.

From what I have seen Lowes are better boats, but that being said, i have seen a LOT of old trackers on the water too. They make a decent boat for the money (IMO).

I would imagine your buds would be equally challenged by any new boat be it Lowes, Mako, or whatever. You have to be licensed to deal with warranties and they are a PITA I am sure.

[RandySBreth]

I have an '03 Lowe 170W w/ a Evinrude 90HP on it, and compared to all the Trackers of it's vintage I've seen, it's a far better boat. ( I live right near Springfield Mo, Bass Pro's main store and Bass Pro owns Tracker, so I see lots of them.)

The bad thing is the newer (I think '07 on?) Lowes have lower horsepower ratings than the older ones, a comparable new Lowe 17' is only rated for 75 horses, I don't know why they did that.

I know when I re-power my rig, I'll put the max HP outboard on it - 115. It already does low/mid 50's with just me and regular tackle in it running the 90.

It should really fly with the 115.

I need to post some pictures of it sometime.

[done]

I have an '03 Lowe 170W w/ a Evinrude 90HP on it, and compared to all the Trackers of it's vintage I've seen, it's a far better boat. ( I live right near Springfield Mo, Bass Pro's main store and Bass Pro owns Tracker, so I see lots of them.)

The bad thing is the newer (I think '07 on?) Lowes have lower horsepower ratings than the older ones, a comparable new Lowe 17' is only rated for 75 horses, I don't know why they did that.

I know when I re-power my rig, I'll put the max HP outboard on it - 115. It already does low/mid 50's with just me and regular tackle in it running the 90.

It should really fly with the 115.

I need to post some pictures of it sometime.

If I had to guess on lowering HP, they may have been trying to keep their price lower for competitions sake. BPS does the same thing with Trackers. They will dump a PT 175TWX on the floor with a 40 on it and have a much lower price tag to hook you.

I know Lowes is definitely superior in their boats, but you also have to pay for it. Sometimes even though the Lexus would be nice to have, you have to settle for the Chevy (still a good vehicle just not as well built)

[TopDog]

Top Dog, the 2009 Tracker PT 170 TX I have has no wood anywhere I can detect. There may be some between the inner and outer transom plates, but nowhere else. The deck is aluminum sheet with aluminum bracing and aluminum supports.

The lack of wood in the make up is why I chose the Tracker. I can't remember if the Lowes does or not, but the G3 aluminum bass boats have wood in the decks. I did a lot of comparison shopping before I made my choice.

edited: just checked the Tracker boats website and the transoms are all aluminum.

kikstand454, the recent history Tracker boats are rigged with Mercury engines and any legitimate Mercury dealer/service business will work on that engine. It has nothing to do with the craft that the engine is mounted on.

Good to know!  What motor do you have on it?

[done]

Top Dog, the 2009 Tracker PT 170 TX I have has no wood anywhere I can detect. There may be some between the inner and outer transom plates, but nowhere else. The deck is aluminum sheet with aluminum bracing and aluminum supports.

The lack of wood in the make up is why I chose the Tracker. I can't remember if the Lowes does or not, but the G3 aluminum bass boats have wood in the decks. I did a lot of comparison shopping before I made my choice.

edited: just checked the Tracker boats website and the transoms are all aluminum.

kikstand454, the recent history Tracker boats are rigged with Mercury engines and any legitimate Mercury dealer/service business will work on that engine. It has nothing to do with the craft that the engine is mounted on.

Good to know! What motor do you have on it?

My 175 has a 60 on it and I would never go lower than that. With just me (200lbs), I can get it to about 45 mph WOT and proper trim. Add an average 160-180 lbs person and It goes down to 38 ish

[Wayne P.]

Top Dog, I have the Mercury 4 stroke 9.9 on mine. I got rid of all my jon boats and fiberglass bass boat to get down to just one boat for the waters I fish the most. I don't tournament fish any more so I rarely even used the fiberglass boat for the past 4 years or so. A couple of my favorite lakes are 10HP max and the rest of the favorite lakes are electric only. I'm rigged to fish any of those efficiently with a remote on/off switch for two transom electric motors for the electric waters. I made space for 5 group 27 deep cycle batteries for the 36V bow motor and the two 12V transom motors, by removing the built-in gas tank.