I have a Terrova and love it. The problem is that I usually fish alone and , with age, it's getting to be an issue running up to the front of the boat to deploy the motor. I really like the idea of doing it by remote but some of the Ulterra reviews, mostly dated, are not encouraging. Anybody have any personal experiences to share?

I’ve had mine for quite a few years and love it and would never go back.There is one place that needed to be lubed up once but besides that it works flawlessly.I have been seeing some on Facebook marketplace lately for about half of new price.Mine is teamed up with a hummingbird solix so I can sit in back and run it.It also has a remote that runs it also.

I have the 112 Ulterra, and have had no problems in 7 years. Keep it clean, and it will serve you well! I use armorall to keep the shaft clean and drag free.
I was out by myself a couple of years ago. I had the boat out in the lake, anchored with the ulterra. While I went to park, a couple tried to retrieve my boat. The man said the boat just stood its ground, and would not be led to the dock. Lol!

When I rigged my boat 7 or 8 years ago I looked at getting one. The place I bought all my electronics, that's all they do is boat electronics and installation. The lady that I dealt with was very knowledgeable and told me that 90+% of their warranty claims were with the self deploying trolling motor and she steered me towards the terrova. Having said that she did say minn Kota was really good to deal with handling warranties and it's also been long enough ago I would think they should have the kinks worked out by now. With you having a good reason for needing the self deploy, if you get the motor from a local shop instead of a big box store that can help with warranty work if needed, you should be happy I would think.

I run the ulterra riptide and saw those same reviews, ive had zero isses with mine over the 3 or 4 years I've owned it. I talked to a warranty repair center about them and he said half is not cleaning and maintaining them the other half is power supply issues.

I’ve been around several of the first ones. They are junk in cold water and condition. From what I see now the newer ones are improved.

Have had a Minnkota 80lb Traxxis transom mount for 5 years. Worked great until throttle and shift handle wouldn't stay in neutral. Not a good thing to accidentally have your prop. spinning at high speed when tipped up out of the water while running with the main boat motor!!!
Finally took it apart and found a flat metal piece looked like it had broke. After disassembling the top housing pod from the main shaft I brought it out to our local Scheels service department along with all the parts, bolts, washers, springs, nylon spacers, and stuff I had no idea how to reassemble.
They said they would check to see what was wrong and call me with an estimate for parts and labor. I was all set for a 2 or 3 week wait and a couple hundred bucks down the drain. It only had a 2 year warranty.
Two days later I had my motor back completely reassembled and repaired. They had the part in stock in their shop and the total bill was only 46 dollars!!
So a happy and grateful shoutout to Scheels service dept!!

Thanks everyone. I will look into it further tomorrow.

I had one for about 7 yrs and love it. I did have an issue with it immediately but they were aware they had issues and took care of it quickly. That issue is no longer an issue for the Minnkotas and have not had a issue with it since. Would never go back