minn kota powerdrive v2?

[illinoisbassfishin]

Well I hope I just got a good trolling motor. I went to Gander Mountain today to look at new trolling motors for my ranger 330v. I was really interested in a 70 lb maxxum but they were out of stock and i needed one in a hurry for a fishing tournament because my old one burnt up and it's too old of a trolling motor to fix up. All they had in the powerdrive was the display model and didn't have any in stock in the box. It was a $700 trolling motor and was still in mint condition but since they didn't have the box for it and it had been taken out of the box all they had was the manual and the mounting bolts they knocked 20% off of it for me so with taxes and all I got a $700 motor for $599. It's a 70 lbs thrust powerdrive v2 with a 54 inch shaft. I'm really hoping the shaft will not be too long for my ranger boat.

Does anyone have any opinions on how good of a trolling motor this is taking into consideration that I got a good deal on it and all? Plus what does everyone think about a 54 inch shaft on a ranger boat? My buddy has a maxxum with a 48 inch shaft so I couldn't imagine it being too long.

Also I was wondering besides the expensive Optima batteries what do you think the best batteries would be to get for the new trolling motor. Would I be okay with 2 new group 24 batteries or should I get group 27 batteries? I was looking at wal-mart and I am tempted to go buy 2 brand new everstart marine maxx batteries that are group 29. My last trolling motor was just 12 volt so I will need 2 new batteries anyways.

Any help or answers to my questions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: minn kota powerdrive v2?

Batteries are like buckets of electricity -- bigger buckets hold more juice. So depending on how long you are on the water fishing determines what you need. If you are a tournament fisherman, then bigger is better if you have room for them. Regardless what size motor one buys, I would not buy anything smaller than a group 27. And I also suggest that spending big bucks on the high-tech batteries is a waste of money. If you have a farm store near you (they call them Fleet Farm or Farm and Fleet where I live), check with them. Just a few weeks ago I bought a group 27 deep cycle for $70. It had better reserve minute numbers than the high dollar AGM sitting next to it.

The shaft is adjustable up and down on the PD so it won't be too long. If the amount sticking out of the water bothers you, remove the head, cut off the shaft, and go fishing.

 

[RicMic]

Re: minn kota powerdrive v2?

Ditto on everything said above, however, make sure the batteries will physically fit, the previous owner of my boat, over did everything and bought the biggest 29 size batteries which won't fit in the battery trays.

 

[illinoisbassfishin]

Re: minn kota powerdrive v2?

i went ahead and bought 2 group 27 interstate deep cycle/marine batteries. I went to 2 local wal-marts and the everstart marine maxx batteries had nothing on them about warranty so I asked both stores and they said as of the end of june none of the everstart marine batteries have warranty at all. They both said it was something that everstart changed. One store actually told me that if I bought one of them and two days later the battery wasn't any good I would just be out a battery and have to buy a new one. Now let's just hope it's not too long of a shaft for the front deck of the boat.

Also what gauge wire would anyone recommend to use to wire this new 70 lb. 24 volt trolling motor. I was thinking either 6 gauge or 8 gauge wire??

 

[RicMic]

Re: minn kota powerdrive v2?

I wouldn't worry about the shaft being to long, use it for a while and if you find that it is definately longer than you need and the excess is a problem, its not hard to cut it down. Being its 24 volt, you could use #8, but I always recommend #6. Anything worth doing is worth doing right!

 

[illinoisbassfishin]

Re: minn kota powerdrive v2?

That is two people that have told me to cut the shaft off a little bit if the shaft is too long for me. That does sound like a good idea, but then what if something happens to the trolling motor and I need warranty? If I cut the shaft off that is going to ruin the warranty all together. I didnt' mount it on the boat today but I did set it where I think I want it to be and it is going to be waaaayyy too long!! With it down the head of the motor will stick up about 2 or 3 foot. I can just imagine making a sideways hookset with a crankbait or spinnerbait or something and slamming my rod into the trolling motor and breaking a rod or losing a fish or something. I'm just going to take it back in the morning and get my money back and buy the 42" 70 lb maxxum motor. I have an older style 74 lb maxxum on my aluminum boat for the smaller lakes and it's a 42 inch shaft and the old mercury thruster plus that was on my Ranger was only a 38 inch shaft so I know the 42 will be plenty long enough. I really do like the looks of this powerdrive but I'm a little iffy on the warrany by cutting the shaft down.

 

[illinoisbassfishin]

Re: minn kota powerdrive v2?

Well I took the power drive back to gander mountain today and got my money back no questions asked. Went to the local marine shop and they had a 42 inch minn kota maxxum 70 lbs. thrust trolling motor there so I got it and they said since I bought it there they would mount it and wire it for me for $40. I figured for that price it was a lot better than me messing with it. They had it mounted and wired in about an hour and a half and it looks great. Now all I have to do is get my on-board charger hooked up and mounted in the back of the boat.