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Posts: 190
| I am looking into purchasing a new trolling motor for my boat this season. I have used Minn Kota in the past put am very unsatisfied with the failing pedal designe on the power drive models.
I am wondering how many of you have had the same problems with this pedal and if there is a good fix other than buying another petal.
I am also looking for suggestions about what brand and unit I should look to, I am fishing a 16' fully deckad aluminum outboard jet drive style modified v boat. The hole rig is very light allowing me to get to places other boats cant so I would like to keep it light with a single battery 55# or 65# system.
Thanks for the help in advance....Doug Bradley |
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Posts: 670
Location: Otsego, MN | I've used the powerdrive for 3 years, I've gone through one pedal and I fish a lot. Make sure you keep the pedal clean of sand and dirt. I love the powerdrives. I also have the co-pilot system and that works well and keeps some of the abuse off your pedal. |
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Posts: 2427
Location: Ft. Wayne Indiana | I love the powerdrives as well...but part of loving it requires me to have a love/hate relationship with the foot pedals.
I usually go through about 4 a year....
If you fish alot, you are going to break them, plain and simple. Just like reels......
I bought a new Terrova for my 07 Polar Kraft....but I also am buying a 80 pound Powerdrive to keep as a back up.... Powerdrives rock, but the foot pedals suck...I have just learned to accept that and now carry 2 spare pedals in the boat with me. |
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Posts: 2323
Location: Stevens Point, WI | Take a look at the MotorGuide Wireless. A few guys on here ran them last year and I know from what I heard from them and my experience with them this summer, I dont know if I heard of one problem with them yet. Small pedal, no wires, and now they come with Universal sonar and the co-pilot feature is now also available. Maybe Sworrall or Slamr will chime in on this, they both ran them last season. |
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Posts: 190
| Thanks for the info and I have been looking at the Motorguide units so if any can give me feedback on them it would be awesome. Mike, I know what you mean, I have gone through quite a few pedals also. Thanks Doug Bradley |
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Posts: 2323
Location: Stevens Point, WI | Doug,
What would you like to know about the MotorGuides? Either I could give you some feedback about them or pm Sworrall or Slamr, they both had them on there boats and I used them on there and I used them a little other places as well. Ask away, I will answer any question you have, or someone will. |
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Posts: 190
| As much as anything I am interested in the DS series and how well the electronic pedal system has worked. Even though I was hoping to stay with a 12 volt system it seems the Ds series is only in the 24 volt but I can see some advantages to that also. I prefer the elec steer models so I can run the boat from the back and put my son in the front . I could go with the standard cable or rack system but my son and some friends are not able to run a motor......Doug Bradley |
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Posts: 32959
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I ran the MotorGuide wireless last year and didn't have any problems of any sort. The pedal was flawless, speed control and steering was a pleasure to experience, power was never an issue. Great motor. |
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| Get a Maxxum Minn Kota w/cable steer. Power drive is slow to turn, unreliable and basically a POS. 4 pedals a year, carrying a spare? That's no good. A lot of new boats are rigged with them because they are cheaper. |
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Posts: 5874
| I had a Autopilot on my Lund for 4 years. It got a lot of use, and the pedal worked fine the whole time. Of course, I have reels that are 10 years old, and they work fne, too. Like alot of things, how you take care of your equipment often determines how long it lasts. When I wasn't using the TM, the foot control was tucked away in the bow storage. Never left out in the elements when I wasn't using it. I would say MY AP was a great piece of equipment.
As for the slow turning, well, it was what it was. Never in 4 years did I ever find myself wishing I had a cable steer for the speed. Now, maybe that is just how I control the boat, and other control it differently. I can tell you that the Autopilot feature is one I will never be without.
I have the new Terrova on the new boat this year. With Autopilot, CoPilot, and Universal Sonar. Quicker turning, quieter, easy stow and deploy, a new foot control, and up to 101 lb/36volt models. This TM is going to be awesome.
Edited by Shep 2/22/2007 7:57 AM
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| Went through 4 of those foot pedals last 2 years.. I keep 3 on hand in my boat, just in case... Tore one foot pad apart and it is flat out a bad design, one simple cheap plastic piece is the cause to the problems... I figured that something that was made for outdoor use could be kept out in the elements, aparently I was wrong.. I will need to keep my footpedals tucked away this year to see if that make a difference..
Here is the thing that really got me fired up.. Minn Kota knows about this problem and the flawed design.. They redesigned the trolling motor this year, and the new trolling motor and footpedal are suppose to be bullet proof.. Unfortunatly the engineers forgot to make the new foot pedal capatable with the older model trolling motors.. Basically Minn Kota has left the options for us who have a 2 year old Minn Kota to live with what you got or buy a new motor...
