Mud Motors

[Midwest]

I'm looking at getting a mud motor this summer and wanted to get everyones input on them, who has them and which ones do you recomend. Right now i am looking at a pro drive, so far they are the best looking ones i have found.

[str8meat1]

Mudbuddy is the only way to go!!I cant believe you looking at a pro drive when Jeff is on mudbuddys pro staff!

[corey hendrickson]

My wife works for recreation supply on the base here, and they have a mud buddy, It is great, and very strong, deep water is its weak point, but all around its pretty decent.

[migrator00]

Pro Drives look pretty stellar...mud buddy's are awesome, but like you say..we need a deep water motor to. We run a lot of rivers as well as the shallows. We need the best of both worlds!

[HRK]

longshafts are the best of both worlds, dont miss my outboard one bit there's not that much speed differance between long and short but for mudd and very little water get the long shaft!

[Duck envy]

I run a 35hp sport hyperdrive mudbuddy shortshaft on a 16ft .I give anybody a ride and then you tell me if it will run in the mud and deep water.awsome and i mean awsome mud motor.

[Steve DeMaster]

i run a 23' Plate Boat with a tunnel haul with a 80 hp yamaha four stroke and i mean to tell you i have scared the heck out of some people. One person did not beleve me i could run trought 3 inches of water on plane, they soon did when we did and then i put half of it on the bank and the rest in the water and was running, we are crazy, you need to come up to the Plate Boat Gambery in Browning Il. it is crazy. You will soon become a beliver.

But to mud motars, I know we are sponsered by mudd buddy, but they have nothing compared to prodrive, my buddy owns TNT Marine in Peroria Ill and he ran one of them and he had a 18 ft plate boat made for that motar, that is the badest rig out there. It will run anywhere in any water depth.

[Rail]

If you're looking for a new short tail mm you need to find dealers that are willing to let you put the motor on YOUR boat.. If that's not possible then at least go run one of theirs... All 4 of the short tail makers have good motors that all run pretty similar speeds (stock) but perform slightly different in different conditions.. Run them all and buy the one that gives you the warm fuzzy feeling.. Personally, Pro-Drive was the one that did it for me and I've been super happy with the motor and the customer service from them and my dealer..

As for hunters ridge and his thoughts on the long tail/shortail differences, you need to go run a shorty cuz your info is way off.. If you have and you still feel your longtail is better then you need to run a different one.. lol... I've owned a MB 27 Kaw and ALL of the short tails will do EVERYTHING it would and then some.. My PD drives soooooooooooo much easier than any longtail I've ever run and it IS 4x4.. The only place a longtail is SOMEWHAT better is over a real hard bottom in less than 8" of water..

Brian, do your reseach.. Spending $4k+ for a lawnmower motor sure shouldn't be decided because Jeff signed a deal with MB unless FMI is buyin the motor for you.. LOL

[Kelly Rees]

I'm goin Pro-Drive this year. KP is an awesome guy and the motors are unbelivable.

[drakekiller08]

longtails are the way to go pro drives cant go through as much as a longtail can but if i had to choose i would go for the mudbuddy longail

[Midwest]

Thanks for all the input guys. My only draw back with a longshaft motor is that you can't turn very sharp with them. We hunt alot of buckbrush lakes and occasionaly the woods, and you just need to be able to make sharp turns with your boat. I've got a 15ft seark with a 35hp on it and it does just fine when we have water and the weeds aren't bad. I'm just wanting to get a mud motor for teal season when we don't have much water or early season when the weeds are bad and an outboard just won't cut it.

[migrator00]

From the looks of those videos...a pro-drive will drive on concrete, let alone anywhere you have an inch of water!

[Duckman4Ever]

Here's some video that I did for mud Buddy last year here in SC. I will tell you now a longtail will NOT do this!!!

DSL
http://tiny-link.com/vl.asp?h=2243401224JYFQFE&l=

Dial up

http://tiny-link.com/vs.asp?h=5253401525AFUTDP_low&l=

[SMOKE]

wow thats some awesome video right there. them motors look bad ace :twisted:

[philly]

Here's some video that I did for mud Buddy last year here in SC. I will tell you now a longtail will NOT do this!!!

DSL
http://tiny-link.com/vl.asp?h=2243401224JYFQFE&l=

Dial up

http://tiny-link.com/vs.asp?h=5253401525AFUTDP_low&l=nice clips but now put all your hunting stuff in the boat and 2 buddys a dog decoys guns and then lets see what happens . i allwas see this clips but 1 or 2 men and a boat thats not hunting lets see them as if you are going hunting .

don't get me wrong i like them . it's not like that with a full load wright ?

