Garmin Force trolling motor - pros and cons?

[Travis Swift]

10 hours ago, bobby b. said:

Travis and Arch,  I have rebuilt car engine and built PCs from scratch and could replace the troller in a heart beat.  The problem is that doing so adversely effects the warranty.  I spent an hour on the phone this afternoon with the area Garmin area rep. arguing about the meaning of their 12 page warranty which is on line.  He admitted that the way they setup the warranty was to promote/help the authorized installers/service folks and to discourage owner and nonauthorized dealer installs.  He also admits that Active Captain sucks. 

The mechanical installation is a "piece of cake" but the software can be troublesome.  He also believes that the so called "bricking" of the unit during a software upgrade like what happened to me is all but impossible and that there was something else wrong with my unit thus Garmin was so eager to replace it and in fact will be looking at it in the lab when it goes back.

I asked since Active Captain may be part of the trouble why did Garmin not add an SD card in the Force like their graphs and like their competitors.  He said adding an SD slot would reduce the waterproof rating to an IP 6(?) and the coastal users would not accept that and Garmin caters to this clientele.    

More to follow in future days likely. 

I have a friend that sells Garmin and installs them and what Garmin does is pay the service centers $100 per install for the Force so yes they encourage it and it gives the installers some cash flow.  I understand the warranty part though I guess I don't blame you there.  I broke a part on mine the first time out and it was my fault, I ran into a dock and cracked the head.  I called them and admitted fault and asked If I could purchase a new head, no sir Mr. Swift they said we will just mail you one out and overnight it to you for free and yup it was there the next day free of charge even with me admitting fault.  Super impressive.  

[Daryk Campbell Sr]

20 hours ago, fishinwrench said:

It's the little things 🙄 

Don't use WIRE NUTS !  (DIY guys LOVE wire nuts).

Coat all butt splices with liquid tape, or shrink boot them. 

Make sure all wires are tie strapped to something solid so the wiring isn't flopping around rubbing on anything. 

Make sure the proper circuit breaker is PROPERLY installed. 

Make sure battery connections are clean and tight, and for Gods sake throw away the WING NUT'S and use real nuts and washers.     

Use big stainless fender washers under the mounts to spread the mounting load, and use stainless aircraft nuts, not lock washers.  

Avoid mounting the unit where the head of the TM hangs out over the gunnel when stowed.   

 

There are several other ways to install a TM improperly, but those are the biggies.

I do all of this.  Even solder all my splices.  But, I am guilty of the wing nuts (only on the battery) .  I can imagine how they "could" fail.  But, dangit, I dont plan to remove those. 

[buckcreekmike]

Maybe a dumb question, but is the transducer on the force TM compatible with lowrance? Or do you have to buy a garmin fish finder. Looks like it would not work to mount the lowrance transducer to the garmin motor. 
 

if I am not able to spring for the panoptix at this time, what is a good garmin fish finder to get for the bow of the boat?  

[bobby b.]

The built in transducer on the Force would not be compatible with other makes of graph.  The Echomap Ultra series would be the graph to get.  It can be bought without transducer.  If you are only going to have one bow graph and getting the Panoptix later, I would recommend the 12 inch screen. I can adequately read a quad screen split with the 12 in. screen.  

[Champ188]

On 7/19/2021 at 2:17 PM, Flippin said:

When I got home I realized the graphs were not sharing waypoints and called Scott at Marine Repair Center and he told me they don't warranty anything once it leaves the lot.  Scott would not even give me any help over the phone. 

What kind of crap is that? Hey Wrench, when you send a repaired boat home with its owner, do you tell them: Good luck! But don't expect me to stand behind my work!

I kinda doubt it since you've been in business quite a long time and seem to have a very solid reputation. 

What the heck is the matter with this country these days? No one seems to take responsibility for anything! 

I do understand we are talking about electronics and that warranties on both products and labor have to be limited. But to cart blanche declare they won't stand behind anything makes certain that I will NEVER use MRC for anything.

[Dutch]

On 7/19/2021 at 2:17 PM, Flippin said:

FYI Marine Repair Center does not warranty their work once it leaves the lot.  I had a graph installed and there were supposed to link the bow and the console graph together so they would share waypoints.  When I got home I realized the graphs were not sharing waypoints and called Scott at Marine Repair Center and he told me they don't warranty anything once it leaves the lot.  Scott would not even give me any help over the phone.  I had to figure out the problem myself which did not sit well with me since I had just paid them to link the units.  In the past I had used them a lot to install a lot of different things but have not been back since this deal.  So if the trolling motor falls as you are pulling out of their lot, Marine Repair does not see they are obligated to help you in any way.  

I have used Tom at Championship Marine in Spokane and he has always done a fantastic job for me.

 

That is different from what I have experienced.  I’ve been using them for a very long time and never had any issues.  I have always received top notch work and support.