One Year Ulterra Review (the expensive lazy mans trolling motor?!)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ก.ค. 2022
- I have had this 80lb thrust Minn Kota Ulterra trolling motor for over a year now!
In this video I talk about the trolling motor that I moved from my 18 foot jet boat (G3 18CCJ) to my new 20 foot bay boat (Excel Bay Pro 203). The first thing I noticed is the performance is just about as good as on the 18 foot boat! Who needs a 112lb thrust trolling motor?
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That’s really nice Billy. I love the way you can just back the boat down and let it float around till you get parked then all it back to you. Great video.
You provide above average detail and that is appreciated. I'm thinking about getting an Ulterra and this video, including the maintenance/lube tips was very helpful. Big thanks.
You are welcome!
Yesir next on my list to buy for the boat. 👍 good info and content Billy
Thanks!
VERY good video, sir. Answered a ton of questions, some I didn't even know I had.
Thanks!
I just bought the same trolling motor for my Bass Tracker XL. It is over kill but I LOVE this trolling motor.
Love mine! Not one problem!!
Great video man! Just what I was looking for.
Thanks!
Skunked again, an honest fisherman, I love it
Thanks!
Well Billy that's freaking awesome 👍👍
Thanks!
Thats an awesome piece of equipment. I'd buy it just for the boat launching capability.
It may have been me who said that you should not lube the threaded shaft. You are 100% correct, page 37 of the manuel says to lube it. The 7 minutes mark of the official minn kota TH-cam video says not to lube the shaft. Im guessing the manual is older than the video they posted 5 months ago. I wish they would clarify this. As for Swafford's, I agree, he is very good! I love mine but did break my trim belt under warranty and it was repaired quickly and has worked great since.
Have had my Ulterra for 6 years now. Never had any issues with it. Have heard of many horror stories but you look after it, it will serve you greatly. Just remember to turn power on to trolling motor before launch or you may be going for a swim. Just a word to the wise. I fish from ice out to ice up and never had a problem.
Looking to upgrade to something like this, u have a link on yours or like this one ?
@teamslaiyans3808 My newest one does not have link which gave me the good remote. That touch screen remote is garbage!
Not lazy, just have balance and walking issues from bone cancer and removal of 60% of my left pelvic bone. The Ulterra is one of the tools that makes safe fishing possible for me. I never thought of using it at the boat launch. I can't wait to try that at the launch next time.
Just don’t forget to turn it on!!!
@@TNRVG That would be really bad. I put it #2 on the pre launch checklist, right after putting the drain plug in.
Thanks. I have some leg and balance issues too. I have trouble getting up and down on the casting decks. It’s the main reason to look at this motor.
Worker smarter not harder now and days 😅😅😅😅🔥💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽
I been wanting one since I saw a commercial doing what you did but if im honest I don't know how much I'd trust it. Got a feeling I'd be swimming sooner or later lol.
I borrowed a boat with one on it and it ended up floating down the river because the transducer wire got stuck. Thankfully a bass boat saved me the swim.
Sweet!
I sell minn kota motors, everything you said was accurate and helpful, and you were correct in saying the puck was only used for the jog feature on the motor. That is the only thing the motor will utilize it for, however, if you get additional equipment that requires heading sensors, you can attach it to the minn kota heading sensor and it will work! 👍🏻
What ah batteries are needed to run ulterra 80lb thrust?
@@andrewzuk8721 80lbs thrust will be 24 volts, so wiring two 12's in a series is the best option, or you could get one 24 volt battery, but those can be expensive.
I have heard the same about the jog. There is an antenna in the motor
Nice been wanting one of these. I wanna put it on my 1436 jon though as the main motor. I'm cheap so I'm waiting for a used one to roll around 😂
They would REALLY push that boat good haha!
This is next on my list for sure 💯. Question what if the motor or belt breaks down on the water can you still lift it up and down manually ?
Yes there is a way to manually pull it out of the water. It only requires a Phillips screwdriver. You take the side off then take a plastic cap off two metal brackets that are part of the deploying system.