As an engineer, I know that during the redesign product developement the question would have been raised if they should design the foot pedal to be interchangable with the current model.. I also know that the ONLY reason you would not make the foot pedals interchangable is to force people with the flawed design model to buy new... |
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| being a guide,i use my PD a lot everyday,probably 5-6 hrs. a day.what i found is that i end up either letting clients out on beaches for bathroom breaks or shorelunches.there seems to be a lot of sand and small gravell coming back in the boat,then when you get the boat back on step,it seems like i am in a sand storm,since i have a tiller.a lot of the sand blows in to the foot control and when i stop to fish a spot again,i usually take the foot control and dip it into the in lake to wash the sand out,seems to be working for me,give it a try,can,t hurt anything. |
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Posts: 5874
| Also, the PowerDrives will have a new foot control this year. A bit different layout, and you'll be able to turn on/off AP from there.
jclymer, on not being backward compatible, I think that is called planned obsolescense. But with the added functionality, perhaps it wasn't easily done.
Edited by Shep 2/22/2007 9:36 AM
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| The power drive foot pedals are like truck tires. The more miles you put on them the more tires you are going to go thru. If you've ever sat down with a Minn Kota tech and had him show you why they do go bad, it is not from "mis-use", it is simply using them A LOT. did you use your 200 days a year like some guys do? 10-16 hours per day? I have gone thru 3 pedals, in the last 3 years. I'd venture to guess the guys going thru pedals just flat out fish more. The new ones will hopefully be better. The design of the old ones left a lot to be desired. |
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Posts: 5874
| Not implying that they won't wear out, Brad. And I'm not implying that you aren't taking care of them, either. For me 200 days in a year? No. Lots of 10-16 hour days. Sure. But I'd be willing to bet that I had way more hours in the 4 years I had my last one, than you had in one year.
I am saying that IF you keep them protected, and IF you try to keep the sand out of them, and IF you do not stomp on them, they will last longer. That's all. And yes, the pedal could have been designed better. I'm going to like the new action of the Terrova pedal.
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| I took one apart and fully understand why they go bad.. The white plastic (specifically I believe it is nylon) piece gets worn out and when you turn to the right, the fingers of the plastic piece will not fully push down on the buttons within the control module, so the trolling motor will not turn one direction.. Like said before, this is a problem that Minn Kota has known about, but never decided to improve the product and fix the design flaw.. I believe it is an injection molded part that could have been fixed by simply changing plastic resins to a higher grade glass filled nylon composit and probably making some slight tooling modifications to compensate for the different resin.
I understand planned obsolenance, but there is a design flaw and Minn Kota had decided rather than fixing the current problem, they would completely redesign the trolling motor, and not worry about the current customers left with a bad design. I am sure they will soon (if not already) discontinue the production of any new foot pedals for older Minn Kota's, which will force people who own a year or two old Minn Kota to buy a new motor.. |
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| I think the pedals were sort of a "luck of the draw" type thing....I had a brand new one last year..it never saw rain/sand/anything and in 3 nites out the momentary on/off button went...took it back in to the tech in Madison, he fixed it, went back out, 6 hours, same thing...the guys fishing w/ me know how I was a bit peeved for it only to happen a 3rd time...he finally replaced it and that one made it to the end of the season...
I do love the Power drives and will never be without the auto pilot feature as I am 100% convinced it makes boat control 100% easier than any other feature out there....
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Posts: 190
| I think that we all have found there to be a problem with the pedals reguardless of how they are treated. I take care of my equip so it will last but have still gone through many pedals. I have spoken to customer service about the issue and have basically been blown off and belittled after having a couple fishing trips almost ruined by the unit . I also was told by Minn Kota that the new Pedal will not work with the old model and it was redesigned for "MARKETING" reasons not because of failure and I found that to be upsetting . I think my money is going for a MOTORGUIDE after all that has been said. I also feel that if we are required to keep multiple extra pedals on hand expecting that we will have a failure , well you know where I am going with this.......Thanks for the help and Info........Doug Bradley |
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| Doug, have you ever been to a Cabela's? They usually have about a dozen or so Wireless Motorguides in the Bargain Cave. I talked to the emplyees in the Marine Dept and they indicated that many customers were unhappy with motor and returned them. I wasn't impressed when I tested the one that they had on display. The motor turned too far with the slightest touch on the pedal. It is a good concept but I will stick to my Minn Kota PD. I wore out one footpedal last season after countless consecutive days of hard use. It was replaced with a new one that same day. Trolling motors are like the boat threads regarding which is better there is no right or wrong answer just find one that suites your needs. |
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Posts: 434
Location: searchin for 50 | you would think that something that costs between 500-1000 bucks it would be made to work. Thats why I went to a cable drive plain jane trolling motor. No uni transducer no autopilot no creek tack or anything else. Its called peace of mind. Get in the boat you know your good to go not "I hope my footpad works" Equipment Failures just plain suck. I'd rather be fishing than fixing or trying to get something fixed.  I tried all of them fancy motors too nothing but HEADACHES.I've been running a cable drive motor now for 7 years not one problem yet!!!!!!!!!!!
Edited by Raider150 2/22/2007 1:38 PM
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Trolling Motors