2006 TRAILSTAR PT170 — Problems, Recalls & Safety Data

ON 3/1/06 I PURCHASED A BOAT FROM TRACKE MARINE (PRO TEAM 170 TX) AT THE BASS PRO SHOP IN HAMPTON VIRGINIA. THE BOAT, TRAILER AND MOTOR WERE PURCHASED AS A PACKAGE. TODAY, 10/3/06 I RECEIVED A CERTIFIED LETTER FROM TRACKER MARINE STATING THAT THE CAPACITY RATING ON THE TRAILER WAS INCORRECTLY LISTED ON THE TRAILER LOAD STICKER. THEY SENT A CORRECTED STICKER AND OFFERED $20 IN GIFT CERTIFICATES IF I WOULD REMOVE THE OLD STICKER AND REPLACE IT WITH THE NEW STICKER. AFTER COMPARING THE NEW STICKER TO THE OLD STICKER I FOUND THAT THE MAX LOAD CAPACITY HAD BEEN CHANGED FROM 2325LBS TO 1570LBS. NOT TO MENTION THAT THE NEW STICKER LISTED A DIFFERENT TIRE TYPE AND INFLATION STANDARD. CONSIDERING THAT THE BOAT/MOTOR AND TRAILER IS LISTED ON THE TRACKER WEB SITE TO BE 1550LBS (DRY WEIGHT) AND THE BOAT IS GENERALLY LOADED WITH ROUGHLY 100LBS OF FUEL AND 50LBS OF TACKLE AND SAFETY GEAR I BELIEVE MY TRAILER TO BE UNDERSIZED FOR THE BOAT THAT I'M HAULING. I CALLED THE TRACKER MARINE NUMBER PROVIDED IN THE LETTER (1-417-873-4555) AND WAS THAT THE "DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION REGULARLY CHANGES TRAILER CAPACITY STANDARDS" AND THAT MY TRAILER IS PERFECTLY CAPABLE OF HAULING MY BOAT FULLY LOADED. I WOULD APPRECIATE YOUR ASSISTANCE IN THIS MATTER AS I CONSIDER THIS TO BE NOT ONLY A SAFETY RELATED PROBLEM BUT BREACH OF CONTRACT. I PURCHASED THE PACKAGE WITH FULL ASSURANCE THAT THE TRAILER WAS CAPABLE OF HAULING THE INITIALLY ADVERTISED MAX LOAD CAPACITY OF 2325LBS AND NOW I FIND OUT IT'S ONLY CAPABLE OF HAULING TWO THIRDS OF THAT (1570LBS). *JB