Life span of high-tech trolling motors

[derxan]

With trolling motors getting increasingly powerful, technologically advanced and not to mention expensive. What do you think the life span of these machines will be? Talking xi5, ultrex, ghost etc. 

[TheRodFather]

Just like most everything else these days.  

 

Made just well enough to make it to the end of the warranty.  And the cost of any work you need done during the warranty, well that's included in the retail cost of the product, so you pay that too.

[Russ E]

There are more things to break on the new motors, but most items are replaceable.

my Ultrex is going on 3 years of heavy use and still going strong.

the one problem I had was a broken steering cable.

it was under warranty and caused by a bad overtravel sensor. it was a known problem on the first run of Ultrex's.

 

[gnappi]

With me being decidedly low tech, I prefer it to bleeding edge tech, I wait till technology gets fleshed out, and generally accepted before plunging in. 

 

That reminds me... I need to buy a CD player and find a way to copy my 8 tracks to CD's :-)

 

 

[Sprocket]

It will be interesting to see just how long they last.  I do know when I installed the Garmin Force one of the first things I noticed was that it was built like a tank.  From the locking latches to the pivot shafts, everything seems over built.  I've had no wear issues in 5 months.  But it has only been 5 months.  I would hope, for the price of these new models, that they will last quite awhile.  I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

 

SE Kansas grass grower

[TnRiver46]

I had an early motor guide wireless trolling motor and I wore out the plastic gears quickly, got them rebuilt for like $200 bucks and wore them out again. The Trolling motor repair man took me back into his shop and he had a dozen of the same ones opened up re building the gears. I went back to hand steer and cable steer after I saw that 

[Krux5506]

My Fortex 80# has been good for the past 4 or so years but if it were to crap the bed this year it wouldn't really break my heart. Not that I want to drop the $$$ on a new TM but I regret not getting one with spotlock....Probably would've made more sense and been cheaper than the Talon I put on. 

[Further North]

On 8/20/2019 at 5:41 PM, TheRodFather said:

Just like most everything else these days.  

 

Made just well enough to make it to the end of the warranty.  And the cost of any work you need done during the warranty, well that's included in the retail cost of the product, so you pay that too.

No.

 

My old Terrova was on my boat for 4 seasons, I sold it to a friend when I upgraded to an Ulterra in 2016.  

 

It's still going strong.

[TheRodFather]

3 hours ago, Further North said:

No.

 

My old Terrova was on my boat for 4 seasons, I sold it to a friend when I upgraded to an Ulterra in 2016.  

 

It's still going strong.

 

There will always be exceptions to the rule.  I pulled my powerdrive apart this year and greased the gears, I imagine it will last longer now than if I hadn't.  Perhaps you took good care of yours as well.

 

Products are designed and built to last long enough for the company making them to honor the warranty, the retail price of the product includes an average of costs they may incur having to do warranty repairs on the units that come back.  Appliances, vehicles, everything.  I personally shoot for my vehicles to last double the length of time I made payments on it, anything double the payment terms and I am winning.

 

It's a business model.  How does, lets say Toyota, "recover" from a 2 billion dollar recall on their product, because a part failed and led to uncontrollable acceleration causing crashes?  Is Toyota in danger of going out of business? That payout didn't come from them borrowing money to honor the warranty, they already had it stashed somewhere, you and I filled the "stash" account for them when we buy a new vehicle.  

 

It's all funny money, shifted around so they are insulated from major, and minor problems they may have with a product.  I am sure humans have the tech to make a vehicle last a lifetime, and yet that vehicle has never been made.  Why is that? 

 

Perfect example is what I found when I rebuilt my outboard recently.  The crank and connecting rod bearings are all needle bearings.  Vehicle engines use bi metallic shell type bearings, the same tech that has been around for probably 100 years.  50% or more of the energy produced by an automotive combustion engine is lost to friction and heat.  If an outboard from 1983 can be manufactured using such low friction bearing tech that allows them to get so much HP in such a small package, why haven't auto mfgs followed suit?

 

Because they don't have to, the consumer expectation is that once the warranty is up, it's time to get another one.  Throwaway Society is the new norm, driven by consumers always wanting "new".

 

Sorry, turned into a rant :).

 

 

 

 

[Further North]

6 hours ago, TheRodFather said:

 

There will always be exceptions to the rule.  I pulled my powerdrive apart this year and greased the gears, I imagine it will last longer now than if I hadn't.  Perhaps you took good care of yours as well.

