New Service Center, Anyone Been There Yet??

[smlranger]

Haven't heard anything recently about the new FL Service Center in Gaffney and was wondering if anyone has been there recently and would post first impressions, report???

[smlranger]

Haven't heard anything recently about the new FL Service Center in Gaffney and was wondering if anyone has been there recently and would post first impressions, report???

[Navy Flier]

I will be there on Monday to attend Camp Freightliner and to get some work done at the service center. I will post my impressions next week.

[Navy Flier]

Just spent four days at the new service center in Gaffney. I went there to attend Camp Freightliner and got some service done while there.
It is a brand new setup so it has the raw look of a new site. They need to put in some landscaping and the like. It is about four miles from the factory. For directions, take I-85, exit 92 and go northwest on SC 11 for about one mile. The service center entrance in on the left. You can not see the center from the road and the signage is small. The signs are about three feet tall. The first thing you see is the word Oasis and underneath is the word Freightliner. When you see the Ford dealership ahead of you start looking for the turn in. If you miss it there are places to turn around.
The center is well set up. There is a lounge with WiFi and restrooms. They have six bays and the workspace has air conditioning and heating; great for the mechanics. If they get enough volume they will expand to 12 bays. They brought all of the people, tools and equipment from the factory service center. There are 20 parking spots with 20/30/50 amp service. There is a dump station with potable water. The parking area is crushed gravel so you don't have to worry about getting clay in your coach. The door opens at 7:45 and they start working at 8:00. They go home when they have finished the day's work. If they have to work until 6pm to finish a coach, that is what they do. They have it set up for six appointments in the morning and six in the afternoon. They can do most work in a day or less. Recommend getting an appointment. The lady you talk to, Pat Wilder, is very knowledgeable about service work and can give you a good idea as to how long your work will take. They charge $76/hour for FCOC members and $80/hr for others. There is a campground, Pinewood, at exit 87 and many places to eat, plus a Wal Mart about 2 miles from the center.
I spent two days at Camp Freightliner and would recommend it to anyone who would like to know more about their coach; electrics, hydraulics, systems, etc. Mike Cody, who teaches the course, knows more about vehicle maintenance than anyone I have ever talked to. If anyone has any specific questions I will be glad to answer them.

[R1chy]

Navy Flier - Thanks for the posting. Question, how did you sign up for Camp FL?

R1chy

[Gary RVRoamer]

Go to Freightliner Freightliner Motorhome Chassis web page and click on Owner Info for a list of the Camp Frieghtliner dates and related info.

[Savannah]

We just spent a week (Nov. 13-18) at the new service center. There are 20 electric sites 20/30/50 amp on each site. The area is gravel and sorta level. There is a dump station and potable water. I use an air card and got a strong signal. I don't know if there is Wi-Fi. Our appointments were for 12:30 and at 12:30 the tech was there to take the coach inside and when finished he returns it to the site and parks but doesn't plug you in or jacks down. They might plug in if it was hot out. We were able to leave our cats inside the coach closed up in the rear since all our work was done from the outside. I have a feeling if there are open spots you could overnight there because we did see coaches come in that appeared to just spend the night. There is a Super Wal-Mart down the road and plenty of places to eat. Up at the next exit is an outlet mall and more restuarants. Another interesting thing we found was a Stouffers Foods outlet. It's down by the Freightliner factory. We had never seen one so enjoyed it. We also stayed at Pinecone since we got into Gaffney alittle early. It's not very nice but we did get 50 amp and I got broadband on my air card. I did look at the laundry and it was the pits. The lady in the office was very nice and very helpful.
We found everyone at Freightliner to be very nice and very helpful. It's a class act.
Oh since we were there right before Thanksgiving they were busy but the 20 sites were never all filled at night. I have a feeling that in the spring and summer they would be with people waiting in the wings.

[chasfm11]

We were also at the Service Center on Nov 6, 7 to have anti-sway bars installed. Here are my thoughts:
1. Facility is very nice and easily accessible.
2. Pat and the staff are very helpful and courteous - we couldn't have asked for more or better treatment that we received. They are a pleasure to deal with. The work was first rate.
3. The new parking spots are much easier to deal with than the limited space outside the plant.

While I understand that the Service Center can also chassis issues other than MHs, it appears that MHs are most of their business there. With that in mind:
- the water supply/dump station are in the main access road to the employee parking lot and all of the MH parking spots. Approaching it outbound requires dodging a chain link fence at the passenger side front of the MH. Approaching it inbound nearly blocks all access to all parking
- the dump inlet is higher than the surrounding ground which slopes away from it. It appears that they may have installed at a height for paving around it later but while it remains a stone driveway, dumping is a bit more of a challenge than expected.
- the signs to locate the facility are difficult to see. They are promising more and better signs but until then, the turn is easy to miss coming from the interstate.
- they admit that they could keep 10 bays busy but only have 6. Making reservations well in advance is the only way to go.