Thinking of going to a Minn Kota

[Charger69]

I am thinking of switching to a Minn Kota trolling motor over the winter. I have been looking at the Terrova model. I really like the spot lock feature. I will be switching from a Motor Guide, that my boat originally came with. Will I have an issue with mounting it and do they plug in just like the Motor Guide? Also I see on this forum a lot of questions/issues with the Ultrex. I have not seen any about the Terrova, is it not as popular of a unit, do guys just stay away from them for some reason. Sorry about all the questions, but this would be a major investment for me. Thanks for any and all help.

[Jonestrollingmotor]

The Terrova is a popular trolling motor if you do actual trolling. As for a positing motor, the Ultrex is a better motor. The motor, shaft, controller are the same on both. Because of the mount there is a difference in the way the stow and deploy. The Ultrex is like a conventional cable steer motor while the Terrova is more like an Xi5, having to hang off the bow by apx 6" in order to work properly. On here, there are more guys running the Ultrex than the Terrova, plus the steering sensor has been an issue. MinnKota is in the third generation of sensor boards and seems like they got it right with the new version. If I can help, let me know.

[Rip Bass]

There’s two guys around here that run Terrovas,the only negative I’ve heard is that the steering is slow compared to a foot steer or Ultrex. To me ,it seems like they are a bit of a pain to stow but I’ve never used one either.

[Wallace]

I have a terrova bt model. Came from a power drive before that. The new terrova is head and shoulders above the previous version I use my i-Pilot a lot and spot lock a lot. Slow steering? Maybe compared to the Cadillac of the fleet . It’s not a big thing to me personally. It’s faster than my older power drive which I put a new steering motor in before I replaced the tm.
Yes it does stick out further on the bow. You will have to be a little more careful if your the crash helmet type. Lol. it’s also easier to stow and deploy than any mk motor I’ve had. It seems as dependable as any mk motor Ive had, with that said I’ve had every iteration of the electric steer motor mk has made and so far this is the best . If your looking for a no nonsense electric steer that will do just about everything the caddi will do without the gingerbread it’s about as good as it gets.

[ntslam]

the steering is only slower if you are usnig the foot pedal, the remote is instant

[JosieRay]

I personally like the remote more than a foot pedal. I haven't used a foot pedal in a very long time.

[Charger69]

Thank you for the replies, I appreciate it. Think I will pull the trigger on it! I've read where a few people like the remote better. Seems strange after having a pedal for so long, but I can see where it would be a lot more handy.

[KandKKustomz]

Go ultrex ..

[03triton]

.

[lpugh]

DO NOT BUY!!!
CUSTOMER SERVICE IS TERRIBLE!!!
Bought brand new ultrex and used it 3 times and water got in to the lower unit and head unit. Called Minn Kota and they wanted me to take to service center to have repaired. $2500 for a trolling motor that’s less than a week old and they want to work on it. Called service center and they said it would be 2 weeks! Unacceptable in my opinion..... with a TM this new looks like they could replace it!!!

So return it and get a refund, I think you are going a little overboard on this.

[rbarrow]

Might suggest you wait on buying a new Ultrex until MK releases a new version with a brushless motor (like Garmin and Lowrance). There are going to be A LOT of used Ultrex's for sale pretty cheap over the next few months. MK has to get a brushless design to market in order to compete. Brushless motors are definitely the future....

[BassTracker175]

My friend has the same experience. It’s a Power Drive from Amazon. MK’s quality is driving me away.

DO NOT BUY!!!
CUSTOMER SERVICE IS TERRIBLE!!!
Bought brand new ultrex and used it 3 times and water got in to the lower unit and head unit. Called Minn Kota and they wanted me to take to service center to have repaired. $2500 for a trolling motor that’s less than a week old and they want to work on it. Called service center and they said it would be 2 weeks! Unacceptable in my opinion..... with a TM this new looks like they could replace it!!!

[Jonestrollingmotor]

DO NOT BUY!!!
CUSTOMER SERVICE IS TERRIBLE!!!
Bought brand new ultrex and used it 3 times and water got in to the lower unit and head unit. Called Minn Kota and they wanted me to take to service center to have repaired. $2500 for a trolling motor that’s less than a week old and they want to work on it. Called service center and they said it would be 2 weeks! Unacceptable in my opinion..... with a TM this new looks like they could replace it!!!

So as expensive as a car, truck, or boat is, do they replace it a week later if something breaks? I've never had a dealer do it.

[03triton]

So as expensive as a car, truck, or boat is, do they replace it a week later if something breaks? I've never had a dealer do it.

Only other problem I had was with a vehicle..... bought it new from Honda and there was a malfunction which caused the vehicle to misfire causing the check engine light to come on. Honda picked up the vehicle at my wife’s work leaving a rental in it’s place. They fixed the problem and never charged us anything for the rental so we didn’t have to do without a vehicle. They also gave us a $500 gift card to use on general maintenance from the dealership.

[BassTracker175]

Sounds like you are defending for MK, for whatever reason, but the rate of issues popped out here from MK is abnormally high! And many are NEW units!

MK definitely has quality control issues, period!

So as expensive as a car, truck, or boat is, do they replace it a week later if something breaks? I've never had a dealer do it.

[Lowerider58]

Sounds like you are defending for MK, for whatever reason, but the rate of issues popped out here from MK is abnormally high! And many are NEW units!

MK definitely has quality control issues, period!

I agree there’s been a lot of post here on the Ultrex issues. Part of the reason for that is that it is a lot more complicated motor than our cable steer only motors of the past. The more complicated something becomes the higher the chance of a failure. If you also consider the Ultrex has outsold all other trolling motors since there introduction it stands to reason they would have more failures.
I expect the new motors hitting the market will have some bugs to work out and will go through some growing pains too.
Maybe I’ve been lucky but I’ve had my Ultrex for nearly 2 years and have only had one minor issue with the power switch that I fixed myself.

[chrisntab]

Might suggest you wait on buying a new Ultrex until MK releases a new version with a brushless motor (like Garmin and Lowrance). There are going to be A LOT of used Ultrex's for sale pretty cheap over the next few months. MK has to get a brushless design to market in order to compete. Brushless motors are definitely the future....

So true, I hope my old Xi5 can hold up that long til minnkota does release a brushless design.

[Caddis001]

I have a Terrova. Adjusting the foot pedal takes a trip or two. Spot-lock is great. Deploying and stowing actions take a trip to get used to. Auto-pilot is great, keeps the track as is should. Overall the it's been a good experience. I bought it new in March 2019. The downside to me is transducer cable management. There are a lot of options out there now. My friend bought an Xi5 shortly after I bought my MK. So far, he's had no issue with the MG at all. We both wish we had bought a spot-lock capable motor years ago. If the new Tour Pro had been available then I would have looked at that for sure. Without a builtin transducer of any kind. My two-cents. Your milage may vary.

[kry29]

I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Minnkota. I would go ultrex or ulterra depending on your fishing style.

[Hogbus]

Public forums provide a place for folks to vent..
I invite the thousands of anglers that have had zero issues with their ultrex to respond. I have one on both my basscats. Zero issues.

ill be the first. Love my ultrex!
good luck. JD