Been running pro drive for about a year now and just sold my rig. about to start new build and am pondering the idea of moving to gator tail. spoke with willet the other day and he said he thought the GT were better in the hard bottom. because of the angle of the drive. Which made me think of all the times my boat would be floating fine but the skeg on my pro drive was dragging bottom. keep in mind I had the manual trim and could only trim up so far but by that point had barely any prop in water, and didnt want to eat the prop up. So with that I am considering making a change. BUT I have grown used to the confidence in the gear drive system. Always been afraid of belt drives. Also learned that the GT is about 100 lbs lighter which is a big deal considering I like to get in the skinny shit. and running these east Texas stumps, the less draft the better. But is the GT lower unit as tough as the PD?? Undecided?? Some of you more experienced guys chime in here and Give me some EXPERT advice

You can always cut the skeg down on the PD, or just get an airboat.

Step away from the Koolaid!!!!

Dont be afraid of a belt though,,,that lill engine aint got enough powa to break dat...

First off, I wouldn't worry about the GTR belts. They are tough as chit, I am on my original belt. The GTR LU's are tough. I busted my prop shaft last year, but I also towed in several PDs and outboards with shredded gears or busted LUs. I have seen less failures in the GTRs vs the PDs drive units. I think that can be attributed to the fact that the belt will absorb shock better than gears. I also prefer the GTR in hard shallow bottoms, although if you really want the best in hard bottoms, LTs are the way to go. Also let me add that when I broke my prop shaft last year, I was beating the hell out of it all day everyday. AND, my skeg was worn about an inch or so, therefore my prop did not have protection against strikes.

This is good info... keep it coming. I have busted the shit outta some stumps with prodrive and all I have done was broke the prop. Buuut every time i smash one I would look back thinking my transon was ripped off. They way the thing is balanced the lower unit takes a hell of a beating. I'm not too concerned with the belt itself just the shaft housing on the GT. It just looks weaker to me. But I like the points you guys have made.

And Im not running a longtail on a 19'x54" lol I'm building a center console so I can get away from the tiller.

Godevil...just sayin

if shallow hardbottom area use a longtail or a balanced motor.

or if you want to be really cool get a jet boat

Hes getting a center console which automatically rules out a balanced motor

copperhead

are yall referring to a GT when you say balanced motor? and brasso how does the center console rule one out??

If you have a center console your gunna have a motor with trim

ya I know I guess by balanced motor they mean a go devil sd. I have only seen one in person and didnt recall seeing a trim unit. But I know you could lift it with one finger. But I think I'm leaning towards gatortail now. Just wish I could find a used one so I could afford to do some mods. Does Gatortail do mods from the factory?

waiting to here back from him.

You should take one for a spin first in the area you run and see how it does.

Ive ran both, and both get stuck in shallows with a hard bottom if you dont have momentum. Sand, doesnt matter if you have momentum or not, its all gonna stop.

Go devil SD

I know what you are saying about the skeg dragging bottom. I run PD and I believe we run the same areas. With the GT being lighter and the decreased angle of the lower unit it would probably be more efficient. 100 lbs is a lot of weight difference considering it is hanging off the back of the boat.

Don't ever be afraid of a belt drive. I've had chain, shaft, and belt driven motorcycles and I've got a gator tail that I've brought through the worst stuff I could find in every situation and I'll take the belt an day!

Youve gotta remember a belt has give in it... its a gigantic rubber band, which absorbs some of the hit and puts less stress on your drive.

The PD manual trim has left a bad taste in your mouth as it should have, it sucks. The hydr trim is a night and day difference with more stroke or actual upward trim that will keep the skeg from dragging all the time. With a hard bottom and on step you just trim it up just to where it stops bouncing and drop the hammer on it. It will also get you out a hard bottom situation better in reverse trimmed all the way up than the Gtr. But with that said if the area I hunted was all hard bottom than the Gt is the right way to go and they are tough just make sure you check the L/ U upper knee brace bolt from time to time to make sure it's tight. That's the only thing that I have seen to put a hurtin on the L/U drive tube. Best thing IMO is like mentioned above and that is get someone with a GTR but also with some tiller time and ride with them in your area. Your not going to be able to switch brands and drive it like a boss first time out! There's a learning curve that goes with em.

Nothing will do better on a hard shallow bottom than a longtail.
Seen one niggerrigged with an old paragon 1 to 1 clutch behind it.
This heavy clutch on the back made it a "weighted back" design.
It was rigged with pulleys and cables on a cathead style steering wheel.
It didnt go very fast but the old man was never in a hurry anyway.
Was on a wide 18 foot flatboat and rigged for floundering.
We welded an extra skeg on it and u could idle around in water a lil
More than ankle deep, over solid sand bottom all night long.same prop
On it 2 yrs for sure.......prolly couldnt get it off that rustbucket with a
Fukkin torch anyway.lol.