I use a seperate battery for my trolling motor
I use a seperate battery for my trolling motor
Kevin Hough
TREBMASTER
(____>
.OOO
I would think this would be what most folks do esp for us Frontier owners in that it helps balance the Argo a bit better in the water with all the front end weight. I like the idea of using the Argo battery though. It could be charging when you need it.
Dennis
"Let's Roll" when he used to wake me up in the mornings for school in the 50's.
My Dad, Utah Beach D-day vet, 79th Inf Div
I extended the wires on my trolling motor with a set of heavy duty jumper cables & connect directly to my Conquest battery. I run "silent" when fishing & have had zero problems with my battery re-starting my Argo after an hour to hour & 1/2 of fishing. (I don't run the trolling motor non-stop for that whole time).
Here are some pics of my setup..8 gauge wire available at Lowes.. one 40 amp breaker available at cabelas..Twist conector from Marinco..available at cabelas.. and one optima yellow top under the seat.
tracmaster - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
Tracmaster
I'm about ready to buy my transom mount from Argo. Greasemonkey suggested putting a 2x4 between the inner and outer body of the transom mount. He said it was pretty flimsy. Sounds reasonable to me. Anyone else do this?? What's the max weight these things will hold out of the box??
"Let's Roll" when he used to wake me up in the mornings for school in the 50's.
My Dad, Utah Beach D-day vet, 79th Inf Div
Havent looked back at what year greasemonkey's Argo is but the new mount I got mount to the side of the tow hitch and around the body. So mines realy sturdy.
I went with the side mount so I could still use the tow hitch on the water. In addition to two bolts through the tow hitch and into the chassis, four 3/8 inch hex bolts fasten the upper end of the side mount through the lip where the upper and lower body meet. Far as weight capacity goes; feels as solid as the tow hitch itself. I had to modify the mount with some extra plywood to get everything fitting just right with the pontoon and hitch rack, almost there. Planning on getting photos up of the evolving setup soon.
I tried a 30 lb thrust Minn Kota trolling motor on my Argo Avenger and found that it woud push the argo about the same speed as the tires when used on the highest setting. I decided that I needed a motor with a longer shaft and a bit more thrust so I bought a Minn Kota (Endura model) 46 lb thrust with a 36 in shaft compared to the 30 in shaft on the 30 lb model. It would move the argo half as fast again as the 30 lb model. I am not sure about battery drain because I only used it for about 2 hours. I am going to invest in a good deep cycle battery because I am planning on using the motor alot.
If any of you guys are thinking about buying an electric trolling motor, you can't go wrong with this model.
Ride Safe
Still say anything under 40lbs is Ok...but you better check amp draw if you go bigger...anything over 40 sucks big juice....My favorite setup has been the same for 10 years and i never had a problem...Yellow top deep cycle battery w/cuircut breaker..rear mounted plug and a 30 lb trolling motor...I fish all day and have never had probems starting my motor..and the plus is it charges everytime the motor is running....Forget the big motor and spare batteries...SLOW DOWN!! it's dangerous to speed on water!
Tracmaster
Tracmaster;
You are correct on the 30 lb thrust model. It will propel the argo fast enough but I found that I needed more depth and the only model available at the time of purchase in the 36 in. shaft length was the 46 lb thrust model. Most of the time I set it on the # 3 setting. I know that it will draws more amps that's why I am going with the Optima battery.I measured the battery compartment on my argo today and it seems to be a really tight fit. The specs on the Optima D34 is 10 in.length, 6.8 in wide,7.8 in height. Is this the battery that you have in your Avenger? Is it a tight fit?
Ride Safely
EWS