Question for MOfish or other TV-18 owners

[Andrew Zuber]

Was looking at your "smoking engine" library pics and a question came to mind on another topic...

Gotta love the TV-18!!!

Did your trailer come with the spare tire mount already installed? If not, where did you get one and what type is it? Also, does your spare get wet/scummy when you launch based on where you have it mounted???

I'm tired of carrying my spare in the back of the truck...



thanks!

az

 

[TrepMan]

Andy - I've got the PC175, NOT the TV-18. BUT I have the same spare tire holder/tire that MO has. Mine was extra and I believe on all the Aluminium Tracker's they are extra. Both mine and MO's (assumption based on his picture at pickup time) is from Tracker so the tire/wheel is exactly the same as on my trailer and my dealer installed the mount during rigging.



I've launched my boat for over 2 years and have never even gotten the spare wet based on how high it is mounted on the trailer frame and the angle of the boat ramps. Love mine and luckily have never had to use it. I just had to also get an extra tire iron (got the X style with multiple size lugs) since the lugs are different sized then my van/wagon.

 

[Mark Hofman]

Andy:



I had Tracker/BPS install it, so it is the Tracker option tire and mount, not an aftermarket. I'll take the digital camera home tonight and snap some photos to put up.



Where it is mounted, it CAN get wet, but I've learned that I don't need to go in that deep when I launch or recover (the blessing of having a motor that would park the boat in the bed of my truck if I'm not careful!). The mount is painted, and I keep it free from dirt and moisture as much as possible. The wheel is the same chrome one that came standard on the trailer tires/wheels. The spare tire is the Tracker spare, bias-ply. There is even a padlock to deter (not prevent) someone from stealing the tire.



According to a salesman at the Nashville BPS, you can save yourself a few bucks by purchasing an aftermarket mount and spare tire. I decided that it was worth the $40 or $50 to have it installed by Tracker right away when I bought the boat.



Here is the one negative I've experienced: The boat and trailer are WIDE, as you know. You have to be careful making turns to avoid dropping a wheel off the pavement. I've done it a few times, but the worst one scuffed the bottom of the spare and tore the bottom of my tire cover. Like I said, I'll snap some photos and put 'em in the library.



(The mount and tire also keeps my wife from door-dinging my boat when she parks her car in the garage and gets out! Benefits all the way around! Ha!)

 

[Mark Hofman]

Andy:



Here are the pictures I took last night, along with some descriptions of the spare tire mount. Let me know if you need or want to see anything close up, or from a different angle. And be sure to let me know if you have any additional questions.



And Trep, what's with this hot, humid Georgia-style weather you're sending us in APRIL? :^)
http://www.stlhofman.com/sparetire.htm

 

[Andrew Zuber]

Thanks Mark!

Excellent pics!!!

The reason I asked if your spare tire got wet:

I did not buy the Tracker wheel or tire...

I bought an ugly white wheel and a plain-jane tire.

I knew I would need to put a cover over them...But I was worried that the cover would fill with water each time I launched. With all the zebra mussels up here, who knows what I'd have living inside that wheel and cover!

It looks as though you found a solution to the "water build-up" problem - hahaha.

Does Tracker sell just the mount?



Thanks again for the info!

az

 

[Mark Hofman]

As long as the everything dries completely before you move the boat to a different body of water, you shouldn't have a problem with the zebra mussels. You might consider punching a couple of large grommets into the bottom of the tire cover to aid in draining the water. (In fact, I like that idea so much I think I'll do it myself!)



I'm sure Craig could get you the price for the Tracker mount. It is painted black to match the trailer frame.



Cabela's sells a very similar mount for $20 (photo below). It is NOT painted, but a can of Rustoleum gloss black would fix that. It doesn't appear to be as rugged as mine, but that's from looking at a small photo on their web site.



If you want to spend the big bucks, ShorelandeR's angled spare tire mount would let you place the spare farther forward on your trailer, up under the bow "V". That would keep things nice and dry. But it will also cost you a crisp Ulysses S. Grant.

 

[Mark Hofman]

Hey, since we're on the topic of TV-18's, did you notice in the photos that I installed two extra cleats in front of the consoles. I also siliconed the back deck/transom like you suggested, and discovered that by dropping the transducer as low as it would go, I eliminated that spray coming up onto the rear deck.



Thanks for the help with those ideas!

 

[Andrew Zuber]

I did notice the cleats...

I was at the dealer where I bought my boat last year a few weeks ago (got to meet Kevin VanDam!)...they had a "new" TV-18 on the lot. The entire rear corner now has a different design than mine. My boat is actually a 2000 with a 2001 motor. I have heard several other TV-18 owners that had the same problem with the water intrusion under that cleat area...Tracker must have taken us to heart and made a design modification!

As long as we're "swapping"...

Did you get a cover with your boat? The one that came with mine is loosing the "Tracker" lettering down the rear side...It's almost like the letters were iron-on transfers...Looks rather tacky now...do you have this problem? I was going to post another message an see if anyone else was having this problem...

I'm considering building a rod-storage organizer in one of the rod boxes...there are some ideas in the grab bag that look pretty easy...

I'll let you know how it goes if you're interested...



thanks!

az

 

[Mark Hofman]

Yes, I've got the custom TRACKER cover. I noticed the iron-on appearance of the logo too, and expect that it will peel off. I've only had the cover on three times, so it's still okay.



My boat is a 2001 with a 2002 outboard. The stern corner design is the same on the '01 and '02 models, and you'll also notice that they strengthened the transom on both year models (more through-bolts) Yes, I'd be interested in how you tackle a rod storage organizer!



Another modification I did was to take the rod saver from the rear deck and move it to the starboard side of the bow deck. My partner's rods are usually too long to store on the back deck when we run from one spot to another, so I made it easy to store his rods up front. I'll get a replacement rod saver and put it back on the rear deck so I don't have open holes.