Pulled the trigger on an HDS live 12, and can’t wait to get on the water.

I also connected my Motorguide xi5 to it via nmea2000, and installed my old total scan transducer onto the trolling motor.

For now I have no bow mounted graph, partly because the bow space is small, and partly because I typically stand at the back of the boat while my son fishes from the bow. But I am starting to think about what unit to run up front. Maybe just an IPad that mirrors the hds Live? Really with the dual transducers, I just need the HDS live display mirrored at the bow.

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Thank you so much! I’m going to have to do a deep dive into this wiring to figure it all out.

I’ve read about the battery ground wire being attached to a terminal at the bottom of the starter. Is that the case for your motor? Or is the battery ground just attached to the engine block?

Hey Karry,

That pdf is super helpful. Thank you for sending. I think pictures would be even more helpful.

Much appreciated!

Pics for reference

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Thanks for your input. I appreciate it!

Another idea I had, but am unsure if it’s possible, is to mount an HDS Pro or similar unit at the console, and have it connected to two Active Imaging HD transducers…one at the stern, and one mounted on the trolling motor. This would be an economical solution, especially when paired with a tablet that I could bow mount and mirror the console unit with.

Does anyone know if this setup would be possible?

Thanks guys.

Tom schmitt wrote:

I wouldn’t worry too much over a few drops of water.
Probablyjust need to tighten the hose clamp.
I don’t even use my front livewell for fish any more, turned it into dry storage.

^^This is why I had the front baitwell valve shut. Can’t have enough storage!

Hello all,

It’s been awhile but I wanted to share an update to my trailer issue. Thanks to a member here, I contacted a rep at Karavan, who was able to dig up the original shop drawings for this exact trailer. Turns out, it was indeed designed to be a bunk trailer, but the dealer that ordered it specified a deviation from the plans and ordered it to be a roller trailer.

I was able to order and pickup all the parts needed to convert the trailer to bunks. All the parts totaled around $275, which also included guide-on brackets.

After calling 5 marinas, Liberty Marine Center in Grayslake, IL was more than willing and did a great job converting the trailer to bunks.

The boat now sits almost 12” forward on the trailer, and it tows so much nicer.

Thanks again for everyone’s input, and I hope this helps others.

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After heading out and hunting here one day, I figured I’d post a follow-up, in case anyone else has similar questions. I’m not sure how to change color of font on thread replies, so my responses are in all caps.

Uhoh429 wrote:

Looking for a place to take my dog for his first bird hunt and a friend suggested I check out Silver Springs, so I’m lookin go for some more first hand info on it. I’m open to other suggestions too.

I see that you can hunt Permitted or Non-permitted, and I’m assuming that the difference is that you get birds released in the field with a Permitted hunt. Is that accurate? THIS TURNED OUT TO BE EXACTLY HOW THE HUNT WORKS.

Can someone walk me through about what to expect after signing in and stuff? I’m curious if hunters just get assigned a field and go, or if it’s more regulated. YOU PICK WHICH AREA YOU WOULD LIKE TO HUNT, AND HAVE TO START HUNTING THERE. AFTER AN HOUR, YOU’RE FREE TO HUNT OTHER AREAS.

What terrain should I expect there? Tall grass? Corn? NO CORN THAT I SAW. MOSTLY TALL GRASS WITH SPARSE PARCELS OF CEDARS AND OTHER TREES.

Anything else I need to know before heading there? FRIENLY PEOPLE, AND OVERALL REALLY DECENT PUBLIC LAND TO HUNT, HOWEVER I DON’T THINK THEY RELEASED AS MANY BIRDS AS THEY SHOULD HAVE. THE AREA I WALKED HAD 8 HUNTERS AND 10 DOGS AND ONLY KICKED UP 6 BIRDS IN 3 HOURS.

Thanks!

https://www2.illinois.gov/dnr/Parks/Pages/SilverSprings.aspx

Thanks for the reply and advice. I edited my original post to include a link to the Wildlife park page. It’s a parcel of land run by the Illinois DNR, that offered deer, squirrel, upland, coyote hunting. If you follow the link you’ll read about permit and non permit hunt dates.

