I was thinking about ordering a new rig and was thinking about the 1750 gatortrax with huntdeck and hybrid V-front. The rig was going to be used about 50% of the time in saltwater so was thinking about a gatortail. After talking with the guys at gatortail it looked like a good setup for saltwater with the lower end being all aluminum and stainless. However, the dealer for the boat told me there was a problem with the clutch covers cracking and letting water into the belt and pulley system. At the same time, I saw some guys on this site referring to some soft of aluminum cover upgrade. Is there a problem with the gatortail covers and is there a quick upgrade/fix? The dealer was trying to talk me into a mudbuddy and while I have a mudbuddy longtail right now- I have not been impressed at how it handles saltwater corrosion. All the mudbuddy SD motors in my area I have seen have been pretty eaten up by salt within a year or two.

Water gets in the cover because it has vent holes, and if you're mudding or reversing really aggressively, water can splash up on it. It is no big deal, the water goes to the bottom of the housing where there is a drain plug for it. It doesn't hurt anything.


The talk you hear of aluminum covers is because some aftermarket exhausts and some conditions where people have been reversing and grinding really hard in the mud caused enough heat from the caliper/rotor for reverse to melt the plastic cover. I doubt you will ever melt your cover unless you find yourself in one of the above conditions, they are mostly a blingy accessory that looks cool.

Salt water is tough on everything. If you run any rig in salt water and don't take care of it you are gonna have problems.
Get the motor you feel best fits your needs, do proper preventative maintenance and care and enjoy.

If there is a plug to drain the water, can I just rinse the inside out with a hose with fresh water after each trip in saltwater? Looking at the video on the gator-tail website it looks like just a big stainless pulley and a belt in there.

No their is no problem with the covers!! Like said everything is alum. Or stainless !! Just like anything else after use flush with fresh water!! I bow fish 3-4 nights a week in salt wAter next day I spray down with fresh water in and out the belt housing engage motor belt pulls all the water out !! Dude is trying to get you to buy his motor!!

You won't have no issues dude good luck on your purchase!

I do the same as deltaduckmaster. There is a drain hole at the bottom of the housing if needed. I upgraded the bolt to a hex.

I purchased my GTR in '05 and have NEVER used the drain plug.

Start it up and engage the clutch....the little water that gets trapped within will come out.

Just wondering who sells the aluminum clutch cover? I know setx use to sell it but I can't find it anymore.

I think Takemgator on here sells them!

Most dual rigs have two brake pedals !! One slipping one not!!

One could have had really worn pads causing it not to grab as much as the other, like Terry said

therefor generating heat

Incase you couldnt put two and two together Gary.

I can really see how your post helps out....dumb ass hahaha

My post was sarcasm and poking fun at Takem gator needing to say "therefor generating heat", like you (a smart individual) couldnt have put 2 and 2 together, that slipping brake pads would generate heat, but take it as you will Dic.

Have a dual gtr rig in the yard. It use to have dual master brake cylinders (which worked great) but the owner took it in to have trim work done and got talked into the reverse upgrade. Now it has a single master cylinder and one side always slips/ over heats no matter how hard you push it. My opinion is your having one brake cylinder doing the work of two. Sucks!

Here's a brainfart - for the guys that have dual rigs and one caliper doing all the work, why not rig up a regulator manifold/block like vehicles have to ensure even pressure to both calipers?

Just curious will the gator tail have enough tiller handle over a gator Trax hd? I've seen the gator tail hd and it is probably 10" shorter than gator Trax. Can you get a gator tail tiller extended?