King Trailer Parts

Anna Leigh · Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 8:05 am Post subject: King Trailer Parts

Unlike most other boat trailer companys, King seems to make it extremely difficult to locate a dealer and especially to make a parts list known. I just replaced all the bearings and also found that all four of the disk brake calipers and associated hardward were beyond repair or functionability. Now I need to replace the grease caps with the rubber snap out cover that accesses the zirk. They were rusted to a point of being too thin to put back on. 5 year old trailer????
Any one know where a parts dealer is in the Skagit/Snohomish area??

localboy · Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 8:30 am Post subject:

David

Performance Marine (Everett) Master Marine (Mt Vernon) & Boat Country (Marysville area) are King Dealers according to the interwebby.

Pat Anderson · Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 8:47 am Post subject:

When you are down here, King Salmon Marine in Auburn is also a dealer. I got the grease caps with the rubber inserts from them, they were pretty cheap actually. They also will have or can get the disc brake calipers and so forth.

Nunya · Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 9:11 am Post subject:

You can get parts for your King trailer from a number of trailer parts supplier, Champion Trailer Parts, Trailer Depot, etc. Probably a lot cheaper too. Do a search for "trailer parts".

Matt Gurnsey · Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 11:05 am Post subject:

In the owner's packet there is a complete parts list for everything on the trailer with King's part numbers.

There are plenty of King dealers in the Puget Sound area, so parts should be easy to come by.

Pat Anderson · Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 2:41 pm Post subject:

There might be a part list now, but there sure was not a "complete parts list" with our King Saltwater trailer delivered in 2005 (same year as David's). And King's refusal to communicate with anybody except dealers has led me to conclude IF I need another trailer, I am sure NOT going to buy another King Saltwater...

Matt Gurnsey · Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 3:11 pm Post subject:

I don't understand the desire to talk to the manufacturer. Do you talk directly with the factory in detroit about your Chevrolet, or to the factory in Japan on your Toyota? Did you talk to the manufactuere before buying your last television?

There are many business models that can provide good support to consumers. Companies that deal factory direct with consumers usually don't have good dealer networks. If C-Dory started selling factory direct again, most dealers would drop the line.

The skills that make a good manufacturer do not always make for good customer support. Companies that recognize that, and set up a strong dealer network, can provide just as good customer support, sometimes better. Making the decision that customer contact is best handled by dealers is a valid bsuiness model, and helps the dealers provide better support to the customers they sold the product to. It's relationship building.

We have found King excellent to deal with, and responsive to any issues we have had with product. We have a very compreshensive parts list, with pricing, for every component on their trailers. The quality of their product has been excellent, and we have had very few problems- far, far fewer than other brands we carry.

DaveS · Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 5:49 pm Post subject: Re: King Trailer Parts

localboy · Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 6:39 pm Post subject: Re: King Trailer Parts

nimrod · Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 7:46 pm Post subject:

Pat Anderson · Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 8:52 pm Post subject:

Exactly, I just wanted them to tell me what the part numbers were. My dealer was the Reynolds incarnation of C-Dory, which was gone when I needed dealer support. And unlike Toyota or whatever, King does not make millions of units, there is NO reason why they cannot communicate with owners of their products or provide customer support - even in the worst of the C-Dory debacle the factory people usually communicated back when I had a question. Matt can say what he wants, these guys at King alienated me, and that is their loss, not mine...

journey on · Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 8:54 pm Post subject:

Matt,

Yes, I've talked to Chevrolet about my truck, called Toshiba about the laptop, Honda about the motor and even called EZ Loader about the trailer. Each time I got the information I could not get from a dealer or sales outlet. It may have been painful, but I got it. In fact, I've found the dealer doesn't want to discuss the details of "what's going on there."

I would expect any manufactures to respond to a question about their product; that's called customer service. And all manufactures I've dealt with have a customer service department. Including EZ Loader.

With all due respect to you, dealers come and go, but the mfg., if in business, has the answers.

Boris

Matt Gurnsey · Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 11:19 am Post subject:

Pat, I'm not trying to pick on you, but there are plenty of reasons that King can choose not to talk to customers. They have their business model, and it works for them and their dealers. They make a lot of information available to their dealers, and refer people to their dealer network for parts and service.

For King to say "we're not set up to deal with the customer directly, but our dealers can help you" is not unreasonable.

So if a dealer can provide the information one needs, why are people unwilling to work through them? That's what I don't get. And yeah, I'm a dealer, so I have a bias.

And the original post was about finding a dealer- and the immediate reponse listed three local dealers. So there is a good chance of a dealer being closer than the factory.

And Boris- How much does the current C-Dory factory really know? Wink

journey on · Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 11:45 am Post subject:

Let's see Matt, I have great respect for your knowledge and ability as a dealer. I wish I had you as a dealer for Journey On. Unfortunately we're 900 mi apart and I have to depend on the C-Dory factory, which has been good so far.

And I've found a good Honda outboard motor dealer in LA, Avalon Yacht & Boat Sales. I take my boat motor to this dealer even though it's a 250 mi round trip. I do try to use a dealer when I can locate a good one. Unfortunately the one in Oceanside doesn't seem to know anything about a Honda 150 and I have the bill and diagnosis to prove it. Honda customer service gave me some good technical advice which allowed me to solve my problem.

Even then, I have questions of which the dealer isn't sure, or questions about the warranty (as with Honda.) Both Avalon Boat and the C-Dory factory helped me straighten that out. I expect any manufacturer/importer to have a customer service department. I don't care what their business model is, I want help.

Since I don't have either a C-Dory or EZ Loader dealer near me I'm glad that the present C-Dory factory will answer the phone as does EZ Loader. I understand the C-Dory business situation. I'm just happy that they're in business, building C-Dorys.

Boris

nimrod · Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 4:07 pm Post subject:

I would claim that a manufacturer, such as King Trailers, who depends on their dealer network for feedback regarding their products, is not getting the full picture of customer satisfaction. I doubt that any dealer gets or documents the breadth of feedback regarding King's trailers that is occurring within this thread. However, the dissatisfaction with King is coming through loud and clear, and Manufacturers such as EZ Loader are benefitting as a result.

jd