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Surface Drive Motors #5541012 01/13/15 11:50 PM
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BULSPRG Offline OP
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Ok guys, lets hear what y'all think. Mud Buddy or Go-Devil?? They are pretty far apart on price and I can see why by the options but how is each motor? Gonna be looking for a surface drive motor this year and other than the obvious differences I am curious to hear your opinions on each motor.

Thanks!


Let em Work
Re: Surface Drive Motors [Re: BULSPRG] #5541059 01/14/15 12:28 AM
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This could go anywhere but send me a pm if you have questions more specific. This can easily turn into a pissing match about whose is better.
Honestly they all have the same motor/powerhead which is a Briggs Vanguard 35 to start with, all the other stuff is just personal preference and how many options you want or need.
Godevil is as basic as you can get. Others have neutral, power trim, reverse and other small things, Godevil has none of that but less to break also.
I had a Godevil and now have a Mudbuddy, my buddy still has a Godevil but wish he did not, both do the job. I hunt out of both each week.

Just imagine driving a car with no neutral or power steering, it can be done but why would you want to.
I have not broke anything on mine other than the trim unit freezing up sometimes because I do not have the newer Mercury trim. My buddy has bent one shaft on his Godevil and broke another one this teal season, we were idling when it happened, he lost his prop when it broke.

Also forgot to mention good luck turning the knob to manually trim the Godevil when its cold or below freezing because it ain't happening when ice gets on it.

Last edited by mohunter; 01/14/15 12:30 AM.
Re: Surface Drive Motors [Re: BULSPRG] #5541074 01/14/15 12:42 AM
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Littlejr13 Offline
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I have the mud buddy sport v! It has had its problems but I haven't had a lick!! My buddy has go Devil and he hasn't had a problem!! He calls mine a Cadillac cause the ease of use and driving! Having trim, reverse, and trailering bracket is some plus! The go devil pushes better than mine due to longer drive but it's worse in the grass than mine!!! I think just go with ur gut!! If I had to do it again!! I would seriously look at the boss drives sport h! That thing looks like game changer! But it's new so ur gonna have problems!

Re: Surface Drive Motors [Re: BULSPRG] #5541077 01/14/15 12:43 AM
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You do not use the manuel trim knob as a trim tab. It is to be backed all the way off when in use. When you are under power the motor finds the surface on its own. When no under power the Prop is supposed to be allowed to drop all the way down.

Re: Surface Drive Motors [Re: wal1809] #5541134 01/14/15 01:16 AM
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Originally Posted By: wal1809
You do not use the manuel trim knob as a trim tab. It is to be backed all the way off when in use. When you are under power the motor finds the surface on its own. When no under power the Prop is supposed to be allowed to drop all the way down.


I ride in this boat every weekend, he is always trimming the motor based on the load and people in the boat to get optimum performance. Yes, could he leave it alone and run 3600 rpms all the time sure, but to run an extra few mph he has to fine tune it up a little and again lower in muddy silt bottoms and higher in hard bottoms.
So yes he is always using the trim knob since the water depth and bottom density is different on different areas of the lake, it is much easier to do these things with a power trim and also a PITA keeping that Godevil prop in the water when there is some chop.

Re: Surface Drive Motors [Re: BULSPRG] #5541220 01/14/15 01:56 AM
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To answer the OP's question, I would say Go-Devil. Great motors, great customer service, very very few problems. They were the first guys building mud motors and have "been there done that"

Re: Surface Drive Motors [Re: BULSPRG] #5541226 01/14/15 02:01 AM
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Ive never owned a go devil so I can't give an accurate comparison. I ran a Mb 45 vanguard for ten Years with no problems. I definitely recommend mud buddy in general.

Re: Surface Drive Motors [Re: BULSPRG] #5541714 01/14/15 06:53 AM
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Neither. whistle


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Re: Surface Drive Motors [Re: BULSPRG] #5541863 01/14/15 01:31 PM
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I love my 5500 mudbuddy


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Re: Surface Drive Motors [Re: BULSPRG] #5542014 01/14/15 02:36 PM
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It seems like I type my take on this every year. Then somebody counters, we disagree and it seems we are argueing when in fact it is no arguement, it is an extreme discussion. So here goes.

