Terrova VS Powerdrive.... worth the extra money?

[jason007]

I am looking at the 70# 24v Power Drive and also the 80# 24v Terrova, both with autopilot. Is it worth the extra roughly $300 more for the Terrova? Other than the extra 10# of thrust and the foot pedal design, what else is different. If it is worth it then wondering why otherwise would rather put that extra money into new GPS/Sonar, etc.. By the way this is for a 1997 17ft Smokercraft. I like doing a variety of trolling with cranks and bottom bouncer/spinners. Looking at doing planer boards this year.

[mojoputter]

I've been shopping myself for the same size T-motors, and what I've been told is if you fish alot of tournaments go with the Terrova because the mount is made for the tourney fishermen, and the powerdrive is made for more the weekend fishermen. From what I can tell, that appears to be the only difference that the mounts are different.

[bassNspear]

Jason, By far the terrova is well worth the money. Upgraded tech and a way better foot pad. I have seen way to many powerdrive foot pads go back, but the way the terrova pad was designed, is way better for control!

[Ralph Wiggum]

I much prefer the Terrova pedal to the Power Drive. It is much more comfortable to me. The Terrova is also much easier to stow and deploy.

I made the decision between the two this spring and so far have been happy I chose to spend the extra on the Terrova. There's a $100 rebate on Terrovas right now, too ($50 on Power Drive, I believe).

[GBPackerNut]

I spoke to a Minn Kota repair center before buying my PD70

Differences:

Locking mechanism, neither one is more for a "tournament" or less than the other. The terrova releases from its rotating lock a bit easier, making it less work for the operator to deploy the motor. but also he stated that on the terrovas, you absolutely need to run the locking collar up, they have more of a tendency to pop out and "deploy" when you don't want it to such as driving down the highway...

Foot control, yes the new controller is pretty awesome, allows AP to be turned on and off from the pedal, but then again he stated the replacement foot control for a terrova is almost $200 more than the control for a PowerDrive. On another note, I noticed the steering is a bit quicker on the terrova.

Thrust, I dont know if you'll notice the difference between 70 and 80 pounds thrust.

AutoPilot, this is the only place I wish I got a terrova, the PowerDrive you either have to buy it with AP, or buy a new motor if you decide to upgrade. The Terrova can be bought plain, and then when the time comes you can install the AP module for about $250. Boom presto whollah you now have AP in less than 30 minutes.

The other big thing people wont realize until it happens to them, is if you break the shaft, a replacement on the PD will set you back less than $100, the Terrova will cost you three times that. The PD carbon shaft is locktite and threaded into the lower casing, meaning that the shaft can be replaced by itself.

The Terrova shaft is permanently bonded to the motor casing, meaning you have two options, replace the shaft and housing, and pay extra for a bunch of labor tearing the motor all apart and putting it back together, or you can buy the complete shaft / motor assembly, and have it installed in less than 1 hour. The service center told me that the cost difference was less fifty bucks. I believe he said it was like $300 to repair, or $350 to just replace the motor and everything.

So other than a fancy new foot pedal, it just looks like the Terrova is more expensive to buy and repair than the PD and it wont put any more fish in the boat. So I bought the PD70, I found an awesome buy on a factory reconditioned unit, so I jumped on that. The factory reconditioned units look like new, and have a full 1 year Minn Kota warranty.

Oh and on the whole digital maximizer thing, finally found an answer to that, the "maximizer" and the "digital maximizer" are the same, they basically changed the name in their marketing ads, and on the stickers, because everything is "digital" nowdays...

Hope some of that info helps.

Good luck on your decision.

[Shorelunch]

I agree 100%. Terrova is worth the money over the PD or PD2.

[Ralph Wiggum]

I can't imagine that many people would break a Minn Kota shaft.

The Terrova pedal is no doubt more expensive, but I have yet to hear of someone needing to replace one. Powerdrive pedals seem to be a disposable asset. I know of guys that go through several a year.

It's your dollar. For my money, I enjoy my time on the water much more with the Terrova.

[jason007]

Thanks for the input everyone. It sounds like it is worth the extra bucks then. For those that mentioned the cost of replacing the foot pedal and shaft on the terrova, wouldn't any of that be covered under the factory warranty?

[thedeadsea]

I have the PD on a 19'6" Crestliner and know another guy who has the Terrova. NOT worth the extra $$$ in my opinion and with your boat you won't need the additional 10lb thrust. Think about the other accessories that can be purchased with that $300.

Steve

[jason007]

Order is placed and its a done deal. I grabbed the Terrova, plus there is a 100 mail in rebate versus the 50 mail for the PD. Makes the total difference 280 bucks more to go with the Terrova.

Thanks for the replies everyone, I will report how I like the motor once I get it out on the water.

[Ralph Wiggum]

In my opinion, you made a great choice. Hope you like it!

[eyebjim]

I have the terrova and had a PD. The terrova pedal is nice but mine quit working about 2 months after I bought it. I do get it quite wet and sandy. I bought a co pilot for it and have yet to fix the pedal. That was 1.5 years ago. I just didn't want to have to wait to get it fixed. I really liked the pedal until it quit. I love the co-pilot and the terrova. I wish the copilot had half speeds. The shaft on the terrova is way way stronger than the PD. I see other guys with PDs and the shaft flexes about 2 feet when a good amount of power is applied. I never noticed this when I had the PD but seeing it from another boat is funny. This does not happen with the Terrova. The hyper fast and AP selection on the copilot is a terrova only thing and that is very nice. Someone said something about having to move the collar up on the terrova when in transit. I have had a PD fall down when on the road. I have not had the terrova do this and the locking mechanism seems much less likely to pop open. I always forget to move the collar up. The PD is a good unit but I definitely think it is worth the extra cash for the Terrova.

