Boatmate Triple Axle Trailer Issues

[david.osborne24]

Just speculating, but sounds more like a Vault issue than boat mate. I’d contact vault and see if they’ve seen issues like you’re having! I’d dig into what part #s you have versus what goes on the 2 axle trailers.

What if during manufacturing they put a little too much lube in on a batch of bearings and once you get moving and there’s no room for the lube to expand, so the caps get blown off!


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Well that could certainly be the case but the customer with a warranty shouldn’t have to dig down that rabbit hole to find the root issue. It should be on them and my dealer.


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[Zackdogg]

I’ve had nothing but problems with my BoatMate. Had multiple tire failures, because they run an SUV tire to look cool, instead of a functional trailer tire, had a wheel fly off on the freeway because of stripped studs which could have been the dealer and not the manufacturer, the brakes have never worked right and been “fixed several times”, and I’ve had several vaults blow off, pretty much the same as yours.

I quit letting the dealer “fix” it, because they’ve never done it right, and just fix stuff myself, including new wheels so I can run a properly weight rated tire. Yours being the triple, that shouldn’t be as much of an issue.

I probably trailer more miles than a lot of owners, and some of it on dirt roads and windy sierra roads. Which maybe didn’t help the tires, but I’ve never had a failure after going to a E rated tire, either.


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[UNSTUCK]

Well that could certainly be the case but the customer with a warranty shouldn’t have to dig down that rabbit hole to find the root issue. It should be on them and my dealer.

I've owned two boats that did not have warranties and one boat with a warranty. I have to say that for me a boat without a warranty is actually much more stress free. Seems a lot of people have the "customer with a warranty shouldn’t have to dig down that rabbit hole to find the root issue" mentality, but for whatever reason they end up having to do it anyways. Seems only a few of us have had exceptional service work.

[david.osborne24]

I've owned two boats that did not have warranties and one boat with a warranty. I have to say that for me a boat without a warranty is actually much more stress free. Seems a lot of people have the "customer with a warranty shouldn’t have to dig down that rabbit hole to find the root issue" mentality, but for whatever reason they end up having to do it anyways. Seems only a few of us have had exceptional service work.

Don’t get me wrong, all my service work for my boat has been great. It’s just the trailer I have gripes about.


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[BurnMac42]

I've owned two boats that did not have warranties and one boat with a warranty. I have to say that for me a boat without a warranty is actually much more stress free. Seems a lot of people have the "customer with a warranty shouldn’t have to dig down that rabbit hole to find the root issue" mentality, but for whatever reason they end up having to do it anyways. Seems only a few of us have had exceptional service work.

I'm honestly amazed at how often I read this. These things are $150k toys. That's super car territory (R8, etc). Hell I have a measly RS5 and when I show up to a dealership they go above and beyond every single time. Now, I recognize there are some bad apples out there in the luxury car industry as well however I feel like there is a lot more "well I gotta fix the problem myself" on the boat forums I frequent vs the car forums I'm on.....just interesting...

[Zackdogg]

I went into the surf boat world thinking the same thing. Your dealer pretty much determines if you end up hating the dealership, and brand, in a lot of cases. I never considered how important dealer support was until I got a $100k+ boat that constantly has problems. I have to drive almost 500 miles every time my boat goes in. 110 miles each way for drop off and pick up, and when that becomes 3 or 4 times a summer, because they don’t give a **** if they get it right or wrong, they just want me out of their shop, it makes you absolutely despise the dealership and brand.

I started doing stuff myself to save the trip, and so I’m not giving up weeks or months of my short summer, because these guys are complete morons and can’t fix stuff right. Also doesn’t help that a manufacturer that has no problem slapping a $155k price tag on a boat, cuts a whole ton of corners, which lands you in the shop time after time.

If I had a responsible dealer, 10 minutes away, I would have a completely different feeling about both.


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[UNSTUCK]

Zach, it's ok to use your dealers name. No sense in hiding it. I was fortunate that I was able to get by through the season and then take my boat back to Prestige during the winter for warranty work. That's 700 miles round trip for me. I was happy to do it for the service I got. There were a few items that warranty work should have covered, but Tige was willing to send me the parts and I did the labor myself. Those items made sure I didn't miss a trip. I also count that as good service. If I was not mechanical I could have been in trouble though. 700 miles to Prestige in the summer could have kept me down for months between being able to make the trip and their service openings.

Having said all that, there is a Supra/Moomba dealer 1/4 mile from my work that has a great reputation here and a nice sales guy that has been beating me up for years now on a sale. It would make sense to go that route for a new boat. Otherwise an older, out of warranty boat is next for me.

[Zackdogg]

Zach, it's ok to use your dealers name. No sense in hiding it. I was fortunate that I was able to get by through the season and then take my boat back to Prestige during the winter for warranty work. That's 700 miles round trip for me. I was happy to do it for the service I got. There were a few items that warranty work should have covered, but Tige was willing to send me the parts and I did the labor myself. Those items made sure I didn't miss a trip. I also count that as good service. If I was not mechanical I could have been in trouble though. 700 miles to Prestige in the summer could have kept me down for months between being able to make the trip and their service openings.