 

Products are designed and built to last long enough for the company making them to honor the warranty, the retail price of the product includes an average of costs they may incur having to do warranty repairs on the units that come back.  Appliances, vehicles, everything.  I personally shoot for my vehicles to last double the length of time I made payments on it, anything double the payment terms and I am winning.

 

It's a business model.  How does, lets say Toyota, "recover" from a 2 billion dollar recall on their product, because a part failed and led to uncontrollable acceleration causing crashes?  Is Toyota in danger of going out of business? That payout didn't come from them borrowing money to honor the warranty, they already had it stashed somewhere, you and I filled the "stash" account for them when we buy a new vehicle.  

 

It's all funny money, shifted around so they are insulated from major, and minor problems they may have with a product.  I am sure humans have the tech to make a vehicle last a lifetime, and yet that vehicle has never been made.  Why is that? 

 

Perfect example is what I found when I rebuilt my outboard recently.  The crank and connecting rod bearings are all needle bearings.  Vehicle engines use bi metallic shell type bearings, the same tech that has been around for probably 100 years.  50% or more of the energy produced by an automotive combustion engine is lost to friction and heat.  If an outboard from 1983 can be manufactured using such low friction bearing tech that allows them to get so much HP in such a small package, why haven't auto mfgs followed suit?

 

Because they don't have to, the consumer expectation is that once the warranty is up, it's time to get another one.  Throwaway Society is the new norm, driven by consumers always wanting "new".

 

Sorry, turned into a rant :).

 

 

 

 

Not a rant, I get where you're coming from, but we've got different experience.

 

I have very little that's still under warranty...some of it by decades, and it all works, most of the time.  It might need a tweek here and there, but I seldom have to dump things and replace them because they broke right after the warranty expired.  I know that my last three generations of Humminbird electronics are still "hummin'" along as well.

 

Cars, trucks, boats, boat motors...the last vehicle we replaced was 12 years old, and had had no serious problems. My boat was new in 2005.  I do swap out my electronics on a regular basis, but that's to get new features rather than replacing something broken...and as I've noted, my old equipment is pinging along (pun intended) quite well.  Most of my friends are running older electronics that are fine, some as old as x98 series.

 

There is a time when I see things that don't last, and that's when I try to save money by buying on the low end of the quality spectrum for any given thing I want.  I tend to not do that, opting for the "buy once, cry once" and spend the money to get quality.  I avoided American made vehicles for decades because of this.  Also, every once in a while, I'll do something dumb and break something...but that's not a product problem.

[TheRodFather]

I agree with your model, and do the same.  I keep stuff till the wheels fall off, then I put the wheels back on and drive em some more.  We are in the minority these days, maybe not out of the sampling of this group (BR), but in society as a whole.  

[Further North]

3 hours ago, TheRodFather said:

I agree with your model, and do the same.  I keep stuff till the wheels fall off, then I put the wheels back on and drive em some more.  We are in the minority these days, maybe not out of the sampling of this group (BR), but in society as a whole.  

That's OK...those folks can work until they're 75...I'll stick with retiring at 57... ?

[jaimeastin]

On 8/22/2019 at 4:16 AM, Sprocket said:

It will be interesting to see just how long they last.  I do know when I installed the Garmin Force one of the first things I noticed was that it was built like a tank.  From the locking latches to the pivot shafts, everything seems over built.  I've had no wear issues in 5 months.  But it has only been 5 months.  I would hope, for the price of these new models, that they will last quite awhile.  I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

 

SE Kansas grass grower

Good to hear because I am ready to buy a Garmin force.  I am all farming and I need a motor with spotlock and heading lock.  I originally planned to get the ultrix next year, but the Garmin Force is everything I want plus it actually works at all my Garmin units.  

 

how is the wireless interaction between the echomap plus and the trolling motor? Is it fast and seamless or is it laggy?  Garmin has got all of my money this year with live scope and sonars and everything else UHD transducers dot-dot-dot but I wanted this investment to actually be something that with the best case scenario lastsfor a very very very long time.

[Sprocket]

Communications between units is instantaneous or as close as it can be.  Whether using the hand held, foot pedal or the MFD, there is no noticeable lag in communications. 

 

SE Kansas grass grower