Any views on Sea King Trailers vs. EZ Loader?

If your talking about King trailers they are built right in Marysville, not sure about the others but when I had a small problem I just went right to the plant and they took care of it right there, no appointment no problem.

Not sure about the others.


Fishy

Thanks for the reply yes King trailers. The boat country guy Tim was, well a sales guy and was talking them up. I need a new trailer and well might as well buy local and support those guys. I am sure they pump out a quality product.

The lights (at least the ones they used 7-8 years ago) are cheap crap. Other than that, mine's held up pretty well.

Thanks Milt Roe, i can handle cheap crap lights they are cheap the rest of the trailer is more important. Rust is a bigger issue.

Trailer lights have always been a pain for me. Last year, I replaced the OEM lights on my EZ Loader with the Optronics LED set-up. Bought the kit from a local auto parts store, but Cabela's carries them too. Don't know why I waited so long to make the switch. A little spendy on the front end, but I haven't had to change a bulb, check connections....well worth the investment.

I've got a 2003 King under my Lund. I'm not that impressed. I've pretty much replaced everything on the trailer. Bunks,brackets,lights,wiring,winch,etc.

Definately not holding up as well as the EZ loader under my North River or the Rogue that was under my Alumaweld.

I don't think they make Calkins anymore,but it was better than the King as well.

I wouldn't buy another King.

King Trailer has worked for me, 9 years, no major problems. Did replace the light with "led lites", bought on EBAY for $24.00. I don't go far, but I go lot's......no rust, like having the assembly plant in Maryville.

I've had 3 other brands of boat trailers, all were painted.....this King trailer is galvanized, that is a major plus.

I went from the carpet bunks to the plastic slicks and went through King. Drove right out to the plant and they were a good fit and are a super improvement. Saw the plant and seems to be a well run outfit

coho, I dont have experience with king. The units Ive seen look fine. I think its important to get the right trailer for the boat. I have an eZ loader.

I think the companies build frames to fit a bracket of boats. Where you run into trouble is buying too little trailer for the boat you have. If for instance, you have a short parking area and need a hinged tongue, not all the trailer tongues are thick enough to support a hinge.

Some boats could be put on a single axle trailer, while a dual is really the better choice. I suspect the brakes option is a important consideration.

Similar considerations that are used when buying the right truck for the job.

I've got a EZ Loader and I'm really happy with it!
EZ's yard is in Maltby which gives you an excuse to go the Maltby Cafe...

The oil bath bearings are a big comfort when trailering to the San Juans or the Columbia.
Just a walk by and a quick glance tells you that your bearings are oily and happy...

Mine came with LED light stock and I've not had any trouble with them at all.

One question though: If you're happy your trailer's yard is close to where you live... What does that say about that trailer?

just replaced my old EZ loader with a new King, really like it. I am not sold on the oil bath hubs on boat trailers that get dunked in water, especially if the they are still warm. I have seen bearings with grease burn up, but that is usually due to neglect of maintance. I have also seen truck trailer bearings with oil bath hubs burn up, one little crack in the cover and all the oil is gone. The guys at boat country told me my lights are waranteed for life (I hate boat lights and working on them, so this was a plus for me).

I bought a King galvanized trailer new in 2005 and after a year the lights were out and all the u-bolts/nuts were rusted up. I had to replace both tires also. They went flat on the gravel int he driveway. It was a good price, but get the LED light pack right away. If your just in fresh water, it may not matter. Yes, I rinsed it after every dunk when I got home.

I now have a Karavan which is awesome. I got it when bayliner went out of business. They are made int eh midwest. Swing tounge is way beefier than the King. It has a special grease routing for the bearings thats better than buddy bearings casue the grease goes to the inbd bearing and gets pushed back at you. It came with LED lights and all connections were shrinked. The bunk brackets were way stronger looking and all the non galvanized hardware was yellow zinked and lubed up. Tires were radial and decent but thats what it is. The bunk carpet was a little better and after 2 years looks like new. I hosed everything including the springs with LPS 3 (poured it into a pray bottle) after the king experience. The disk brake setup was a snap to beleed also (came with no fluid).

I like king and would buy another because their cheap but be prepared
to prep it out and change out some parts to make it last.

GREASE TALK:

Most people may already know this but not all bearing greases are compatible so make sure your using the correct grease base in your bearing. Most marine is aluminum complex base and if you mix a lithium with aluminum for example, it will turn to oil and loose lube properties. I love the blue bel ray waterproof for eveything including my dirtbike bearings, but thats my deal.

Heres a link to an article on grease compatability. Most marine greases including Shell, Textron and Napa (BTW same blue grease available at Action Auto parts for cheaper than Napa) are aluminum complex, but its up to you to read up or figure out what came in your trailer.

http://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/1865/grease-compatibility

Good luck,

Dave

Gettin' the ez loader. There was an order cancel from last year 09' so its cheaper for the same trailer.