Lowrance Ghost Trolling Motor?

[RJB]

Hey guys, last year I had 2 Lowrance HDS graphs installed on my 2013 Ranger Z19. I want to upgrade from a fortrex to a ghost and the boat shop keeps telling me they think I should go with an Ultrex instead because the Ghost has problems and if it does I have to send the entire motor back to Lowrance and that can take 8 months or so to get fixed, but an Ultrex can be repaired locally. I want a Ghost cause I have Lowrance graphs. Have any of you had problems with Ghost trolling motors? Thanks

[InfantryMP]

I love my Ghost.  I have not had any issues that turning it off and turning it back on has not solved. 

 

I have beat it up as well in rocks, and timber and it is still kicking strong. 

[WRB]

A friend had issues with his Ghost holding Spot Lock, kept trying to find North. Several sessions with Lawrence techs he finally solved the problem by moving the GPS puck, it was located too close to the Ghost head unit. It’s faultless since.

Tom

[BigAngus752]

Regardless of what anyone in your poll here reports about any piece of equipment you want buy, you could get one that lasts eternity with never a single problem or something that is a major pain from day 2.  I very much wanted to buy a Garmin Force.  I bought an Ultrex because the private shop that takes care of my boat happens to be a Minn Kota service center.  There is no such thing as a Garmin service center (for their TMs).  If something expensive breaks, I want to be able to take it somewhere.  Not take it off my boat myself, package it, and ship it somewhere at my own expense.  

[Woody B]

I'm sure you'll hear good and bad stuff about any of them.  I wanted a Ghost, but didn't want, or need to switch to 24 volt so I bought a Terrova.  I've had no problems with it and have no intentions of changing it.

However, using spot lock and i pilot was too much for the group 27 trolling motor battery that came in my boat.  I bought a lithium battery.  Had I known I'd be upgrading batteries so soon I'd have went with the ghost.  

 

Before I got my Terrova I talked to everyone I saw at the landing with pretty much every brand of gps trolling motor.  The only guy with anything bad to say had an Ulterra with automatic deploy/stow problems.   Everyone loved their Ghosts, everyone loved their Ultrex's,  everyone loved their Terrovas.  I talked to one guy with a Force, and he loved it too.  

[J._Bricker]

Hey @RJB, welcome to Bass Resource and the Forums. I have a Ghost trolling motor and I initially experienced a minor hiccup where the motor needed a software update from Lowrance. After installing the update and after a little over a year of use I’m very happy with the performance Ghost and its features. 

[Siebert Outdoors]

I'm on my second Ghost.  I had to get a replacement one.  So far so good.  Lowrance took care of me.  The same time I was dropping off my Lowrance a guy was dropping off his Ultrex.

 

Just my opinion,  buy what you really want.  You can find negative reviews on all of them.   I have all Lowrance Graphs.  That is why I went Ghost.

[Tackleholic]

WRB commented his friend's GPS puck was determined to be too close to the Ghost trolling motor.  Do any more of you have knowledge concerning the puck's location to a Ghost trolling motor?

[Siebert Outdoors]

1 hour ago, Tackleholic said:

WRB commented his friend's GPS puck was determined to be too close to the Ghost trolling motor.  Do any more of you have knowledge concerning the puck's location to a Ghost trolling motor?

 

I used a magnetic field app on my phone to find the best place to put it. 

[contium]

There is a TB for the Ghost:

https://www.lowrance.com/globalassets/lowrance/help-and-support/tb-164372-ghost-over-current-protection-11_07_22.pdf?xnpe_tifc=hFVjbuojxI1DOInZb.oZ4jpsafeWaeiWhFW5b9PLauLLaIoXnkEAbfs3tu4vaMXlxfbDbDLshFYjOknJ4DbX&utm_source=exponea&utm_campaign=November%7C%202022%20%7C%20eNews%20%7C%20AMER%20%7C%20Ghost%20technical%20update&utm_medium=email

Personally, I don't find having the TM tied into the graphs that useful. I prefer the Ulterx over a Ghost because it's a lot easier to see where your transducer is pointing with FFS.

[WIGuide]

I can't say enough good things about the Ghost. Mine has a couple seasons on it on 2 different boats and it's been absolutely flawless. From thick grass, to stumps, and rocks it's taken it all without the slightest hitch. One of the positives is that it actually has a breakaway mount, so there's a little more give there vs the Ultrex's solid mount.  The brushless motors are quieter, and way more efficient. Even running on 24 volts it still produces 97 lbs. of thrust. My longest day on the water this year was 14 hours and the wind was blowing 15-25 all day. A lot of time was spent on spot lock and despite that, at the end of the day I still had well over 50% on my batteries and I only have a 24V system. Being able to easily switch it from 24V to 36V is great too. If you only have a 24V system like me and upgrade to 36V you just change the configuration instead of buying a whole new motor. Also, if you have a 36V system and a battery craps out on you, just change the configuration and keep going, avoiding a ruined day. Since you already have Lowrance graphs, they integrate very well with those. Being able to switch transducers yourself, and upgrade them with add-on's like Ghost 360 is a huge plus. Active Target integrates well too, and once configured, it'll show you on the graph exactly where your transducer is pointed. I feel they hold in a tighter area on spot lock than the Ultrex. Even the simple things, like the head automatically turning when you pick it out of the water instead of having to use the foot pedal to turn it so you can lay it down is a nice feature. Ultrex's are nice, don't get me wrong, but I wouldn't take one over a Ghost.