From your remote, there is a setting, motor - gain... adjust here for the drift or not staying on spot lock well. If you do a little research on this, it needs to be adjusted based on the weight of your boat. Mine would not stay spot-locked in position very well. I started adjusting this setting and got much better. My boat is not as heavy as some of the large fiberglass bass boats. As far as rear boat swing when spot-locked, we all know wind helps a lot. I've noticed on my setup, that 15-20 MPH wind, mine will stay very tight to location spot locked... even though the boat bounces up and down quite a bit.
I’ll have to give it another shot, but my ultrex did all of this straight out the box and spot locked way better. Thanks for the tips! I did adjust the settings via the remote a little bit. Maybe I need to go all the way up on sensitivity.
i have a question. i have a 2018 g3 17 sportsman pfx and it weights around 2000 pounds. i currently have the base model minnkota terrova and i am wanting to move up to a more powerful TM, maybe a 24 volt system. i have read that there is a formula to have a TM. it saids that 2 pounds of thrust for every 100 pounds. that saying i should not have anything over 45 pounds of thrust. i know there are people out there that do not follow that. minnokta saids that if you put if in spot lock it will not work right. i would to know your option on this thank you
Hey! I have turned it off from underneath before. But my situation is unique, I have a breaker on my boat that will cut all power to the graphs and trolling motor while I change the batteries. So I do that.
@@TheUltralightLifeyour welcome! It's been really muddy in the creeks here were I fish due to rain and the dam letting water in from the lakes. The fishing will soon be awesome once the waters clear up some.
Question? Updating my old 2001 tracker 175, 75hp 2 stroke, which is slightly lighter than the 175 you had. I bought a 106 Garmin for the Bow, and another one for the console. Also added a recessed Baldwin foot peddle trey with cup holder. Coming from the original graphs and trolling motor. I can go Garmin Force, or Ultrex 24volt 80 pound. My concern is I have read with the light weight tracker, the spot lock tries to over correct because of it being too light? That is my first question. Is it worth it to get one with such a light boat. Question 2, I am just getting up to speed with all this new stuff. Since I have Garmin 106 ultra graphs, what exactly am I losing not matching it up with the Garmin force?? I cannot get my head around that. If I put the Garmin transducer on the bottom of the Ultrex what do I lose not having the force. I am leaning Ultrex for A. The price, B. From what I read it seams to be overall more reliable. Question 3, I have also read that the 45 inch shaft will cause some of this over correcting because it’s not deep enough under water. Your tracker set higher than mine in front because of the 4 stroke. I am asking because I may re power later on with a 4 stroke
Hey buddy, I am happy to answer those. 1) the spot lock CAN DEFINITELY correct hard, if you are in heavy wind, or pressing spot lock while the boat is moving. It wants to do its job. Garmin force has sensitivity settings, while ultrex does not. But I got to the point of anticipating the “hard correction” and I never really got thrown around. The number one thing with the ultrex is, don’t forget if you had it on full speed, turn it off, fish, and then push power while it is on 10 speed. You will be playing a rodeo ride on the front deck haha. 2) you can run different brands no problem, go with what you prefer. They will work. 3) yeah I had the short shaft, 45 was plenty. The force I have is 47 on this Ranger, never was a big deal. 45 inch shaft will help you TREMENDOUSLY when you go shallow, it will get you places my current fiberglass boat cannot go. My old tracker I would even pull the handle and wedge it even shallower, I got into some JUNGLE waters deep in areas others couldn’t. Hope all this helps!
Thanks, very helpful. So are you saying there is no advantage to matching the garmin graphs with the force. Something about routing automatically. I probably wouldn’t use whatever it is anyway. Sounds like you are an Ultrex fan. Hahaha on the rodeo take off with the Ultrex
@@jdcontracting1805 there is an advantage if you run ultrex with hummingbirds, and garmins with garmins, but I have gone against the grain with no remorse if you prefer to. A lot of high level tour guys are even running those new power pole trolling motors with this and that, and those are the elite of the elite. I don’t want you to think there is a SIGNIFICANT disadvantage, maybe just some convenience haha. In your position, I would go ultrex. Ultrex on that rig will be awesome. Force would be too, but the ultrex I had a lot more control, was way more nimble and a small boat like that would benefit from it. I would def get the ultrex in a boat that size
Thanks again. Very helpful. I am also changing my 75hp carbs to 90hp carbs, and engine timing to match the 90hp. It was the only difference on the carb motors. plus a stainless prop. So once I finish rigging it, I am hoping for a 47mph fishing machine.
Thanks for your review. I also have had both. Now currently with the Garmin Force. My experience with the Ultrex was okay when working,but just too many issues. The Force has been trouble free and I find very easy to use. I might agree with you a bit on the spot lock.
Just sharing my unbiased thoughts, clearly you’re biased 🤷♂️ calling the ultrex crappy 😂. The trolling motor works perfectly fine. Don’t need to replace it and sell it used for less. But I like my old ultrex more for HOW I FISH. there’s going to be someone watching this who is in between a major price difference. And decides to save money. Thanks for watching, I guess.
