MK Ulterra.. Current Owners Thoughts or Opinions?

I saved up and took the plunge. Any input as to how happy or un-happy you are from current Ulterra users would be greatly appreciated.

I am an Ulterra fan. It moves a little slower than an Ultrex but the auto stow and deploy and especially the auto trim for ultra shallow water are the bomb. The spot lock on the new ones is the same as the ultrex and holds great. I would advise getting a sliding mount or the one made by Blue Nitro here on the forum. That way you can move it back when loading and unloading your boat. It doe stick out off the nose 6" when being used.

I've been using one for about 6 months. Used a Terrova before that. I love it. The auto deploy/stow feature is fantastic. I had a couple of problems at first and it had to go to the shop for repairs but they seem to have it fixed now. I was on the lake last Saturday and the fish were in inches of water and it was a long shallow flat. I was really using the auto trim feature to get in close enough to fish and then back out and lowering it to fight the waves. Could not have done that on any other trolling motor. Had I been forced to manually raise and lower it I would never have bothered fishing where I was. I also fish solo the majority of the time so being able to just let the boat float off the trailer and hit deploy is great. I fished close to the dam and had the waves really pushing into the rock. I was able to go back sit in my seat, start the motor, let it warm up a bit and from my seat hit stow and drive away. Never had any worries about running back and forth on the boat to crank, then stow then make it back to drive away before being pushed in to the rock.

The Ultrex is a great trolling motor from everything I have heard but I'd take the Ulterra over any other trolling motor any day.

I have had my Ulterra more than a year now and it has exceeded my expectations in every regard. My previous TM was a Terrova which I liked a lot but stowing and deploying was a hassle for me and the spotlock was not nearly as accurate as my new Ulterra. I can't wait to see what they come up with next.

I've got a buddy that had an Ulterra and it was great for the first year. The automatic deploy/stow is great at first but we've had it get stuck a couple times to where we had to give it a nudge. Just recently he was fishing in a tournament and he couldnt get it to stow itself. Had to start taking it a part to find a way to get it back up. Spent hours trying to get it out of the water and never could. They are a pain in the rear when this starts happening. For that amount of money youre better off buying an Ultrex. My buddy has it now and says its unreal how much smoother everything works. Plus when it decides to go out on you, you can atleast stow it no problem.

so you already bought it? And want advice? Hmmmm

Most want opinions to help make a decision. You're wanting affirmation.....can't say much, other than don't sign for the package. Send it back and get an Ultrex!

Jk.

Still scratching my head on the post though

I did my research and Im fine with my purchase. I was just curious what other may be thinking. Not seeking any affirmation thank you.

I think you'll love it if you wanted it and it fit the need.

Thanks for the input Steez. It really was between the Ultrex and the Ulterra..I fish a lot by myself so the Auto stow/deploy is a big plus and time saver for me.

I am very happy with the Utrex. If it has spot lock its awesome!!

I appreciate the post. I have also decided to purchase an Ulterra because I feel it fits my needs and fishing style better than the other choices. I enjoy reading about the actual experiences of other Ulterra owners so I know better what to expect. The last thing I need to read again is "Ultrex...game changer!"

on the Game Changer comment!

I purchased a year old model from an angler in Austin, he was moving to the Ultrex.
Before I got the Ulterra I was running a very old Motorguide.
To me the Ulterra is super for the self deployment, and any day like today with the wind, the spot lock is awesome. That and if you have to retie a line it is so nice knowing you can set the spot lock and not worry about your boat drifting into rocks.

To me the things I don't like are the remote, its heavy and bulky. But it does work great. If I could figure out how to strap it to my arm or something other then hanging around my neck, I would like it better.

The front transducer being mounted to the trolling motor and running the cable is a pia.

And lastly, if you lose battery power, the manual stow can be somewhat of a chore.

The biggest issue I have read about on various forums is the belt breaking, mostly with the head not supported, and running across rough water.
Ram makes a claw style mount that will help with that issue.
Unfortunately for my I did not have one and broke the belt.
The folks at Tightlines Tackle did a good job of getting me back on the water.

When I was picking my boat up, they showed me a Ulterra that the customer had for two weeks, left his wife in the boat, with the remote, while he parked the truck.
Somehow she hit full power 10, and ran into the dock.
Broke the shaft and belt.
MK said no on the warranty, poor guy.

I I bought my Ulterra in August 2015 and have been completely satisfied with it in every way. They say the new version Sport lock works better but I am satisfied with the way the spot lock on my older version works. I use the micro remote for operating the unit except for stow and deploy.. No complaints

They do have a kit that you can upgrade the legacy ulterra to the Bluetooth version. Its not cheap but it is capable. About $400 for I pilot and $800 for the link version

am trying to decide between terrova, ulterra, and ultrex? will be fishing solo most of time. anyone have separate transducer for side imaging mounted to the troll motor? am disappointed these new troll motors don't have side imaging capability w/o adding separate transducer

I am also trying to avoid adding a separate transducer when I buy an Ulterra. I did it with a Terrova and it was a PIA. I'm willing to switch from Lowrance to a 'Bird but I have no idea what the best model would be if I only wanted to use the transducer the comes with the motor.

The built in US2 transducer will work with just about any brand sonar. Only need the appropriate adapter cable. I use the built in MinnKota with my Lowrance HDS screens. Works great.

....and with networking, I can have SI/DI up front......only thing it's 20ft behind me. Lol

Spot lock and side imagining







Game Changer.

I have a di transducer on my ulterra. It was pretty easy to mount. I went to home Depot and bought the coiled airline for a compressor and cut it to the length I wanted. Taped the cable from ducer to it and it extends and stays away from the prop. There are several options to do it on YouTube.

ive been running the ulterra for a little over 2 yrs now, changed the way I fish. launch by myself much easier, follow the contour with my bird, and heading lock all allow me to spend much more time focused on fishing. no problems with unit so far

you will need to purchase a spare battery for the hand held remote if you plan to use it a lot. about$10

I got my Ulterra July of 2017 and it is currently in the shop for the third time. I haven't been happy with it at all. Might sell it when I get it back