NEW TROLLING MOTOR

Wondering what the biggest 12 volt trolling motor would be,and reliable.I have a 18 foot tuffy tiller,and fish mostly the river. thanks for any suggestions, thinking about a minn kota maxum 55lb, Thanks

Bub, I think you found it the 55lb Minnkota.

I used the 55lb thrust bow mount on a 18 foot starcraft 75 horse tiller with years of good service.

This unit was good for lake fishing but I always had an extra battery to use on windy days.

55lbs is a little week for main river channel fishing.

I now run a 55lb Jonhson foot control 24 volt still a little week for main river channel fishing but am glad it is 24 volt.

Bub I would say get more thrust and go to 24 volt system you will be much happier in the long run.

I agree with Dave 100 percent. But, if you have to go with a 12 volt system then 55lbs is the most thrust you can get. I personally run the Minn Kota 55PD and it’s great, but I don’t use it on the river, just lake fishing.

Does the 55pd have cable steer or is it electric? 24 volts do they run longer and stronger?Thanks

Bub, Wade proberly can give more details but pd is electric drive and 24 volts does give you more running time, but the idea behind more thurst is in river fishing you don’t want to be at the top end of your power curve all the time example 55lbs [24 volt] at full thrust about 4 hours them the power curve starts decreasing, then take 75 pound thrust running at 3/4 you will increase your running time by 1/4.
Always buy the most thrust you can and run 24 volt if possble.

Personally with my “little” boat 16.5 foot lund rebel, 55# is barely enough most of the time, a few times I wish I had more… River wise (in current) anyways, it’s just fine for the lakes. Personally I’d look larger, I if I had only thought of it at the time, I would’ve realized I could’ve put a second battery anywhere, as long as I could run power cables to it. ( I was thinking I could only put one battery in the “logical compartment” and there is plenty of room in the compartment next to it, albiet there would have to be a little hole cut.)

I would look into a 24 volt system also. your just not going to get a full day of fishing on the 12 volts. Then if you are looking at a 24 volt motor you might want to think about a bigger motor. You might find that running the 55 at full speed all day is going to run those batterys down faster than running a higher power motor at a lower speed.

Bub, These guys have given you great advice in my opinion. If money and space allow, you’ll be happier with a 24V system on the river, no doubt. The Power Drives are electric driven, not cable like the Maxxum.

Here’s a link to Jolly Ann Marine Trolling Motors to give you an idea of what’s out there and what the prices are.

One thing I have to say about Wade at Jolly Marine is that besides excellant service and free shipping and no sales tax if you don’t live in Iowa is that he will steer you in the right direction. I just ordered a locator from him this week and we talked back and forth by pms on this site about them. I was trying to save money by thinking of getting a cheaper one for my Jon boat but Wade was honest with me and knew I wouldn’t be happy with the one I was looking at. In order to get me a good one and yet save me some money too he found me a Eagle Fish Mark 320 [last years model] at a distribitor out west for a good price and knowing that I already have 2 of these units on my Lund and really liked them he did me a big favor finding the locator and making sure that I was a happy customer with my new locator. Now thats what I call super service and going out of your way to make sure your customer is a happy and satisfied customer. ”Thanks Wade.” Now you know why I like doing business with Wade of Jolly Marine. Thanks, Bill

thats kinda what i’m looking for last years model,kinda on a tight budget.Thanks for the advice,i know which one i want but the money thing is another.

Bub, One thing to do would be to watch the classified ads here. You might find someone selling a used trolling motor at a decent price. One other option is to look for rebuilt trolling motors at some of the large retailers such as Cabelas and others. We generally do not carry any used or reconditioned units but if we ever do I’ll probably note it in the Bargain Forum here. Best of luck!

Thanks for the help, i was hoping you would say you had a rebuild.no hurry now so i think i’ll just take my time, i pretty sure i’ll run across one,or i might just get a few hundred bucks in my pocket and i’ll just go buy a new one .. thanks