Why doesn't the Ultrex have auto stow and deploy

[Cgs1967!]

I thought I had my mind made up to buy the Ultrex. I launch my boat alone 90% of the time. I saw a video of a guy that launched his boat alone with the auto deploy. Then parked his truck and had the boat meet him at the dock. Why does the Ultrex not have this feature?

[wall3315]

I installed my Ulterra this winter on my Ranger 175vs... I fish alone 90% of the time and absolutely love the ability to launch it and spotlock it while I’m parking the truck. Was worried I wouldn’t like the foot pedal but use it in conjunction with the remote and really like it. Best thing is when you get ready to leave a spot and you look up and see that you forgot to stow your trolling motor.... you don’t have to get back up out of the seat!

[Bassmeister]

Going on 3 years with my Ulterra....I love not yanking on that dang rope!! I launch alone a lot and get a lot of cool responses about it......You DO have to remember to turn it on before launching.....I had to hitch a ride to my rig ONCE!!!

[fishfry]

Very hard to set up transducer on a ultrera . It can be done, but it certainly is not clean and easy. I have an ultera and I love that I can raise and lower the depth of the motor for conditions by pushing a button. I fish lot of shallow water and hang my baits on the shore more then I would like to admit. Push of the button, trolling motor raises to allow me to go shallower. The foot control works, but nothing replaces the feel of cable. I have had some problems with mine, but I would buy another one if I were in the market today.

[fishfry]

I should have included that the riptide uttera is salt water friendly and that is why I bought it. If I had a bass boat I would purchase the ultrex over the ultra just for the better boat control. Thats jmho I don't think you will dislike either.

[fishnfireman]

Because the Ultera does.
At this point I don't think you can have the best of both worlds.

[Cgs1967!]

Because the Ultera does.
At this point I don't think you can have the best of both worlds.

Why not? Lol. I'm purchasing s trolling motor within the next month or so. It will be a tough choice. I like the cable steer on the Ultrex but like the auto deploy and stow on the Ulterra. Decisions, decisions.

[fishnfireman]

I'll sure buy one when/if they do.

[LTZ25]

I've had 2 Ulterra's and 1 Ultrex and will not own another Ulterra , I'm 67 and still would rather pull the Ultrex rope and know its going to deploy than hit the button and hope its going to retract . I love the idea behind the Ulterra but don't need the worry .

[catdude28]

I've had 2 Ulterra's and 1 Ultrex and will not own another Ulterra , I'm 67 and still would rather pull the Ultrex rope and know its going to deploy than hit the button and hope its going to retract . I love the idea behind the Ulterra but don't need the worry .

My thinking as well. Just another electrical mechanism that can go haywire. Even if there is a manual back up to stow and deploy to save your day, the motor still has to come off and go to a service centre. I will stick with the pull mechanism too.

[LTZ25]

My thinking as well. Just another electrical mechanism that can go haywire. Even if there is a manual back up to stow and deploy to save your day, the motor still has to come off and go to a service centre. I will stick with the pull mechanism too.

Yeah , you reminded me why I hate the Ulterra , THEY did not design it with a simple manual backup , fatal mistake .

[Cgs1967!]

I've had 2 Ulterra's and 1 Ultrex and will not own another Ulterra , I'm 67 and still would rather pull the Ultrex rope and know its going to deploy than hit the button and hope its going to retract . I love the idea behind the Ulterra but don't need the worry .

I thought about that but wonder how often it doesnt work. If no back up way to get it out of the water it could be bad.

[BMCD]

sounds nice, but sounds expensive and heavier.

[basscat tyler]

I’ll stick with my ultrex. I don’t mind pulling the cable to stow and deploy

[Cestratton]

Did the Fortrex have auto deploy? No. An Ultrex is nothing more than a Fortrex that still has cable steering only with electronic assist.

[jc2bg]

Yeah , you reminded me why I hate the Ulterra , THEY did not design it with a simple manual backup , fatal mistake .

A couple of years ago I got 25 miles out in Lake Erie on my buddy’s boat with his new Ulterra and it deployed but would not come up. We were barely in range for cell service, but he managed to get a MK technician on the line, which did not help a bit. Long ride in with the trolling motor hanging down in the water, and counting our round trip to and from the lake, we were away from home for nearly 7 hours without wetting a line. [Ironically, buddy deployed the tm and immediately decided that that spot did not look good, upon which he discovered the problem.] Another Ulterra user at the dock showed my buddy how to get it retracted manually, so we could put the boat on the trailer, but with no assurance that it would work again, we made the long drive home and cut our losses.

[catch5]

Did the Fortrex have auto deploy? No. An Ultrex is nothing more than a Fortrex that still has cable steering only with electronic assist.

And that little feature called spot lock. Lol

[Bass Cat Boats]

Because... Ulterra does and that system requires the large base mount that doesn’t fit well on most bass boats. The auto deploy system requires that large base and extended offset over the bow. That was all discussed when Ultrex was in the early design phases going back about 7 to 8 years ago.

It is a cool feature, and you can use the Minn Kota removable base plate to give height that might be needed and use the Ulterra.

[MikeTTI]

I guess the Motorguide power gator has been all but forgotten. The addition of a motorized base like that would have been nice.

[1sharphook]

A couple of years ago I got 25 miles out in Lake Erie on my buddy’s boat with his new Ulterra and it deployed but would not come up. We were barely in range for cell service, but he managed to get a MK technician on the line, which did not help a bit. Long ride in with the trolling motor hanging down in the water, and counting our round trip to and from the lake, we were away from home for nearly 7 hours without wetting a line. [Ironically, buddy deployed the tm and immediately decided that that spot did not look good, upon which he discovered the problem.] Another Ulterra user at the dock showed my buddy how to get it retracted manually, so we could put the boat on the trailer, but with no assurance that it would work again, we made the long drive home and cut our losses.

You might consider informing your buddy that there is a section in his owners manual titled "Manually Stowing the Ulterra".