I started off with a beavertail longtail a longtime ago. That thing was bullet proof but slooooow! Like 8 MPH slow. I do have to give credit to that set up, it was bullet proof. Not one time did I ever get stuck out with that motor. I hunted every weekend of duck season and put 40 miles on it per weekend at the very least. I ran it so hard I used to light my marlboro cigarette on the muffler. In the dark that muffler would glow bright orange. My nistake was to get caught up in the mud motor hype and caught up in it I did.

I started chasing the "bigger, better, badder, best, fast, carry everything and all that ect." I started switching brands and I switched again and again. I finally bought what I think was as good as it can get mud motor and that was a 35 HP Go Devil. Mind you I don't have one any longer. I stepped up to an airboat and I don't even think about being able to cross shallow water. My worries now are dry sand, only. So I have no skin in this game other than giving my educated by busted knuckles opinion.

So before I praise one I would like you all to know this. I love boats and motors and everything on the planet dealing with them. You have all seen me buy sell fix up trade everything about boats. Some dumb arse a long time ago told me you will certainly regret buying a boat. That guy is an idiot. My love for boats started as a child in the flooded ditches on my street. The neighbor would let us tie a piece of plywook to his bumper and her would drive down the street while we tried to ride the plywood. I have never found a boat that brought me so much fun as that piece of plywood.

So my opinion is a mud motor that I can back into the barn, use a welding machine, grind on it and fix it myself in a day, no matter what happened to it. I think bells and whistels on a mud motor is way outside the point of a mud motor. Otherwise I would use a 2 stroke yamahammer and be done with it. So with that said, if you come to me with a gatortail, I want to run it. If you come to me with a Mud Buddy I want to run it. If you come to me with a piece of plywood behind a truck, I want to run it. If I am laying my money down on what I think is the best bet for a bullet proof engine that will get me to and from, myu money will be spent on a GoDevil Surface Drive every day of the week including Sunday.

Re: Surface Drive Motors [Re: Cody Malone] #5542061 01/14/15 02:56 PM
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Got about 30 hrs on my stock 35 mudbuddy and so far I like it, no issues. There are times when reverse would have been nice. A couple times I had strong wind in my face, I was by myself, and had a hard time taking off from shore because the wind wanted to blow the nose of the boat around, 2 guys in the boat not an issue. Or if in heavy wooded area, and your boat is stuck inberween trees, especially with wind, reverse would have been handy, or a luxury is a better word. Still happy with what I got, just maybe inconvenienced more.

After the season if you guys want to go for a ride in my boat let me know. Already told another member I would take him out, so others can tag along, maybe we can meet at a metromess lake, other members could bring there boats as well if they want..maybe I could also bring my Momarsh/7 hp.

Re: Surface Drive Motors [Re: Fooshman] #5542127 01/14/15 03:16 PM
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Originally Posted By: Fooshman
Neither. whistle


^ This

I have a Pro-Drive.....Other than that I would only consider a Gator Tail.

Now if you were talking Long Tails, I would definitely go with Go Devil.

Re: Surface Drive Motors [Re: Guy] #5542139 01/14/15 03:19 PM
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Originally Posted By: Guy
Got about 30 hrs on my stock 35 mudbuddy and so far I like it, no issues. There are times when reverse would have been nice. A couple times I had strong wind in my face, I was by myself, and had a hard time taking off from shore because the wind wanted to blow the nose of the boat around, 2 guys in the boat not an issue. Or if in heavy wooded area, and your boat is stuck inberween trees, especially with wind, reverse would have been handy, or a luxury is a better word. Still happy with what I got, just maybe inconvenienced more.

After the season if you guys want to go for a ride in my boat let me know. Already told another member I would take him out, so others can tag along, maybe we can meet at a metromess lake, other members could bring there boats as well if they want..maybe I could also bring my Momarsh/7 hp.