Hot Runr Guy wrote:

Here are a couple of pics of a conversion I made, eliminating the rear set of rollers and adding bunks. The cross-bars are home-made, probably 1″ x 1-1/2″ aluminum bar stock. You could make something similar, bolting to the top of the long bars that now exist, with maybe 2′ long bunks.

Orrrrrrr, you could rotate the exiting roller & arm assemblies 180 degrees, so that the single roller is now at the back, under the transom. Not sure if the pivot bolt is centered, or if this would not give you enough hull movement to work with?

HRG

Great idea!

Hot Runr Guy wrote:

When I look up your job # and VIN #, is shows the trailer assembly as using bunks, but it also shows these (2) roller assemblies. I assume that the 4-roller set is used up-front?

HRG

That’s right, the 4- roller set is up front. I measured and the rollers I have and they match the dimensions in the drawings.

Right now, if I moved the winch forward the distance it would need to be for the transom to sit flush with the rear framing, the boat would rest on the second roller. I marked up a pic with a red line where it would sit. Would that be normal?

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buckybadger wrote:

a

bigstorm wrote:

I have the same boat but on a Shorelander roller trailer and something seems off on this set up to me. Looking at the pictures, it looks like there was an adjustment made where the winch post is, wonder if it used to have a different winch closer to the post and higher up? Maybe getting the boat further on the trailer? Is it possible the original owner had the winch extended back to put that step on the trailer and had to change out the rear roller set to something bigger?

Either way, I would expect trailering the boat any long distance will cause the strap on the back to be worn thru quickly being tight against the transom like that. I cant say I have seen trailer designed to have the boat hang back off the last roller like that before

buckybadger wrote:

Your winch post looks to be all the way back. Moving it 6″ forward and making the corresponding adjustments should help quite a bit.

I think we’re on the right track here. Winch is adjusted almost as far toward the rear as it can go. The sticker on the bracket at rear rollers matches the “build number” stickers on the rest of the trailer. It’s possible that the rear rollers were swapped but not the brackets.

I suppose it’s possible for someone to have intentionally placed the boat further back to facilitate a super shallow launch.

That’s awesome, thank you. By chance do you have a diagram for a roller trailer as well?

The 4500# trailer is a single axle, yes. My instinct is saying if I need to modify a different trailer so much, maybe I should just modify the one its on. It’s otherwise sound. And if I really want to eliminate any wondering or concern I should buck up and spend $ on a custom trailer.

All in all, this trailer suited the previous owner for 7 years, and presumably the original owner as well.

Thanks for the great info and feedback.

Unfortunately, the crossmembers are welded and I can’t adjust them. It also appears that the rear rollers are fully adjusted forward. Maybe there are other roller types available that will help this situation? I can move the winch forward several inches, but that wouldn’t help unless I can move the rear rollers forward.

I’ve also thought of converting to bunks, which I’m open to.

Attached are several pics, including the factory sticker, however I’m not sure how to interpret it. There aren’t any clear indications of the trailer size on it. The vin# is printed vertically to the left of the barcode.

-Joe

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Thanks for all the replies so far!

I’ll get the trailer model number posted here later on.

This was tough to read, but thank you for sharing. I can’t imagine your frustration level! These aren’t sportsmen or women, they’re the polar opposite and give the rest of us a bad name. Shameful, and we can only hope that they are caught someday.

My two buddies and I completed our first gun deer season hunt this year, at 35, 36, and 42 years old. We harvested 2 bucks and 2 does on 175 acres that we lease. We’re all conservation minded individuals and were glad to have shot each deer in the vitals. The last thing we want is for an animal to suffer. Just sharing this to let you know that there are indeed some responsible individuals out here, learning so we can teach our sons and daughters.

Please post a follow up if you discover what may have killed the 30 does.

Keep your head up!