@@jacksaloman9513 it’s not. People will say a ford is trash when Chevy etc has just as many problems. The ultrex is the best trolling motor in its price point, and if you don’t need to spend the $$$ for spot lock the fortrex is BULLETPROOF. Every trolling motor with a lot of tech in it is going to have a few bad tomatoes out of the bunch. I’m not joking about recommending the ultrex.
@@TheUltralightLife Well said. The problem with reviews is that you'll find someone who hates every single brand out there if you look long enough. Researching trolling motors (TM's) is a lost cause for that reason alone. And, because of Supply Chain issues, Minn Kota is out of stock on seemingly everything. Due to the sale at Bass Pro right now with the Echomap, I can save over $2K if I go with the Force. At least in that case, if it doesn't measure up, I won't feel quite as bad. From what I've heard Garmin's customer service is very responsive. And, for people who don't know any better, like myself...you don't miss what you never had. Sometimes it's the inconsistency of quality a product, sometimes the factory settings are poor, and the product simply needs dialed in. But, the ONLY TM that doesn't have it's own group of haters is Power Pole's Move TM....which is $5K, for the TM alone. Which means not enough people can afford it to have any haters, yet. That said, I'd spend the $5K if I thought it would be the perfect TM, with no short-comings, and will out-last, my boat. But, I don't think that exists, and there's literally no reviews as of yet (short of endorsed pro's, which I don't trust). So, buy what you can afford, and pray it doesn't break. I think that's the bottom line This was a good video. I'm hitting the like & subscribe buttons for that effort alone. P.S. Like I said, sometimes there are settings/adjustments that can be made to help the responsiveness of the TM. Have you called Garmin's customer service, or tried any of the common adjustments to see if you could get it to perform any better?
@@TheUltralightLife You got that right about the Fortrex. Mine is 12 years old. It's never had ANYTHING done to it and has never given me a single issue. I beat it against trees, docks, stumps, you name it. It's a tank
From your remote, there is a setting, motor - gain... adjust here for the drift or not staying on spot lock well. If you do a little research on this, it needs to be adjusted based on the weight of your boat. Mine would not stay spot-locked in position very well. I started adjusting this setting and got much better. My boat is not as heavy as some of the large fiberglass bass boats. As far as rear boat swing when spot-locked, we all know wind helps a lot. I've noticed on my setup, that 15-20 MPH wind, mine will stay very tight to location spot locked... even though the boat bounces up and down quite a bit.
I’ll have to give it another shot, but my ultrex did all of this straight out the box and spot locked way better. Thanks for the tips! I did adjust the settings via the remote a little bit. Maybe I need to go all the way up on sensitivity.
Great review! Thanks for sharing!
My man. Thanks a lot! Hope you had a great weekend!
i have a question. i have a 2018 g3 17 sportsman pfx and it weights around 2000 pounds. i currently have the base model minnkota terrova and i am wanting to move up to a more powerful TM, maybe a 24 volt system. i have read that there is a formula to have a TM. it saids that 2 pounds of thrust for every 100 pounds. that saying i should not have anything over 45 pounds of thrust. i know there are people out there that do not follow that. minnokta saids that if you put if in spot lock it will not work right. i would to know your option on this
thank you
I ran a 24v ultrex on a similar boat and it worked great. I would get the ultrex and love it brother. Spot lock was a beast on my tracker 17
Hi , after you are finished fishing for the day, after you stow the force in cradle, how do you power off the force?
Hey! I have turned it off from underneath before. But my situation is unique, I have a breaker on my boat that will cut all power to the graphs and trolling motor while I change the batteries. So I do that.
I guess you meant charge batteries? Thanks
Thanks for sharing your review. Great information. 👊
Thanks man I really appreciate that, hope you been getting on the crappie 💪
@@TheUltralightLifeyour welcome! It's been really muddy in the creeks here were I fish due to rain and the dam letting water in from the lakes. The fishing will soon be awesome once the waters clear up some.
@@Fishing_with_Domingo seems like for me, it always rains really bad right before my only day to fish 😂 we will have some better weather soon brother
@@TheUltralightLife yes same here some kind of weather seems to get me at times too. I guess that's mother nature for you.😃
@@Fishing_with_Domingo haha most def. Wishing you a great spring homie 💪👍
Thanks for sharing
I appreciate it brother thanks for watching!!
Great review. Hindsight is 20/20
Most definitely! Thanks for watching!!!
Question? Updating my old 2001 tracker 175, 75hp 2 stroke, which is slightly lighter than the 175 you had. I bought a 106 Garmin for the Bow, and another one for the console. Also added a recessed Baldwin foot peddle trey with cup holder. Coming from the original graphs and trolling motor. I can go Garmin Force, or Ultrex 24volt 80 pound. My concern is I have read with the light weight tracker, the spot lock tries to over correct because of it being too light? That is my first question. Is it worth it to get one with such a light boat. Question 2, I am just getting up to speed with all this new stuff. Since I have Garmin 106 ultra graphs, what exactly am I losing not matching it up with the Garmin force?? I cannot get my head around that. If I put the Garmin transducer on the bottom of the Ultrex what do I lose not having the force. I am leaning Ultrex for A. The price, B. From what I read it seams to be overall more reliable. Question 3, I have also read that the 45 inch shaft will cause some of this over correcting because it’s not deep enough under water. Your tracker set higher than mine in front because of the 4 stroke. I am asking because I may re power later on with a 4 stroke
Hey buddy, I am happy to answer those.