You chose wisely! I have 3 ulterra's. Once you use one, you just can't go back to hand launching a troller.
Totally agree!
Just got my Ulterra and will be installing tomorrow, thanks for the video. By any chance, are you Italian?
Nope
Nice billy...the flatheads are coming off spawn in ohio river caught few nice ones tuesday evening between 10 and 18 pounds smallest one was 10.2 biggest one was 18.7 pounds
I need to give my flathead spots a try again. It’s been a rough year. I have yet to catch one myself!
@@TNRVG yes try them out you might hit lucky on good flathead
nice lake
Thanks
Great video! Looking to buy one soon. I fish for musky also, does it have a contour feature? or do you use the North feature following the banks?
It just goes on direction to my knowledge. I know you can network it with a fish finder however I have never used it like that.
Sounds good, maybe I'm thinking of the Ultrex. I love that auto deploy feature, especially launching, ever tried it retrieving your boat? obviously, you would have to have the motor trimmed up, just enough to get it in close enough, to strap it in? Just a thought.@@TNRVG
I still use the big motor to put the boat on the trailer. I do spot lock it away from the dock sometimes while I back my trailer into the water.
Sounds good! One thing I was thinking about, after watching videos about auto launching, and the swimming comments. Why not do a quick auto deploy at the launch area, when prepping your boat for launch? Not sure if you can do a quick bump test, up and down to make sure your good? Just a thought. Thanks for the replys back! @@TNRVG
@@dougmead7669 Cant deploy while on trailer because it would catch on trailer?
Was told by my Certified Minn Kota Troll Motor Repair shop to NEVER use any aerosol spray lubricant due to the aerosol will ‘eat’/dry the rubber belt/-he recommends using ArmorAll hand spray and/or Pledge hand spray!!! ANY INPUT INTO WHAT TO USE ON THE RUBBER TRIM-BELT ULTERRA ????John Castelluccio-DEEP SOUTH LOUISIANA 112 Ulterra Riptide w/60” shaft.
They really need to get their maintenance stuff straight. I called them before I made this video.
I was the one that told you not to grease the cork screw. Their manual says to grease it but Minn kota’s maintenance video recommends not to. If you call them, they agree with that advice. Weird how they still haven’t agreed on a final answer.
I called them. They said grease it.
Have any one had any issues with the white shaft delaminating and water ingress into the control unit on the Minn Kota Ulterra
How many inches does it hang over the front? Worried about it fitting in my garage
It hangs out about 6 inches or less. They do make a retractable quick mount for it. It's a little pricey.
Thanks
Rocky Relationship: No one loves the Ulterra more than me, my boat doesnt go out without it. I rinse and lubricate it as recommended, especially because i fish saltwater and it cost almost $3000. I had it for 2 years and this is the second time its in the shop, first for non deploy and now non stow. When your offshore in choppy, windy conditions the manual stow process is far more difficult at best, and not the safest thing to do in choppy seas.
When I called repair shop he said lots of problems with Ulterras, one of which is getting certain sensor parts. Oh and wait until you see the cost of repairing these motors, $500 to $600 not unusal for major part replacement.
Pro Tip: Anyone buying a new Ulterra, do yourself a favor and get an extended warranty if you can. After reading some of the pro angler comments about reliablity, I decided to buy the extended warranty when I purchased. I seldom need to take advantage of extended warranties, but when it comes to boating as you may know Murphys law is on steroids. This is one insurance you will likely use at some point.
Now my dilema is the warranty company is giving me the option of repair, replace or refund, sounds shocking I know but that tells me something. They don't even seem that interested in repair, I guess due to the lack of service centers, long waits and parts availability etc. West Marine has no Ulterras in stock and it took almost 6 month wait to buy mine during Covid. All things considered I am seriously considering just getting refund and changing to manual, my confidence has been shaken. Analogy: all the good days of cheating doesnt pay for one bad day.