[Strait Meat]

Guys if You are goin on the rivers I think You are You better stay young if You are runnin a long shaft. I have both and if You are runnin the river for very long at a time You will be wore out with a long shaft. Both are great and have special purposes but the Hyperdrive is by far the best enginered mud motor on the market. You also have to look at size and weight as the hyperdrive is the less bulky motor of them all. No crank up tilt either all power tilt. Just talked to Glenn last night at Mud Buddy and they are always workin on a better more sophisticated design. If You need one Brian give Me a call Glann will most likely help You out. Thanks Jeff

[Duckman4Ever]

it's not like that with a full load wright ?


You tell me! :wink:


DSL

http://tiny-link.com/vl.asp?h=3115461311TDXVCL&l=


Dial up

http://tiny-link.com/vs.asp?h=3975461397HLVZIO_low&l=

[Duckman4Ever]

Check this one out too. Had a little fun with them Mud Buddy boys last winter .

DSL

http://tiny-link.com/vl.asp?h=8154262815DILGZQ&l=

Dial up

http://tiny-link.com/vs.asp?h=6004262600YBCPFP_low&l=

[philly]

nice hunt . thanks for the clip . i had a long shaft aand it was stolen off my boat if i was to get a new 1 it would be a mudbuddy . i just think that all the mud motors out there thay need to sell you on how it works with a full load and not just 1or 2 men and a boat that is why i posted what i did . thanks just my 2cents

[Rail]

Guys if You are goin on the rivers I think You are You better stay young if You are runnin a long shaft. I have both and if You are runnin the river for very long at a time You will be wore out with a long shaft. Both are great and have special purposes but the Hyperdrive is by far the best enginered mud motor on the market. You also have to look at size and weight as the hyperdrive is the less bulky motor of them all. No crank up tilt either all power tilt. Just talked to Glenn last night at Mud Buddy and they are always workin on a better more sophisticated design. If You need one Brian give Me a call Glann will most likely help You out. Thanks Jeff

THat's a lot of "facts" you're offering there Jeff.. I didn't realize you were an engineer too in order to know all the things you posted as fact.. lol

Like I said before Brian, go run all that you can.. Buy the one that makes YOU happy... They're all good and will all do the same basic thing..

My Pd has been worked over similar to the MB 45... I can run much the same loads/speeds as they are in the videos posted.. I just never felt the need to make a movie about it.. lol.. PS, I did the work on my motor myself and I've got about $1000 in it as opposed to $2200 for the MB and mines running 47hp and 65.8 ft lbs torque..

[Duckman4Ever]

I just never felt the need to make a movie about it

The video shows what it will do. Other wise it's just talk.



I did the work on my motor myself and I've got about $1000 in it as opposed to $2200 for the MB


The average joe does'nt know enough to do a lot of these mods.

[Strait Meat]

Rail You never cease to amze Me, You always have an answer to everything, 1st of all in My 49 years I have not been an engineer but have run 3 drag cars, in the mid seventies which I did all the work Myself, was a shop foreman at a Ford garage for a couple years before joining the ironworkers and ran the Alton Lock and Dam job as a Gen. Foreman and Supt. over 130 men for 7 + years. I Have ran these motors DAILY since They came out not just twice a year, and NO I am not an engineer but You want to Laugh Out Loud thats what I have been doing since readin Your BS this morning. Make a video , sounds like pure and simple jealous bs to Me.
This is a place to share information not to knock people who do, What info at all did You share?? Just like I said Pure jealous bs. So if You want to share some info on all the products that is great, if not keep it to Yourself and don't waste the ones who are on here trying to help other waterfowlers outs time! Jeff

[hoosierhunter]

I couldn't agree more! There's no room on the forum to attack people! Just share your knowledge and experience, don't attack someone else's opinions. And I am thankful for the video footage, who wouldn't want to video something like that? I would say I don't know much about the mud motors, we don't run them where we hunt, that is why we have this forum to share information on them so people like me, if and when I need one can make an informed decision based on everyone's valued experience with them. Now kiss and make up everyone! :wink:

[Rail]

Jeff..
Apparently you missed the previous posts where I told the guy that ALL 4 of the mud motors worked well and would do the job he was wanting it for.. I also explained that ALL the short tail motors were way easier to run than any long tail...

