If you were to choose between the...

Triton TR175

Stratos 275XL

Ranger 175VS

Which would you lean towards and why?

That's a toss-up as far as performance   :-/

I would have to go with the dealer that has the best reputation for customer service.  

I think the bang for the buck on those is the Stratos. I'd say the Triton and the Ranger are going to be on the same plane as far as fit/finish but I'm not sure on the price.

I recently went thru all those boats in the last 2 months till I decided to just go with a similar size aluminum boat. I looked at all three except for the Ranger - I went to the ranger dealer but he also carried Stratos and said he really couldn't sell the 17' or so Rangers went they were put up against Stratos for the most part because of the price. People who buy a 17' usually don't go all out on the price and he said for the price of a 17' Ranger people could bump up to an 18' Stratos with a 150 he had on the floor....

I might even say I'd base my decision on all 3 of those on the dealer, pretty sure you wouldn't realy get a bad boat on any of those.

Another thing to consider is which tournament trails you fish and which brand boat will get you the most contingency money.Which there are alot of rules too comply with..as a boater in flw stuff you have to be original owner of boat.... BASS-triton , Ranger - FLW, BFL, .....I think stratos is FLW too not sure...

Isnt the ranger and stratos pretty close as far as hull design and such???

I have always heard a ranger is more durable than a triton, dont know personally...Rangers hold their value a little better and are easier to sale in my area...

I fish out of one of the newer tritons alot and like them....But I am still going to go with a Ranger when I buy another boat in a couple of months, I like them also and there are more FLW events in my area, right now.... unless I find a better deal on a triton....

going by dealer is a great suggestion and a big concern of mine as well. I have called literally dozens in my area and there is one that always comes up on top. They always call me back when I leave a message. Never have the "well if you are not buying right now I do not want to talk to you" attitude...and are always helpful.

I was looking into aluminum as well...but the wife wants fiberglass....and what the wife wants...

The three boats are pretty similar...which is how they ended up grouped together. The Ranger is a little more pricey but it comes standard with some things that are options or upgrades on the Stratos and the Triton...and when you start taking ALL THAT into account this boat thing gets really confusing.

I do not like the fiberglass fenders on the Ranger trailer. ( Silly huh...but it is a maintanence thing)

I have fished from both the stratos and the triton...and I really like the ride of the stratos. It is the cheapest of the three, but likely NOT after the very basic options are upgraded to something actually functional. Once you add in the options it ranks right up there with the Ranger.

Same with the Triton...though the Triton seems to hold its resale best of the three.

The money on the tourney trail is also a good suggestion...I jjust fish local circuts though so is not a concern for me.