This is not a good idea at all, the last person I took for a test ride that was thinking about buying a boat, bought the same rig as me! cheers
You better be in the market.

Re: Surface Drive Motors [Re: BULSPRG] #5542191 01/14/15 03:39 PM
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Once you step back and realize the whole game of mud motors is a marketers game. Thems that have the most minions wins. It can be looked upon in either direction. Go to forum XXXX and mention one XXXXXX brand and the minions will eat you alive. Therefore one would tend to believe that brand XXXX has got to be the best. It is how it is packaged, how it is presented and how the follow up of the preented package. No different than black cloud, hypersonic. The names alone suggest BETTER than the rest. When you step back and boil it all down you can see in shotgun terms it is speed and weight of the pellet. In mud motors it is going from point A to point B and getting back to point A. After decades of mud motor usage never ever did I need reverse. If you need reverse then you're doing it wrong. All of these discussions are "One company, one upping the other". Whether by paid advertising or by minion opinion, it all goes back to taking money out of your pocket and putting it in their pocket. If you look at it onl on those terms you will begin to see clearly. Look at all the mud motor videos. All of the companies search far and wide for what they in the industry calls "Video mud". They go all over the country to find that perfect mud that has a viscosity that is barely above colored water. That is the mud they use for their advertising, all of them.

I checked into hiring a film crew to advertise my duck calls. Holy crud!! The going rate is $600 to $800 plus expenses per day not including editing. So they take a bunch of boats, people, film crews, hotels, fuel, food allo expesnses to make a video. Whay would they spend $20,000 $30,000 ect for a video. To take money out of your pocket and put it in their pocket.

During the research to promote my duck calls I contacted a marketing company. The first hting the guy asked is how much moeny do you want to make. The minimum bill I would have exited that place with would have been $20,000. That was for the Corolla, not the Cadillac account. That was for 6 months worth of their service. I decided I don't want to be that way with my duck call making. One guy, one call. There are a whole lot of great custom call makers out there. You will have to accidentally run across them because they will not get involved in the marketing fracas.

Re: Surface Drive Motors [Re: wal1809] #5542352 01/14/15 04:45 PM
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Originally Posted By: wal1809
Once you step back and realize the whole game of mud motors is a marketers game. Thems that have the most minions wins. It can be looked upon in either direction. Go to forum XXXX and mention one XXXXXX brand and the minions will eat you alive. Therefore one would tend to believe that brand XXXX has got to be the best. It is how it is packaged, how it is presented and how the follow up of the preented package. No different than black cloud, hypersonic. The names alone suggest BETTER than the rest. When you step back and boil it all down you can see in shotgun terms it is speed and weight of the pellet. In mud motors it is going from point A to point B and getting back to point A. After decades of mud motor usage never ever did I need reverse. If you need reverse then you're doing it wrong. All of these discussions are "One company, one upping the other". Whether by paid advertising or by minion opinion, it all goes back to taking money out of your pocket and putting it in their pocket. If you look at it onl on those terms you will begin to see clearly. Look at all the mud motor videos. All of the companies search far and wide for what they in the industry calls "Video mud". They go all over the country to find that perfect mud that has a viscosity that is barely above colored water. That is the mud they use for their advertising, all of them.

I checked into hiring a film crew to advertise my duck calls. Holy crud!! The going rate is $600 to $800 plus expenses per day not including editing. So they take a bunch of boats, people, film crews, hotels, fuel, food allo expesnses to make a video. Whay would they spend $20,000 $30,000 ect for a video. To take money out of your pocket and put it in their pocket.

During the research to promote my duck calls I contacted a marketing company. The first hting the guy asked is how much moeny do you want to make. The minimum bill I would have exited that place with would have been $20,000. That was for the Corolla, not the Cadillac account. That was for 6 months worth of their service. I decided I don't want to be that way with my duck call making. One guy, one call. There are a whole lot of great custom call makers out there. You will have to accidentally run across them because they will not get involved in the marketing fracas.


