Garmin Force or Lowrance Ghost: Hi guys, Thinking of a new trolling motor and trying to decide if one of these is better than Minn Kota.There is a lot of mixed feelings on these 2 new...

Tom Wasz

Hi guys, Thinking of a new trolling motor and trying to decide if one of these is better than Minn Kota.There is a lot of mixed feelings on these 2 new motors and they are without a lot of history. Also I loose power fast on my Terrova on a 18' Skeeter. Has anyone ever had a situation where the wires from the battery were too small. Thinking maybe a #4 or #6 should work but I have to see what I have. I can loose all power in 5 or 6 hours.

Bobb Loc: Polk County FL

If you are losing power after a few hours I would look at the batteries first. Sounds like they are not holding up. Check them with a good battery tester for load capacity. Normally #6 wire is adequate, but some manufacture have used #8...

GaryH Loc: Northern Pa.

TM Minn Kota Ultrex. Check your batteries. Are you running 12v, 24v or 36v? Are all the batteries the same age? What class batteries are you using? Did this issue always exist or did it just start? Give us some info and we can help. Hopefully

Tom Wasz

I have 24 v and they are 3 years old Started in 2020 when I purchased the boat used. If I go to 36 v is the difference measurable and what type batteries give the best service. I have the Terrova, 2017.

GaryH Loc: Northern Pa.

Yes 36V is a measurable difference but the cost to upgrade to a 39V trolling motor and 3 new batteries would be pretty expensive. Three years on batteries with a lot of use and recharging is a fair amount of usage. I’ve seen them last 5 years but 3 years isn’t that all uncommon, especially if there being drain down to the point of going dead. If cost isn’t a big issue changed them out to lithium batteries and you’ll fish all day with no issues and they’ll last 2 to 3 times longer before needing to be replaced.

1old timer

What kind of battery charger are you using?I keep mine plugged in 24-7 ,on board charger 😊

Harris T. Fudpucker Loc: Lafayette, Louisiana

I don't care if the mfg says it will last 25yrs, after three winters, start expecting a dead cell, leading to a dead battery. Gell batteries and lithium will last longer and will lighter the wallet. I had Gell batteries, and after 6yrs, still was going strong, cost new about $250 each 15yrs ago.

woodguru Loc: El Dorado Ca

Tom Wasz wrote:

Hi guys, Thinking of a new trolling motor and trying to decide if one of these is better than Minn Kota.There is a lot of mixed feelings on these 2 new motors and they are without a lot of history. Also I loose power fast on my Terrova on a 18' Skeeter. Has anyone ever had a situation where the wires from the battery were too small. Thinking maybe a #4 or #6 should work but I have to see what I have. I can loose all power in 5 or 6 hours.

A key question would be did they last longer when they were new to where you can say you aren't seeing as much run time anymore? If they are not doing as well as they did look for new batteries.

A couple ways to look at it are to either bite the bullet and get lithiums at $1500 to $2000, or what I went with is a pair of the Exide group 31 deep cycle marine batteries they carry at Home Depot for $109 each, the group 31's are 115ah batteries for an extra 20 or 30 amp hours for the pair. At $250 for a pair I figure when I start getting diminished run times I'll get a new pair. I'd actually be surprised if I don't get at least two or three years service out of them.

You aren't by chance using a Marinco 12/24v locking plug are you?