1) the spot lock CAN DEFINITELY correct hard, if you are in heavy wind, or pressing spot lock while the boat is moving. It wants to do its job. Garmin force has sensitivity settings, while ultrex does not. But I got to the point of anticipating the “hard correction” and I never really got thrown around. The number one thing with the ultrex is, don’t forget if you had it on full speed, turn it off, fish, and then push power while it is on 10 speed. You will be playing a rodeo ride on the front deck haha.
2) you can run different brands no problem, go with what you prefer. They will work.
3) yeah I had the short shaft, 45 was plenty. The force I have is 47 on this Ranger, never was a big deal. 45 inch shaft will help you TREMENDOUSLY when you go shallow, it will get you places my current fiberglass boat cannot go. My old tracker I would even pull the handle and wedge it even shallower, I got into some JUNGLE waters deep in areas others couldn’t. Hope all this helps!
Thanks, very helpful. So are you saying there is no advantage to matching the garmin graphs with the force. Something about routing automatically. I probably wouldn’t use whatever it is anyway.
Sounds like you are an Ultrex fan.
Hahaha on the rodeo take off with the Ultrex
@@jdcontracting1805 there is an advantage if you run ultrex with hummingbirds, and garmins with garmins, but I have gone against the grain with no remorse if you prefer to. A lot of high level tour guys are even running those new power pole trolling motors with this and that, and those are the elite of the elite. I don’t want you to think there is a SIGNIFICANT disadvantage, maybe just some convenience haha. In your position, I would go ultrex. Ultrex on that rig will be awesome. Force would be too, but the ultrex I had a lot more control, was way more nimble and a small boat like that would benefit from it. I would def get the ultrex in a boat that size
Thanks again. Very helpful. I am also changing my 75hp carbs to 90hp carbs, and engine timing to match the 90hp. It was the only difference on the carb motors. plus a stainless prop. So once I finish rigging it, I am hoping for a 47mph fishing machine.
@@jdcontracting1805 no prob man. you should see that number! Best of luck!!
Thanks for your review. I also have had both. Now currently with the Garmin Force. My experience with the Ultrex was okay when working,but just too many issues. The Force has been trouble free and I find very easy to use. I might agree with you a bit on the spot lock.
You can adjust the pedal with a screw to adjust sensitivity
I played with it some, still liked my old ultrex
You need to play with the gain, and tension screw on the motor... if your that un happy... sell it and get a crappy ultrex lol
Just sharing my unbiased thoughts, clearly you’re biased 🤷♂️ calling the ultrex crappy 😂. The trolling motor works perfectly fine. Don’t need to replace it and sell it used for less. But I like my old ultrex more for HOW I FISH. there’s going to be someone watching this who is in between a major price difference. And decides to save money. Thanks for watching, I guess.
Why is the ultrex crappy?
@@jacksaloman9513 it’s not. People will say a ford is trash when Chevy etc has just as many problems. The ultrex is the best trolling motor in its price point, and if you don’t need to spend the $$$ for spot lock the fortrex is BULLETPROOF. Every trolling motor with a lot of tech in it is going to have a few bad tomatoes out of the bunch. I’m not joking about recommending the ultrex.
@@TheUltralightLife Well said. The problem with reviews is that you'll find someone who hates every single brand out there if you look long enough. Researching trolling motors (TM's) is a lost cause for that reason alone. And, because of Supply Chain issues, Minn Kota is out of stock on seemingly everything. Due to the sale at Bass Pro right now with the Echomap, I can save over $2K if I go with the Force. At least in that case, if it doesn't measure up, I won't feel quite as bad. From what I've heard Garmin's customer service is very responsive. And, for people who don't know any better, like myself...you don't miss what you never had. Sometimes it's the inconsistency of quality a product, sometimes the factory settings are poor, and the product simply needs dialed in. But, the ONLY TM that doesn't have it's own group of haters is Power Pole's Move TM....which is $5K, for the TM alone. Which means not enough people can afford it to have any haters, yet. That said, I'd spend the $5K if I thought it would be the perfect TM, with no short-comings, and will out-last, my boat. But, I don't think that exists, and there's literally no reviews as of yet (short of endorsed pro's, which I don't trust). So, buy what you can afford, and pray it doesn't break. I think that's the bottom line This was a good video. I'm hitting the like & subscribe buttons for that effort alone. P.S. Like I said, sometimes there are settings/adjustments that can be made to help the responsiveness of the TM. Have you called Garmin's customer service, or tried any of the common adjustments to see if you could get it to perform any better?
@@TheUltralightLife You got that right about the Fortrex. Mine is 12 years old. It's never had ANYTHING done to it and has never given me a single issue. I beat it against trees, docks, stumps, you name it. It's a tank