Having said all that, there is a Supra/Moomba dealer 1/4 mile from my work that has a great reputation here and a nice sales guy that has been beating me up for years now on a sale. It would make sense to go that route for a new boat. Otherwise an older, out of warranty boat is next for me.

I’ve said it before, and people can figure it out from where I live, if they’re that interested. I figure it won’t do me any good to get into it with them, as the next dealer is 500 miles away from me. The last time they had my boat, it was for 7 months, it came back in far worse condition, and they didn’t fix over half the warranty stuff they had it for. It’s a huge joke, that isn’t all that funny.

I’m in the same position, didn’t want to use the “in the same boat” pun. I have an awesome Nautique dealer, about a mile and a half from me. I’ll probably keep this boat for a few more years, which the warranty will be up, have them do anything I have to pay to be done, put GSAs on this winter, and enjoy what I can of this boat. If I can swap mine to the 2:1, and get those GSAs, I’ll have one of the best surfing boats on our lakes, and be able to hurt myself on a wakeboard when I want to. Next boat won’t be a Tige or from the dealer I have now, unless we get a local dealer and some stuff changes. To stick with this thread, the next trailer won’t be a BoatMate, either.


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[freeheel4life]

Zackdogg and NICKYPOO, if you guys want to start a Tige dealer in Reno Im in .

[Zackdogg]

Zackdogg and NICKYPOO, if you guys want to start a Tige dealer in Reno Im in .

That would be super beneficial to me!! Parts at cost!!

You itching to get back up here?

We rode a bunch of Idaho, stayed in Caldwell, up through Hells Canyon and over Salmon into Missoula. That is all some kickass country. I had always said I’d move to Montana when too many Californians (no offense to those of you on here, you obviously aren’t the ones I’m talking about) finish ruining Nevada. Apparently a bunch of Montana is suffering the same fate. Idaho is where it’s at bro!!


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[freeheel4life]

Zackdogg they are coming here too buddy. Idaho has some pretty awesome country(shhhhh). I would like to get back to running some cats down there over winters and skiing. Doing the split season thing as a career is just fine with me.

Bigger thing is Im tired of making someone else's dream a reality and stacking $ in someone else's pocket with my hands, tools, and knowledge. Im working on trying to buy into an established shop over the winter as a partner and that would give me the $ to buy the owner out completely in the next 3-5. Fingers crossed. Owners 59 and says he wants to retire but also seems like he doesn't want to be at home with the Mrs....Shop is his man cave...

[Zackdogg]

Zackdogg they are coming here too buddy. Idaho has some pretty awesome country(shhhhh). I would like to get back to running some cats down there over winters and skiing. Doing the split season thing as a career is just fine with me.

Bigger thing is Im tired of making someone else's dream a reality and stacking $ in someone else's pocket with my hands, tools, and knowledge. Im working on trying to buy into an established shop over the winter as a partner and that would give me the $ to buy the owner out completely in the next 3-5. Fingers crossed. Owners 59 and says he wants to retire but also seems like he doesn't want to be at home with the Mrs....Shop is his man cave...

I’m sure they are!! They find out how cool some of these areas are, and realize how much they’re paying in taxes. We’d love to see you up here, and I definitely owe you some beers!! You have my number!!

That’s awesome bro, I really hope it works out for you!! If our POS governor doesn’t re-open some stuff in Nevada, I’ll be making a career change as well. Maybe I’ll come work for you!!

The boat market up here is almost exclusively what’s cool to have on Tahoe, which Nautique is murdering, compared to any other surf boat. If Tige could hammer that market, from this side of the hill, there would probably be some money to be made. It would be a pretty strong gamble!!


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[NICKYPOO]

Ha! I’m about ready for a career change too! With there only being one decent tow boat shop in town and people flocking here from Cali, it’s not a bad idea. The Nautique dealer here has exactly 1 new boat in stock because it’s the only one he could get after he sold every single one he ordered for this season. He also only has a couple boards they haven’t sold yet. It’s weird to walk in there and it’s basically empty.

[david.osborne24]

Update: there is no update....I email Tige every week about an update from Boatmate (Tige dealing directly with them now) and I still get told there’s no word from Boatmate and I keep being told they will follow up and it’s crickets after that. I kept hoping and practically praying that Tige would come through for me in resolving my trailer issues and that they could salvage my experience with this boat. They haven’t. I’m just so disappointed....


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[talltigeguy]

I’ve had nothing but problems with my BoatMate. Had multiple tire failures, because they run an SUV tire to look cool, instead of a functional trailer tire, had a wheel fly off on the freeway because of stripped studs which could have been the dealer and not the manufacturer, the brakes have never worked right and been “fixed several times”, and I’ve had several vaults blow off, pretty much the same as yours.

I quit letting the dealer “fix” it, because they’ve never done it right, and just fix stuff myself, including new wheels so I can run a properly weight rated tire. Yours being the triple, that shouldn’t be as much of an issue.

I probably trailer more miles than a lot of owners, and some of it on dirt roads and windy sierra roads. Which maybe didn’t help the tires, but I’ve never had a failure after going to a E rated tire, either.


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I have had better luck with SUV tires than with trailer tires. I would check the weight rating. They often have higher weight rating than the stock tires that come from the factory, which are usually D rated, and sometimes less than that. I think I have never seen a boat come from the factory with E rated tires.