Hi-Powered Red Neck Posted December 29, 2021 Posted December 29, 2021 Hey gang I'm in the market for a new trolling motor. 24 volts is enough for my 19' Norris Craft but 36 is doable. These things are priced through the roof. So before I drop $3000+ on trolling motor lets hear your horror stories and your honest opinions on your investments. Lowrance seems to have the best reviews. Garmin is a close second, with complaints about the skeg breaking and the size of it. Minn Kota seems to have the worst reviews. Strange because I've always had good luck with Minn Kota and was leaning toward an ultrex. I have been running the same 65lb 24 volt Edge on my boats for the last 10 years or so. Thats far from their top of the line. I haven't bought new electronics yet but I'm leaning towards Garmin. However I was kinda holding out to decide on a trolling motor first. The current set up is working fine. But my new to me boat wants some better equipment than what was on the old battle wagon. It's a much nicer platform to fish from. Time to rig it right. Quote
BayouSlide Posted December 29, 2021 Posted December 29, 2021 My 24-volt Ultrex has been excellent: don't understand negative reviews, certainly not my experience. I'd buy another in a heartbeat. 3 Quote
Hi-Powered Red Neck Posted December 29, 2021 Author Posted December 29, 2021 5 minutes ago, BayouSlide said: My 24-volt Ultrex has been excellent: don't understand negative reviews, certainly not my experience. I'd buy another in a heartbeat. See thats what I was thinking and thanks for the feed back. Heck I've got a 36lb thrust that I've owned for 25 years at least. I had it on 4 boats the most recent is a Pelican 10e. I have a pond behind my house. My son took the boat out fishing and left the motor down. I got home 5 or 6 weeks later and it was still in the water. I figured for sure it was toast. Nope still going. It's sun faded and retired again, for now. But it still works as good as the day I bought it. Come to think of it, I remember buying it for my 25th birthday. I'm 52 now. Quote
Super User GreenPig Posted December 29, 2021 Super User Posted December 29, 2021 My Terrova 24 volt has been flawless for 24 months and the Minn Kota before that was on my boat for 15 years and trolled 4 to 10 hours nonstop 2 and 3 nights a week year round never failed. 2 Quote
Craig P Posted December 29, 2021 Posted December 29, 2021 I outfitted my new boat this past Spring. I like Garmin tech but when it came to a TM, I went Ultrex. I do like the Force but what I need out of my TM is predictable use, a proven spotlock and when it’s not behaving, servicing dealers that can be found everywhere to minimize downtime. I like that Garmin and Lowrance got into the race, it creates competition, innovation and sometimes even lower prices but for now, I had to go with the industry leader. 1 Quote
Hi-Powered Red Neck Posted December 29, 2021 Author Posted December 29, 2021 5 minutes ago, Craig P said: I outfitted my new boat this past Spring. I like Garmin tech but when it came to a TM, I went Ultrex. I do like the Force but what I need out of my TM is predictable use, a proven spotlock and when it’s not behaving, servicing dealers that can be found everywhere to minimize downtime. I like that Garmin and Lowrance got into the race, it creates competition, innovation and sometimes even lower prices but for now, I had to go with the industry leader. All I've ever own is Minn Kota. I take that back I had a tin rig with a 108lb Motor Guide. But I locked up the big motor the first weekend I took it out. Sold it a month later as is. So I never really got much chance to form an opinion on it. Except the button is on the wrong side. lol Quote
Super User DogBone_384 Posted December 29, 2021 Super User Posted December 29, 2021 I have Lowrance’s Ghost on my boat. It’s networked to an Elite ti2 9” and 7”. It works great, keeps me in place when I need, and is whisper quiet. 1 Quote
Redharley Posted December 30, 2021 Posted December 30, 2021 Minkota probably sells way more than the others maybe thats more neg reveiws. Sounds like you had good service from your past minkota why change brands. As for me Minkota been very dependable. 2 Quote
padon Posted December 30, 2021 Posted December 30, 2021 i think its probably because minn kota sells so many more motors.also they were the first ones with the technlogy so some of the revies may have been from early models. one thing to make sure is whichever motor you get make sure it will link with your depthfinders if your interested in that. 1 Quote
Junger Posted December 30, 2021 Posted December 30, 2021 I’ve had an ultrex for a year and it has been fantastic. Just a couple hiccups that I’ve had to deal with: 1) hit a stump and it would vibrate at low power. Replaced the shear pin and tightened some bolts and it fixed the vibrations. 2) spot lock doesn’t work under bridges because of GPS, didn’t think of that at the time. 2 Quote
Captain Phil Posted December 30, 2021 Posted December 30, 2021 I was a Motor Guide fisherman for 40 years. As they became more complicated, they started to break down. I finally got tired of all the issues and switched to Minn Kota. There is nothing not to like about Minn Kota trolling motors. My Terrova 24 volt worked great and never failed me. I loved the spot lock feature. Minn Kota trolling motors cut through tough hydrilla like butter, something my Motor Guides never did. 1 Quote
