My old Motor Guide Tour Model has flaked out again and I’ve had enough. It’s time for a new trolling motor.
I’ve narrowed my choices down to the:
Minn Kota Maxxum 80 with no sonar ($900), the
Minn Kota Fortrex 80 with sonar ($1250), or the
Minn Kota Terrova 80 with i-pilot & sonar ($1450).
The wife says she’ll pay for $600, so that kinda puts all of these in my price range, but I don’t want to buy a gimmick or spend more money that I need to.
Sonar makes no difference to me. I’ve been running a traducer under my TM for years with no issues. So is the better mount and constant on worth $350 to move up from the Maxxum to the Fortrex? Is i-Pilot really worth the extra $550?
One more thing, I looked on the Minn Kota site and see that there is a service center in Woods Cross,Croft Power Equipment. Has anyone been there? Are they a complete service center capable of performing all warranty work?
I know, that was a lot of questions and my finger hurts from typing, but I really appreciate all the great advise and reports I read here every day. Thanks everybody!
I can’t really comment on the new motors as mine is an older model- but have fished in a boat with I-pilot… Cool stuff. My board went out on my min and croft fixed it for what I thought a fair price. When I reinstalled it I could not get it to work, he came to my house found the problem in my wiring and did not charge me another dime. In fact I offered him more money and he would not take it. Stand up guy
That’s awesome about croft. I looked and didn’t see a service center within 200 miles from here for Motor Guide. That’s a huge plus for Minn Kota in this area.
Croft Power in Bountiful is the drop off for Swede R. Swede gives EXCELLENT [/b]service, I can’t give him enough recommendations. I am currently awaiting the delivery on a new Fortrex 80 to replace my Maxxum. Unfortunately it has been on back order for several weeks, otherwise I could give you a run down. I avoided the fancy ones, the more moving parts, the more to go wrong. Go with the Fortrex !!! Also, make sure that you get a long enough shaft. One problem people have is the shaft length is to short to keep the motor in the water when it is rough and the boat is bouncing up and down. My Maxxum has a 52 inch shaft, which is fine in most situations, but when it is rough, it will come out of the water. I ordered the new one with a 62 inch shaft to deal with that problem. One other thing, I would have upgraded to a 101 lb thrust motor, but I don’t have room for a third battery. Go with the max power, you can always turn the power down, but when you are maxed out, you are maxed out !!!
If you buy the Minn Kota powerdrive you have to choose between the I-Pilot and the Foot Pedal. With the I-Pilot installed you cannot use the foot pedal unless you uninstall the I-Pilot.
If you fish multiple-species go with the Terrova which allows you to use either the I-Pilot or the Foot Pedal without taking the unit apart. If you primarily fish for bass or only use your bow mount for shoreline type fishing the Fortrex is probabally a better option.
I have a powerdrive with I-Pilot and sonar. When I jig in deep water the I-Pilot anchor is awesome, it allows me to hover right over the fish regardless of the depth and I don’t have to mess around with ropes and anchors. I installed a toggle switch on my powerdrive to allow me to use both without taking the power unit apart depending on the species im targeting that day.
Terrova with I-pilot has known problems. Remote control has a short life, especially the new one. Also, recurrent problem with water entering the lower unit via the transducer, which basically kills it. I know of several this season with just that. Replacement is a new lower unit.
I have two 101 Terrova’s.The new one has the built in transducer and I Pilot. Nothing wrong with the older model I just wanted to up grade and have a spare motor during the tournament season.
I’ve not had any problems with either motor and they have really helped me with spending more time consentrating on my fishing instead of boat control.
With that said I mainly fish for walleyes I do alot of trolling and vertical jigging so the electronic anchor, auto pilot and route retracing is invaluble.
I could never go back to a cable drive as you have to stay on the pedal to keep it from wandering.
Just my two cents worth. Im inpressed with the Terrovas.
Swede R. is the dude who repairs Motors, his number is :(801) 397-1675. You will usually have to leave a message, but he will call you back after 5PM. Nice guy, and good at what he does !!!
http://mk.factoryoutletstore.com/ Check these guys out. The Free Shipping has been going for over 6 weeks, but they are the Factory Outlet for MK. FYI, Fortrex Motors are all on Back Order still !!!
$1149, no tax, no shipping, shipped the same day I ordered it. I got an email an hour or so after I ordered with my UPS tracking number. Now if it just gets here in one piece and runs I’ll be a happy fisher. [fishin]