Customer Reviews

Motorguide Trolling Motor Rubber Mounting Isolator For Motor Mounts

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

These are actually very nice mounts and easy to use. I highly recommend, however anyone ordering should order a second set as a spare. The very design of these will not last forever. In fact, my first set of these just failed on the water. Glad I had a second set onhand on the boat and a phillips screwdriver in the boat toolbox. Took 15 minutes to replace with a new set on the water.

Now for the problem...the design of the mounts are to isolate shock and torque from the mount holes through the fiberglass boat deck. They truly do the job for this....no deck cracking what so ever after three full years of fairly hard use. However, this advantage comes at a price. The mounts are rubber and will eventually tear through/separate from the brass threaded tightening sleeve. When this happens, the mounts will have no grip and pull straight out. Fortunately, my MG gator mount has four of these, and motor torque only tore thru the 2 isolators on one side of the mount.

When I replaced, I did all four of the isolators....glad I did, as the other two were about to fail as well. When the two did let loose, the mount looked as if it was going to fly off the boat, but the other two held. Lesson learned....although you're not supposed to have to get access below the deck to use these mounts, I WILL be adding a washer and nylon lock nuts to make sure the next time they fail, the mount doesn't try to jump off the deck:) My heart can't take that anymore!

Excellent mounts though, I'm back here to order two more sets for spares!

These isolator bolts seem to work fine on 12 volt trolling motors, but on my new Minn Kota ST-80, they just did not hold up. After a month and a half, they just pulled through. After talking to my dealer here who claimed he never saw problems with these bolts, I decided to give them one more try. I thought that perhaps I tightened them too tight. Well, the next set I was very careful with, even counting the number of turns on each bolt. About 6 weeks later, they failed again just like the first set. I almost lost my motor when I went to full speed. I now think that my 80 lb thrust motor is just too strong for these bolts. The problem also may be related to my using the Minn Kota RTA 17 Quick Release bracket. The holes on this bracket are very close together, so the torque on them must be much higher than if the motor was mounted directly to the deck.

I now am trying the Minnkota Mkr-8 Quick Nuts. I had to widen the holes in the deck to 5/8", which was a little difficult because the only 5/8" bits I could find were not the kind that would self center within a 1/2" hole. I created a guide to keep the drill centered over the hole. Anyway, the Quick Nuts do not isolate the vibration quite as well as the Motorguide Isolator Bolts, but thus far, they seem to be holding up very well. The trolling motor is much more firmly attached.

So some people have good luck with these isolator bolts, but if you are using one of the newer, stronger trolling motors, I would advise not using these. I have uploaded a picture of the last set of Motorguide Isolator Bolts to illustrate what happened to mine after only 6 weeks.

They seem like a good product but they do not work well with minn kota trolling motors. You need a 4" bolt and they come with 3" bolts. Minn Kota Maxuum trolling motors have a very thick base which requires a 4" bolt. When I hit the switch to run the motor it rocks a little and I think eventualy it will work its loose. Just to much leverage for the rubber shanks to handle.

I had never mounted a trolling motor myself on my boat, it came with one, and I was about to replace the whole thing (mount included) so I removed the old one...long story short, I ended up putting it back on and needed new mounts. I would have needed them either way...

Removing the old mounts actually proved to be harder than putting in the new ones! I followed the simple directions (paraphrased here):
Put the rubber mounts in pre-drilled holes of (X size).
Set your motor mount on the rubber isolator tops, align holes.
Firmly press down on the motor mounting system to be flush with the rubber mounts, and make sure the rubber mount is flush with the fiberglass on your boat.
Drive the screws in to pull the rubber up and hold your motor mount in place. (pro tip - USE AN ELECTRIC DRILL / SCREW DRIVER for this)

The steps are really that easy. And it works great. Not that there was any surprise, it's a simple concept, and a simple implementation. One thing you SHOULD be aware of though-- if you set your front holes (or if they were previously set) too far forward, you need to be careful the front bolts are NOT TOO LONG. If so, you will punch right through the bottom fiberglass...mine was that way and instead of remounting slightly further back, I just used the shorter bolts in front. No biggie.

All in all, a great product that works fantastically. Easy to install and will last for years. 5 of 5 for me!

The mounts on my old boat were missing and/or rotten. I ordered this set, replaced them in less than 30 minutes and now my TM is solid as a rock again.