[LMITOUT]

When I bought my boat a couple of years ago they were going to put a Terrova on and I told them no thanks. I don't like the foot pedal and it's waaay too big and clunky. My boat has plenty of bow space but I still didn't want to deal with it up there. The PD70 that I had installed instead works great. No regrets and would do it again.

My boat is a little bigger and heavier than yours and the PD70 will run all day and then some with ease, so you should have no issues with the slightly smaller unit. In fact, I used it most of the day yesterday and then again today without putting a charge on my batteries.

[S.D. Ice Angular]

I think you made the right choice also,

I have a Terrova as well with all the bells and whistles it is a great motor.

[MuskieJunkie]

I like the thread, I'm looking at new rigs and was wondering what the difference was between the 2.

[Jari Razskazoff]

The terrova has accuracy of 1 degree on auto-pilot, and the Powerdrive has accuracy of 3 degrees.

[Ralph Wiggum]

I like the thread, I'm looking at new rigs and was wondering what the difference was between the 2.

In my opinion, the differing pedal design is my favorite part. The side-to-side pedal of the PD units is totally uncomforatble for my style of fishing. I stand up front and cast, and my leg starts to hurt after a short time with the PD. With the Terrova pedal, you use the front-to-back action like a cable drive motor and it's much more comfortable for me to stand on for longer periods. If you prefer the side-to-side, the Terrova pedal can be used that way, too. It is a little bit bigger pedal, but it can be thrown in a storage compartment when you need more space.

[PerchJerker]

They're both good motors, the stow/deploy mechansim and the foot pedal are the only differences you're likely to notice.

Speaking for me, I've never had an issue with the Powerdrive's stow/deploy, and never had a problem with a Powerdrive foot pedal, and for using the motor I actually prefer the Powerdrive footpedal over the Terrovas foot pedal. I have a Powerdrive on my boat.

I've used Terrovas a lot, I like them and have no complaints with them. The stow/deploy is nice but as stated earlier use the locking collar, I know people who have deployed their motor while driving down the road. And while I don't have any complaints about the Terrovas foot pedal, I just prefer the more compact foot pedal of the Powerdrive.

If you want a Terrova then by all means go with it. If you're undecided or have no preference, going with the PD and putting the savings into other electronics is a good way to go as well.

[PikeBayCommanche]

Jason, By far the terrova is well worth the money. Upgraded tech and a way better foot pad. I have seen way to many powerdrive foot pads go back, but the way the terrova pad was designed, is way better for control!

Bass.

I am looking to upgrade on that boat you sold me. It came with a Maxxum but want a Terrova now.

Shoot me an email.

[jason007]

The stow/deploy is nice but as stated earlier use the locking collar, I know people who have deployed their motor while driving down the road.

Are saying only the Terrova has deployed on its own driving down the road or can happen with both the PD and Terrova? Just wondering if that is a precaution I should take with the Terrova I purchased.

[PerchJerker]

Originally Posted By: PerchJerker

The stow/deploy is nice but as stated earlier use the locking collar, I know people who have deployed their motor while driving down the road.

Are saying only the Terrova has deployed on its own driving down the road or can happen with both the PD and Terrova? Just wondering if that is a precaution I should take with the Terrova I purchased.

It happens with the Terrova, not with the PD --- it can deploy itself. Use the locking collar or a RAM every time you have it stowed (whether on the water or on the trailer) to be sure it doesn't deploy.

[katoguy]

It doesn't deploy be itself it it is stowed properly! If you don't fully stow the motor, yes you may have an accident.

You must fully stow the motor! The latch handle must snap back up into the locked position and the system ready light must go off for the motor to be stowed properly.

[SM1]

I never thought I needed to put the locking collar all the way down, until I talked to the service guy. He said he fixes many motors because of unexpected deployment.

This is one thing I think is overlooked by many, including myself before this spring.

If you look on the latch, there is a sticker on all the minn-kota's (PD's & Terr) saying to slide the locking collar all the way down. If you do this, as the instuctions say, you will be fine. I didnt do this for about 2 years with no problems, but its a quick thing to do to make sure your motor stays up.

[Jari Razskazoff]

The terrova is awesome! I love the auto-pilot, it made fishing GREAT!! We got the 80lb thrust version, and yeah, we had to rewire the boat to handle it, but that wasn't so hard. We slow trolled a nice sized lake along the edges for about 6 hours, and we weren't below 75% charge at the end of the day! I have NO complaints what so ever. I love the push button steering on the foot pedal, which made it easy to sit in my swivel chair in the front of the boat, sitting and casting ALL DAY. I just pointed it to the direction that I wanted to go, kept the speed between 2-3, and worked the shorelines. I love the terrova. now I just need another $1100 bucks to get one on my boat (since its on my dads boat).

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

The terrova is awesome! I love the auto-pilot, it made fishing GREAT!! We got the 80lb thrust version, and yeah, we had to rewire the boat to handle it, but that wasn't so hard. We slow trolled a nice sized lake along the edges for about 6 hours, and we weren't below 75% charge at the end of the day! I have NO complaints what so ever. I love the push button steering on the foot pedal, which made it easy to sit in my swivel chair in the front of the boat, sitting and casting ALL DAY. I just pointed it to the direction that I wanted to go, kept the speed between 2-3, and worked the shorelines. I love the terrova. now I just need another $1100 bucks to get one on my boat (since its on my dads boat).

Pretty easy to switch from boat to boat with a quick release mount. Might be a workaround until you get the cash to buy your own.