Kings Mountain 'train station' from another era.
More of the complex
They still post the station sign
One of the little fuzzy people at Freightliner waiting for service to be completed
With rains Friday and Saturday, the wildflowers along 74 came out in profusion.
5/7 Monday Another week has slipped away from us; how time does fly! We went to the Freightliner chassis assembly plant in Gaffney, SC and took the tour there. Having been to plants such as Chevrolet and Alfa RV, my expectations were set way too high. Although the tour had only 5 people and the guide knew all were owners of RVs set on Freightliner chassis, he focused on the truck and bus line and all but raced past the RV line. By the way, the guide, although he appeared rather knowledgeable of the products due to the years he had worked there, was the security guard employed by a plant contractor. I would have anticipated Freightliner would assign an articulate employee this duty. Even the guides at the Jack Daniels Distillery were company true, experienced employees.
Pictures were not allowed, however, I did not see anything that could have been deemed proprietary. The group all agreed the tour was disappointing because so little included related to RVs and the guide was not much into taking questions. Anyone who pressed a question was given a very general answer. For example, I pressed him on when the 2007 Mercedes engine was first installed? His answer was, “A few months ago and if you had one, you would already know it”. Turns out I do have a 2006 engine (meets 2006 EPA requirements) but a 2007 coach produced on the 2007 year design.
One thing I did notice was the noise level in the plant and the apparent lack of ear protection used by the workers. Dealing with large pieces of metal, some of which are occasionally dropped, the use of air tools, the running of equipment that operates the lines that carried the chassis’s through the assembly, the running of many delivery vehicles often running with the back-up horn sounding, and the noise of engines running in one area, the facility is quite loud. As visitors, we were wearing headphones so we could hear our guide over all the noise. I must say this was a real help. These headphones did muffle some of the noise, but I personally found the noise level to be excessive / uncomfortable. Over years, it would seem this would have an impact on the worker’s hearing.
We have been the ‘guest’ of Young RV in Kings Mountain, NC getting warranty work completed. I must say that Tommie Young has a nice dealership and some nice technicians. We were fortunate to have Greg working on our unit. JB, the service manager, worked to make us happy and did a good job. As we stayed around several extra days waiting for a part to come in from Mandalay (yes, it arrived and it was the wrong size and the replacement took another week), the list of “things” became longer. Still, JB and Greg worked to handle everything. We are likely a bit more demanding on the way things work and whether something looks right or not, so our list of warranty is undoubtly greater than most owners who only use their coach in the summer. If you need service on Mandalay or a line they market, we would recommend your letting them handle things if you are going to be in the area.
We did take advantage of the time in Kings Mountain to do some sightseeing. The locals have worked hard to retain the old flavor of their town. Although many buildings have found new business adventures inside, they have tried to keep the exterior the same. In the case of the train station, instead of abandoning it, they have used part as a museum and part as office space for two different businesses. The station is a pleasure to look at.
Hopefully, tomorrow will see us traveling to Charlotte. The weather is running between 47 and 70 with sun and blue skies, so it is really a nice time to be here. The weather to the north appears to be warm, so we are ready to head north with a stop in Williamsburg. I know it will be different from the time I was there about 55 years ago. I hope I am not disappointed!
Pictures were not allowed, however, I did not see anything that could have been deemed proprietary. The group all agreed the tour was disappointing because so little included related to RVs and the guide was not much into taking questions. Anyone who pressed a question was given a very general answer. For example, I pressed him on when the 2007 Mercedes engine was first installed? His answer was, “A few months ago and if you had one, you would already know it”. Turns out I do have a 2006 engine (meets 2006 EPA requirements) but a 2007 coach produced on the 2007 year design.
One thing I did notice was the noise level in the plant and the apparent lack of ear protection used by the workers. Dealing with large pieces of metal, some of which are occasionally dropped, the use of air tools, the running of equipment that operates the lines that carried the chassis’s through the assembly, the running of many delivery vehicles often running with the back-up horn sounding, and the noise of engines running in one area, the facility is quite loud. As visitors, we were wearing headphones so we could hear our guide over all the noise. I must say this was a real help. These headphones did muffle some of the noise, but I personally found the noise level to be excessive / uncomfortable. Over years, it would seem this would have an impact on the worker’s hearing.
We have been the ‘guest’ of Young RV in Kings Mountain, NC getting warranty work completed. I must say that Tommie Young has a nice dealership and some nice technicians. We were fortunate to have Greg working on our unit. JB, the service manager, worked to make us happy and did a good job. As we stayed around several extra days waiting for a part to come in from Mandalay (yes, it arrived and it was the wrong size and the replacement took another week), the list of “things” became longer. Still, JB and Greg worked to handle everything. We are likely a bit more demanding on the way things work and whether something looks right or not, so our list of warranty is undoubtly greater than most owners who only use their coach in the summer. If you need service on Mandalay or a line they market, we would recommend your letting them handle things if you are going to be in the area.
We did take advantage of the time in Kings Mountain to do some sightseeing. The locals have worked hard to retain the old flavor of their town. Although many buildings have found new business adventures inside, they have tried to keep the exterior the same. In the case of the train station, instead of abandoning it, they have used part as a museum and part as office space for two different businesses. The station is a pleasure to look at.
Hopefully, tomorrow will see us traveling to Charlotte. The weather is running between 47 and 70 with sun and blue skies, so it is really a nice time to be here. The weather to the north appears to be warm, so we are ready to head north with a stop in Williamsburg. I know it will be different from the time I was there about 55 years ago. I hope I am not disappointed!