A lot of truth here and I agree, most of it is marketing hype. However, while you don't "need" reverse, some of us don't mind paying a premium for some of those extras. It's the same thing as paying a premium for an autoloader vs using a pump. Pumps work fine and are usually more reliable, but I prefer an auto. Point is I think we can all find things in life that we have that we don't "need", but we pay extra for for convenience, etc. Pro-Drive and Gator-Tail are two very reputable manufacturers, as is Go Devil, and I would contend all three have better customer support than MudBuddy. I can personally vouch for the customer support and reliability of ProDrive. They are top notch.

Also, yes advertising is very expensive, but it's called an opportunity cost for a reason. You place dollars at risk in hopes that those dollars produce revenue far in excess of those expended. For most companies, it's smart business. For those that don't want to grow much, however, I understand that.

Re: Surface Drive Motors [Re: Guitars&Guns] #5542371 01/14/15 04:54 PM
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Originally Posted By: Guitars&Guns
Originally Posted By: wal1809
Once you step back and realize the whole game of mud motors is a marketers game. Thems that have the most minions wins. It can be looked upon in either direction. Go to forum XXXX and mention one XXXXXX brand and the minions will eat you alive. Therefore one would tend to believe that brand XXXX has got to be the best. It is how it is packaged, how it is presented and how the follow up of the preented package. No different than black cloud, hypersonic. The names alone suggest BETTER than the rest. When you step back and boil it all down you can see in shotgun terms it is speed and weight of the pellet. In mud motors it is going from point A to point B and getting back to point A. After decades of mud motor usage never ever did I need reverse. If you need reverse then you're doing it wrong. All of these discussions are "One company, one upping the other". Whether by paid advertising or by minion opinion, it all goes back to taking money out of your pocket and putting it in their pocket. If you look at it onl on those terms you will begin to see clearly. Look at all the mud motor videos. All of the companies search far and wide for what they in the industry calls "Video mud". They go all over the country to find that perfect mud that has a viscosity that is barely above colored water. That is the mud they use for their advertising, all of them.

I checked into hiring a film crew to advertise my duck calls. Holy crud!! The going rate is $600 to $800 plus expenses per day not including editing. So they take a bunch of boats, people, film crews, hotels, fuel, food allo expesnses to make a video. Whay would they spend $20,000 $30,000 ect for a video. To take money out of your pocket and put it in their pocket.

During the research to promote my duck calls I contacted a marketing company. The first hting the guy asked is how much moeny do you want to make. The minimum bill I would have exited that place with would have been $20,000. That was for the Corolla, not the Cadillac account. That was for 6 months worth of their service. I decided I don't want to be that way with my duck call making. One guy, one call. There are a whole lot of great custom call makers out there. You will have to accidentally run across them because they will not get involved in the marketing fracas.


A lot of truth here and I agree, most of it is marketing hype. However, while you don't "need" reverse, some of us don't mind paying a premium for some of those extras. It's the same thing as paying a premium for an autoloader vs using a pump. Pumps work fine and are usually more reliable, but I prefer an auto. Point is I think we can all find things in life that we have that we don't "need", but we pay extra for for convenience, etc. Pro-Drive and Gator-Tail are two very reputable manufacturers, as is Go Devil, and I would contend all three have better customer support than MudBuddy. I can personally vouch for the customer support and reliability of ProDrive. They are top notch.

Also, yes advertising is very expensive, but it's called an opportunity cost for a reason. You place dollars at risk in hopes that those dollars produce revenue far in excess of those expended. For most companies, it's smart business. For those that don't want to grow much, however, I understand that.


Would I be guessing correctly when I guess you are in marketing? And finally it is good to have a conversation about mud motors and the other guy isn't hollaring my dog will bite your dog, dad will kick your dad's arse and Ford is better than Chevy.

