Minn Kota Ultrex Quest

[eagle521]

Would like to hear reviews from you guys that are not pros, or sponsored by Minn Kota. I want real world reviews from guys like me, the weekend bass fishermen, before I spend 4k on a trolling motor. Thanks in advance, eagle521

[ThomasD]

Mine should be here today or Monday. Will be a week or two before I can review. Have 2 friends that upgraded from an Ultrex to a Quest. Nothing but praises so far.

[SLYDoggie]

I don't have the Ultrex Quest but do have the Ulterra Quest and have fished with it quite a bit over the last month. I can say that, on the Ulterra, it appears that Minn Kota really did address the issues people were having with the Ulterra. The deploy/stow/trim/turn motors have definitely been beefed up and are quieter. The brushless motor is definitely quieter and seems to be very energy efficient. They also totally revamped the emergency stow/deploy capability and it is vastly improved over the previous process, which requited tools.

I have mine connected to a 36V Lithium battery and it is a beast... it will pull my 22' tritoon pontoon along at 3.8 MPH. Spotlock is also spot on even with the large surface area of the pontoon in winds. The disadvantage of the Ulterra is that you can't hang anything off of it, other than the installed 2D or SI+ Transducer. The advantage is that you can deploy/stow with the push of a button on the remote or fish finder. At 72 years old, that is less wear and tear on these old muscles (or lack of muscles).

I realize this isn't an Ultrex and not all of the information applies, but thought I would provide the review in case others, who might not be considering the Ulterra because of previous issues might view this post.

I put together the following chart, which I think would apply to both Ultrex & Ulterra, since I'm sure the motors are the same. I used both the BMS on my Impulse 60AH 36V Lithium Battery as well as the new Battery Status screen on my Apex to determine how long I could troll at the various speed settings. I also measured the speed of my 22' tritoon pontoon with zero wind at the various motor speeds. Definitely points out that speed vs battery usage isn't a linear relationship. Most of my trolling motor usage is between 4 and 6 so that would give me somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 to 12 hours of run time with my 60 AH battery. I think that's pretty darn good.

Ulterra Quest Trolling Motor Battery Usage & Speed
36V 60AH Impulse Lithium Battery
By Steve Yarbrough; AKA - SLYDoggie & SLYDoggieTN
	Hours @ Speed Setting
Speed	Impulse	Minn Kota	Speed
1	127	>24	0.6
2	69	>24	0.8
3	34	>24	1.1
4	21	18	1.5
5	11	10	1.8
6	6.5	6	2.2
7	4.2	4	2.5
8	2.45	2.3	2.8
9	1.56	1.45	3.2
10	1	0.58	3.8

[eagle521]

Thanks for your input, very interesting

[fishin couillon]

Interested in how much quieter and smoother the steering is on the Ultrex Q vs. Ultrex.

[Sirius Rich]

Interested in how much quieter and smoother the steering is on the Ultrex Q vs. Ultrex.

Scientifically speaking, a bunch.

[fishin couillon]

Scientifically speaking, a bunch.

Has the jerkyness steering gone away or still the same?

[ThomasD]

Mine should be here today or Monday. Will be a week or two before I can review. Have 2 friends that upgraded from an Ultrex to a Quest. Nothing but praises so far.

It came in yesterday afternoon and I got it installed today. Headed out tomorrow to put it to the test.

[Sirius Rich]

Has the jerkyness steering gone away or still the same?

Mine is as smooth as the proverbial baby butt. No herky jerky here.

[ThomasD]

Took mine on it's maiden voyage this morning. Color me impressed. Easier to stow and deploy. Can set the head to automatically turn when stowing and deploying. Spot lock engages instantaneously and holds tighter. Motor is super quiet. Steering motor is quieter than old one but still a little noisy IMO, that would be the only hit I can think of. Top speed improvement is impressive. Old Ultrex would hit 2.8, new Quest hit 4.1. Boat is a Phoenix 920 Pro with Ionic 50a lithiums.

[TwinStick]

Took mine on it's maiden voyage this morning. Color me impressed. Easier to stow and deploy. Can set the head to automatically turn when stowing and deploying. Spot lock engages instantaneously and holds tighter. Motor is super quiet. Steering motor is quieter than old one but still a little noisy IMO, that would be the only hit I can think of. Top speed improvement is impressive. Old Ultrex would hit 2.8, new Quest hit 4.1. Boat is a Phoenix 920 Pro with Ionic 50a lithiums.

All of that sounds pretty impressive. I may have to look into one a bit more. Didn't know about the stow function

[Mike A]

Took mine on its maiden voyage this morning. Color me impressed. Easier to stow and deploy. Can set the head to automatically turn when stowing and deploying. Spot lock engages instantaneously and holds tighter. Motor is super quiet. Steering motor is quieter than old one but still a little noisy IMO, that would be the only hit I can think of. Top speed improvement is impressive. Old Ultrex would hit 2.8, new Quest hit 4.1. Boat is a Phoenix 920 Pro with Ionic 50a lithiums.

So after watching the crucial part of the Wheeler vid on the other thread I gotta ask………does the t/m head line up with the lower unit barrel?

[SLYDoggie]

So after watching the crucial part of the Wheeler vid on the other thread I gotta ask………does the t/m head line up with the lower unit barrel?

The quest models have a heading sensor built into the unit itself. There is a procedure you go through where you steer the trolling motor to align with the centerline of the boat and then you set that in memory. You then have the option for the trolling motor to automatically go to that position on deploy or not. It will also automatically go to the correct stow position as you stow the motor. Finally, you have the option on the stow position for the prop to be on the Port or Starboard side.

[Mike A]

The quest models have a heading sensor built into the unit itself. There is a procedure you go through where you steer the trolling motor to align with the centerline of the boat and then you set that in memory. You then have the option for the trolling motor to automatically go to that position on deploy or not. It will also automatically go to the correct stow position as you stow the motor. Finally, you have the option on the stow position for the prop to be on the Port or Starboard side.

Well thanks but that’s not what I was asking about. I recommend watching the vid (it’s in the lounge) in question. For anyone else that has one, is the t/m head actually supposed to be aligned with the lower unit (like my non quest) and/or is what Wheeler describes in his vid an anomaly and unique to his unit and something MK needs to fix?

[ThomasD]

Well thanks but that’s not what I was asking about. I recommend watching the vid (it’s in the lounge) in question. For anyone else that has one, is the t/m head actually supposed to be aligned with the lower unit (like my non quest) and/or is what Wheeler describes in his vid an anomaly and unique to his unit and something MK needs to fix?

Haven't seen the video but yes, the head aligns with the motor just like the old one.

[bobcoy]

Probably some mishap with a dock or something. If you want to see the best pro talking about the Quest Ultrex, this is a recent one. https://majorleaguefishing.com/bass-...-bay-st-clair/

[TwinStick]

Well, This Thread cost me three grand today

[eagle521]

Only 3 grand, you must have gotten a good deal. The one I want is 4 grand. PM me and tell me where that deal is.

[ThomasD]

Only 3 grand, you must have gotten a good deal. The one I want is 4 grand. PM me and tell me where that deal is.

The one I got was $4,099 plus tax

[fishnfireman]

Only 3 grand, you must have gotten a good deal. The one I want is 4 grand. PM me and tell me where that deal is.

I'll take one also.