Super User Jig Man Posted December 30, 2021 Super User Posted December 30, 2021 I had to leave Motor Guide because of poorly healed broken ribs. The only thing on the market that would stow and deploy was the Minn Kota Ulterra. It is by far the best trolling motor that I have ever used. When it needs replaced I will get another one. It is Ipilot linked to my Humminbird sonars and can nearly pilot itself. 1 Quote
Global Moderator 12poundbass Posted December 30, 2021 Global Moderator Posted December 30, 2021 I’d agree Minnkota probably has the most negative reviews because they out sell the others by far, kind of like Tracker and Nitro boats. Don’t forget to look into Power Pole’s trolling motor. 1 1 Quote
Super User GaryH Posted December 31, 2021 Super User Posted December 31, 2021 I’ve run Minnkota’s on several boats for years and have never had a failure yet. No knock on other brands just never had a reason to switch or try the others. 1 Quote
Super User slonezp Posted January 1, 2022 Super User Posted January 1, 2022 MK. I ran ipilot since it came out. The technology has come along quite a bit in the last 15 years. Minimal issues at best. 1 Quote
Super User WRB Posted January 1, 2022 Super User Posted January 1, 2022 Whatever you purchase make sure you have good GPS coverage where you fish, spot lock relies on a good signal. Since I sold my boat last year my experiences are limited to whatever is on the boat I am in and to date TM’s with Spot Lock have been Lowrance Ghost and Minn Kota. I always had Motor Guide TM with infinite speed control so use to the peddle. I never liked MK peddle and larger motor size is harder to stow. Very impressed with Lowrance Ghost, easy for me to use and Spot Lock is phenomenal like an anchor even in the wind. The spot lock calibration and GPS puck location is critical to perform good. You need it set up properly. Tom 1 Quote
GoldenBear44 Posted January 22, 2022 Posted January 22, 2022 I had a 24v. Minn Kota, worked great no problems but I fished with a guy that had the Ghost and was very impressed. So I bite the bullet and purchased one after a long wait in finding one. The anchor feature sold me, more powerful, quieter and less battery drain. 1 Quote
Super User WRB Posted January 22, 2022 Super User Posted January 22, 2022 Whatever spot lock brand you choose be sure the GPS puck is mount the opposite side of the TM power cords to prevent Interference. Tom 1 Quote
Super User Tennessee Boy Posted January 22, 2022 Super User Posted January 22, 2022 I can’t speak for other brands but MinnKota TMs do not come with a GPS puck. The GPS is built into the TM. The puck is a heading sensor that connects via Bluetooth and can be mounted anywhere. Since it contains a compass it should be mounted away from anything that generates a magnetic field. It’s only used for the jog feature and to circle a point so it’s not critical to the operation of the TM. I have mine mounted under my console. 3 1 Quote
BayouSlide Posted January 23, 2022 Posted January 23, 2022 IIRC, my Ultrex came with the separate puck. Don't know how I got it otherwise, but my memory is sometimes feeble. ? 1 Quote
Junger Posted January 23, 2022 Posted January 23, 2022 3 hours ago, BayouSlide said: IIRC, my Ultrex came with the separate puck. Don't know how I got it otherwise, but my memory is sometimes feeble. ? Like @Tennessee Boy boy posted, the GPS is built into the Ultrex head. The puck is the heading sensor and is only used for jogging between waypoints, or heading direction on your graph under low/stationary speed. 2 Quote
BayouSlide Posted January 23, 2022 Posted January 23, 2022 8 hours ago, Junger said: Like @Tennessee Boy boy posted, the GPS is built into the Ultrex head. The puck is the heading sensor and is only used for jogging between waypoints, or heading direction on your graph under low/stationary speed. You're absolutely right: I simply forgot that. I just install all the stuff in the packages and when it works as advertised I'm happy and go fishing ? That's one reason I hang with the products from a single company: integration. The best technology is stuff that works so well you don't have to think about any of it again once it's all bolted down. This from a happy Ultrex-Humminbird-Talon owner ? 2 Quote
Hi-Powered Red Neck Posted January 28, 2022 Author Posted January 28, 2022 On 12/30/2021 at 11:45 AM, Junger said: I’ve had an ultrex for a year and it has been fantastic. Just a couple hiccups that I’ve had to deal with: 1) hit a stump and it would vibrate at low power. Replaced the shear pin and tightened some bolts and it fixed the vibrations. 2) spot lock doesn’t work under bridges because of GPS, didn’t think of that at the time. I would have never thought about spot lock not working under bridges. At least until I was trying to do so. Then I'd be mad that my new toy wasn't working right. Quote
Hi-Powered Red Neck Posted January 28, 2022 Author Posted January 28, 2022 Thanks for all of your responses. I think I'm going to stay with Minn Kota. 1 Quote
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