Re: Surface Drive Motors [Re: wal1809] #5542406 01/14/15 05:11 PM
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No, I'm not in marketing. I am CPA and I do a lot of business consulting. I would never tell my client to stop advertising as a way to save money unless I had evidence it was fruitless spending. Margins are the keys to business, and In the case of my clients (which some are very large), cutting advertising would cost them a significant loss of revenue. Bad advice.

Just pointing out that all mud motor companies are in competition with one another and will spend whatever it takes to win your business, right or wrong. They are all in business to make money. If they aren't, they should stop what they are doing.

Last edited by Guitars&Guns; 01/14/15 05:13 PM.
Re: Surface Drive Motors [Re: BULSPRG] #5542442 01/14/15 05:31 PM
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Wayne I need reverse! Have you ever seen me negotiating my way through timber on a windy day?


Re: Surface Drive Motors [Re: LarryCopper] #5542532 01/14/15 06:21 PM
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Originally Posted By: LarryCopper
Wayne I need reverse! Have you ever seen me negotiating my way through timber on a windy day?


Am I to take that as an invite. A little bird told me you were smackin em.

Re: Surface Drive Motors [Re: BULSPRG] #5542537 01/14/15 06:25 PM
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Mine is a homemade 10hp longtail with a vanguard engine... what brand do I get put in? Sucker works great too... and my custom coffee can bilge pump does its job also

Re: Surface Drive Motors [Re: BULSPRG] #5542544 01/14/15 06:28 PM
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For new rigs id look for something that's easier to work on if im in the middle of no were

Re: Surface Drive Motors [Re: Navasot] #5542548 01/14/15 06:31 PM
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Originally Posted By: Navasot
Mine is a homemade 10hp longtail with a vanguard engine... what brand do I get put in? Sucker works great too... and my custom coffee can bilge pump does its job also


The point I was trying to make is just what you wrote. I would be guessing but fairly close to a correct figure at $40,000 saved, had I just kept my first mud boat. Over the years I have bought sold traded fixed ect. My long tail with a 20hp honda is still out there somewhere, still deliver a pay load time and time again. That sucker was straight up bullet proof. I'd have a whole lot more money had I not chased the "I gotta have that" better motor. What can I say? Marketing works quite well on those who are not ready to listen.

Re: Surface Drive Motors [Re: wal1809] #5542554 01/14/15 06:34 PM
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Originally Posted By: wal1809
Originally Posted By: Navasot
Mine is a homemade 10hp longtail with a vanguard engine... what brand do I get put in? Sucker works great too... and my custom coffee can bilge pump does its job also


The point I was trying to make is just what you wrote. I would be guessing but fairly close to a correct figure at $40,000 saved, had I just kept my first mud boat. Over the years I have bought sold traded fixed ect. My long tail with a 20hp honda is still out there somewhere, still deliver a pay load time and time again. That sucker was straight up bullet proof. I'd have a whole lot more money had I not chased the "I gotta have that" better motor. What can I say? Marketing works quite well on those who are not ready to listen.
cheers

Re: Surface Drive Motors [Re: wal1809] #5542701 01/14/15 07:46 PM
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Originally Posted By: wal1809
I stepped up to an airboat and I don't even think about being able to cross shallow water. My worries now are dry sand, only.


This is exactly why I stepped up to a hover craft with a kevlar skirt. cheers


Originally Posted By: LandPirate
Yeah, don't listen to me. I'm just an idiot.

Originally Posted By: East
Lol. Duckbill that was funny!

Originally Posted By: thecoach
The dude up top has already taken lots of bone before this deer, both mule and whitetail.
Re: Surface Drive Motors [Re: duckbill] #5542726 01/14/15 07:57 PM
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Originally Posted By: duckbill
Originally Posted By: wal1809
I stepped up to an airboat and I don't even think about being able to cross shallow water. My worries now are dry sand, only.


This is exactly why I stepped up to a hover craft with a kevlar skirt. cheers

How does that Hover craft work around timber? We have talked about the Hover craft recently, mostly joking, but do think it would work on the coast.

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