Trolling motors require a special kind of marine battery that’s quite different from a standard car battery. In fact, if you try to use a car battery in a trolling boat motor, you can end up accidentally damaging both the battery and the motor. That’s something you want to avoid!
What’s the difference between a trolling motor and car battery?
A trolling motor battery is a deep cycle battery. A car battery is short cycle. Car batteries can’t be recharged and drained often or they will die. The best trolling motor batteries are designed specifically to do this, as that’s what will happen when you’re fishing. Using the wrong battery in your trolling motor could cause it to overheat, burst, bulge, or break.
Batteries made specifically for trolling motors are usually very high capacity can handle the harsh conditions and the frequent charging and draining that a trolling motor battery can handle. If you want to make sure yours really lasts a long time, you’ll want to get one of the best trolling motor batteries available. We’ll discuss those further here.
One thing you want to be sure of is that you get a marine battery made for trolling motors. You could use a basic boat battery, but it’s not ideal.
A battery made for trolling motors will be able to withstand heavier wear and tear and will let you recharge less often while fishing more.
How to pick the best trolling motor battery
There are a number of factors to look into when choosing which unit to buy. Brand and price are definitely two of the main factors here. It may be true that you get what you pay for, but it’s also true that there are affordable trolling motor batteries for the money in many areas of the market.
The ideal model will be a sturdy deep cycle battery that is very high quality. Like we said above, this is very different from a short cycle battery for cars. You also need to look into how much your boat weighs, how much torque the motor has, and what type of fishing you’re going to be doing.
Top Battery Brands for Trolling Motors
- Optima
- Interstate
- XPS
- Minn Kota
- Generic batteries
Can you use a basic marine battery on a trolling motor?
The short answer is yes, but it’s not ideal. You would be better off buying a real trolling motor battery. They will last longer and give you better power generation. A deep cycle trolling motor battery will cost you a bit more, but will last longer, and travel better over lengthy distances while using high power.
Our Top Trolling Motor Battery Reviews
1. Mighty Max’s ML35-12 SLA
This is a high quality 12 volt deep cycle battery that’s rechargable and works for Minn Kota Endura c2 trolling motors. Like any good trolling battery, it can withstand low temperatures, is rechargeable, and has a 1 year warranty.
2. VMAX857 AGM Battery
This 12 volt agm marine battery is great for many trolling motor brands, including minnkota, cobra, sevylor, and more. This battery is maintenace-free and recharges quickly.
3. Optima 8016-103 D34M
Looking for the highest quality trolling motor battery possible? This is it. The manufacturer claims it is “fifteen times more resistant to vibration”. It’s a dual purpose marine battery that can be used both for deep cycle trolling motor purposes and starting purposes. This cranking battery can even be used for RBs. This battery is one of the best and will last you many, many years, meaning you’ll need to buy less batteries and replace them less often. This great trolling motor battery costs a bit more but is worth the savings in the end.
4. VMAXTanks Battery
This is an AGM battery with a life span of 8 to 10 years, which is extremely high. It’s very durable and slightly on the higher price end, but will last a longer time than others.
Here is more info on choosing the best marine battery replacement for your trolling motor:
In summary, what you want to look for in the best batteries for your trolling motor are:
- durability
- fair pricing
- deep cycle, 12 volt batteries
- proper for the fishing conditions you’ll use the battery in
We hope this helps you pick the right battery for your motor. If you have any further questions about marine batteries, comment here and we will help the best that we can.