I just bought a used 112 and the belt needs replaced. I am going to try to do it myself. The belt was about $60 on Amazon. I have tightened it a couple of times but it slipped a couple of trips later. The 112’s with long shafts seem to be more problematic. I’ve never had issues with 80lb thrust ones. Wish it was good enough for my new 21 foot boat (the 80).
I’ve got an Ulterra but still launch with the boat roped to the dock. I don’t trust the motor to work every time.
I’ve had a borrowed boat go down the river because the owner connected the fish finder to it and the cable got caught not allowing it to deploy. Thankfully there was a boat nearby to catch it.
What ah batteries do you use?
I’ve been using 50ah ionic batteries lately. They seem to work fine unless I run the trolling motor hard all day.
It’s a great motor. The motor that trims it can have issues
My buddy had one that is about 3 years old and the belt finally wore out on the bottom. Was not the easiest thing to replace.
u will never experience this, but in Chicago its useless in the cold. One drop of water when its in the low 30s and it freezes and u cant move it up or down. Happened to me on lake Michigan when i was perch fishing. Of course its never really freezing here, even in the winter. Water temps drop down to low 40s, but never in the 30s
I actually froze one years ago. Ending up taking it to the repair shop to fix it. Have to be careful in the freezing cold!
btw I am giving you a shout out in a future Carp video!
I live south of Chicago and fish Lake Michigan also late into winter and I’ve never had an issue with mine. But I am careful on really cold days like wiping down the shaft with a towel when stowing it and I keep a small bottle of Armor All in the boat to wipe down the shaft also in freezing temps. If it’s to cold for that thing to work I shouldn’t be out there fishing 😊👍👍👍
We have crazy weather here in TN. It was pouring rain the day before mine froze and warm enough to fish in the rain. Then the temps crashed. Pretty much froze everything.
What ah do you have on your batteries?
I’ve been using 50ah ionic batteries lately. They seem to work fine unless I run the trolling motor hard all day.
Why did you have to take it in for repair? I just got mine
It had a weird noise while trimming out of the box. Then it just stopped trimming.
👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸
U have a link for that trolling motor ?
This version is becoming more difficult to find as they are promoting the version that is almost double its cost. I added a Walmart link to a similar one to the video. Here is another on Amazon (associate link, I may get a commission if you buy anything through it): amzn.to/3V8O0iU
I had one for five years. When it worked it was great. But I’ve had to swim after my boat more than five times. I no longer have it.
I lost my buddies boat once because the transducer cable got stuck. Didn’t had to swim as a bass boat saved it. No issues yet with the ones I own except my current one. My trailer hits the prop and breaks it every now and then.
Did you have any issues with de lamination to the shaft Mine delaminated after three months use Cleaned with fresh water after every use, dried, sprayed with silicon and wiped Boat is shed stored every day?
Water ingress to control board shorted out!!
New shaft is now delaminating again after three month use again. These units are not very well sealed to keep water from contacting electronics and electrical connectors!! Any information would be welcome?
As I use mine in Salt Water it gets salt sprey over the bow and into the power connector block! As it is not sealed at all from water running around on the deck and splashing into the base unit!!
@rongill4199 I have not.
I got pause massage on my remote can you help me
I don't know how to do a reset on the remote. Maybe take the battery out. On the Ulterra itself if you turn it off, then back on. Then hold the power button for 3 seconds. It will reset the motor. If none of that fixes the issue contact Minn Kota. Their support is usually good.
Sorry to here that. I unfortunately bought one as well. Wait till you have a deploy or stow😮
This is one of the worst trolling motors on the market! Get a different model but please stay away from the Ulterra!!!!!
I bought a brand new one. Knowing this one was abused for several years before I got it and it took a VERY hard slap from a wake boat to stretch the belt… I will always have one on my boat as long as I can afford it.
You can’t store this stuff outside
A buddy of mine has for years on a quick release bracket. It has a spot for a lock on it. I do keep mine in a garage with cameras and an alarm. Still, all of this is just a small road bump to someone else wanting to grab it.
Windy? Water looked like glass lol. Awesome motor mine is on the way as I type this.