I didn't realize that our past was indicative as to our knowledge of these motors but since you thought to bring it up, here's mine.. I worked as helicopter mechanic for 13 years.. In that time I also worked at the Army test activity facility tearing apart and reverse engineering several Russian helicopters.. I've built numerous street rods, scooters, and other toys along with being an engine mechanic for an modified class race team... I run my mud motor at least 3-4x a week and most times more...

My laughing out loud was more directed to your comment of
the Hyperdrive is by far the best enginered mud motor on the market.. You say that the MB is less bulky yet it weighs in at the same weight as the PD, Gator Tail and Go-Devil.. I realize you're on the MB prostaff and all but I think it was fair for me to question that statement and to LOL at it.. Have you driven a PD or played with the full power reverse (FPR)?.. If not I'd be more than happy to bring my rig down and let you see what the engineering in it is like..

As for making a video, how do you figure I'm jealous?.. I don't make the PD, get paid to run their motors, get free stuff or even a discount on items.. I was there when the MB 45 video was made.. Ran right there in the same areas too.. Like I said, the video is informative but I never felt the need to make a video of what a modded PD will do.. Maybe Pro-Drive will one day since it's their business and not mine...

I'll give the guy the same advise I gave him in the beginning.. Go drive all of them and buy the one that makes you feel warm and fuzzy cuz it's YOUR $5k you're spending.. If you're looking for more indepth info then I'll offer you this:

Pro-Drive... The Full Power Reverse is by far one of the best options ever made for a mud motor.. It's not made for backing off the trailer or dock (although it can be) but instead made for getting out of bad places when you realize you're in trouble.. It has 100% prop efficiency in reverse and no other mm can say that about reverse.. No other motor made has anything even remotely close to this ability.. PD will be releasing the 36 Briggs motors this summer for those that want the big motor.. Also look for a few "new gadgets" to be released that will silence the nay sayers with regards to the the ratchet reverse and crank trim wheel.. With regards to the crank trim, they already have an electric winch setup that works very well if you're wanting a power trim option.. It may seem crude compared to outboard style T/T but it doesn't break either and is very fast..

Mud Buddy... The MB has the best fit and finish and the "gadgets" like tilt and trim switch, travel lock, wire cover, handwarmer, etc are the best out there.. They also have an exclusive contract with Performance V-Twins and can make the motor much stronger than stock if you're not able to do the work.. The centrifical clutch was pushed hard in the beginning but with time most people running them are switching them over to the electric clutches.. This is especially important if you do much trolling when fishing or idling through timber, no wake zones etc..

The STOCK Gator Tail seems to be the fastest out of the box and they were the first with the outboard style reverse (10% prop efficiency) on a mud motor.. They've got a very solid design and were the originators of the belt drive lower unti with a lot of testing time involved.. They use the electric clutch and have neutral along with the reverse..

Go-Devil (while rugged looking) seems to be able to do it all with speed that is close to the top.. They don't have the "options" other have but for a basic short tail they will get the job done.. They have a small hand trim knob and no reverse or neutral though..

ALl 4 companies have very good customer service but (to me) the dealer you work with is the most important thing... He will make life easy for you or hard depending on his view of the job..

Hopefully that will end all the "BS" comments that I haven't given any real info.. Cya in May...

[Duckman4Ever]

weighs in at the same weight as the PD, Gator Tail and Go-Devil..



Go Devil 265lbs

Mud Buddy Hyper 220lbs

PD 290lbs

Gatortail approx. 200 per their web site

[Rail]

Duckman.. I think your weight info on the PD is incorrect.. Per KP at Pro-Drive the weight of the motor with the 32 Van is 241... The 36 Van will weigh the same as the 32...

[Duckman4Ever]

10-4 ! When will the 36 be out? I thought Kohler had something in the works too?

[Rail]

They're running the 36's now as you know CD.. The projected release date to the public is Aug or Sept but you know how Briggs got MB sideways with they're 35 release... They'll be out as soon as Briggs ships em..

As for the Kohler, the reps gave them a new 30 to run last year but there was no noticable difference between it and the 27 plus they had a couple of issues with it so PD bagged the 30 Kohler.. Now the 36 Kohler is supposed to be a completely new block and design but I don't think they have given them any test motors yet.. My guess on the big Kohler would be next year but I'm not in the loop so I don't know for sure..

[Duckman4Ever]

10-4 I have no complaints with my Briggs but I'm a big Kohler fan! Love'um! Owned three 25 kohler longtails that were great motors.