Minn Kota Fortrex

[tclouse1]

About to upgrade trolling motors...thinkin about a Minn Kota Fortrex 101...i have a MK Maxxum Pro 80 right now and its been a good one but its pretty much done for...anyone who has the fortrex please be honest about the good and bad things about it...thanks

[Rangerz520]

I have no complaints on mine and had it just over a year now. I do feel like its a little noisier than it should be and then when I first got it.

[bassn1]

Bought mine last fall. Have used it all spring and summer with zero issues. Have no complaints. One tip. Keep an eye on the pull rope when putting the motor down. Because of the gas shock you will have a tendency to not keep pressure on the rope. My rope was caught under the arm a couple of times before I learned to keep a bit of pressure on it. Since then no problems.

[coldfront]

love mine.  can't imagine a TM I'd like better...upgraded from a Maxxum and before that from a Motorguide...think this is better by far than either...

need to pull the prop and check routinely for line on the shaft...it's what happens when running heavy weeds in urban lakes where bank anglers often try to fish over the vegetation into the open water.  then of course, they tend to use braid so they 'get it back'...just not all the time...

[Donald Garner]

I have the 80lb model and haven't had any issues with it.  Its got plenty of zip to move my Stratos around.  It seems a little noisier when running it on 10 than the lower speeds.  I love it though.

[tclouse1]

thanks for the replies everyone..it sounds good..ive only heard from one person locally about it and he hated his so it got me worried...but after having the maxxum pro i couldnt imagine a bad minn kota....i went thru 2 motorguide 80s on my 520 before i got the maxxum pro and i absolutely loved the thing...but its kinda gettin to where it works when it wants to and im about to be fishing alot more than i do now in tournaments and all that so i wanted to upgrade to something more reliable!

[Donald Garner]

Good luck with it. 

[bassn1]

Yep. You should love it. The lift assist is a fantastic feature.

[DOUGMCGEEPUMAFTD]

I have had several of the fortrex in 24 and 36 volt models. I have not had an issue with any of them. I have not had an issue with my motor guides either.  The lift assist is fine and probably the biggest plus to the fortrex to me. I recently swapped back to motor guide for one two reasons 1) I dont like the fact of how high the fortrex sits with out the water. To me its distracting looking around it at 80 mph. The other one is the weight of it all the way up on the front of the boat. I swapped back from a fortrex 80 to a new 36 volt mg tour added a battery and gained 1 mph over my previous best run. This is a result I have seen on several hulls. When i swapped from MG to the fortrex on one hull I lost 2 mph. Speed is the determining factor but that with bracket height defintley impacted my decision.

[mikeszr800]

I love mine. Went from a Maxxum 101 to the Fortrex 101. You have to make sure to switch over to a 60 amp circuit breaker if you don't already have one. The only problem I have had with mine is the stabilized bar that comes with it. On my first tournament this year with the Fortrex, I pulled the motor up and the stabilizer smashed the butt end of on of my new Carrot Stix. My bad!  Just have to get used to the stabilized on the deck not on the gunnel.

[bassn1]

I love mine. Went from a Maxxum 101 to the Fortrex 101. You have to make sure to switch over to a 60 amp circuit breaker if you don't already have one. The only problem I have had with mine is the stabilized bar that comes with it. On my first tournament this year with the Fortrex, I pulled the motor up and the stabilizer smashed the butt end of on of my new Carrot Stix. My bad!  Just have to get used to the stabilized on the deck not on the gunnel.

x2 Did not break any rod. However have come close. Since then I keep my rods 4" away from the side.