Brazel's RV Performance: The Beginnings
Posted 11-22-2011 at 06:13 PM by Brazel's RV Performance
Originally Posted @ https://brazelsrv.com/blog/
Hello Guys and Gals!
This is our first ever blog and Part 1 of an introduction to Brazel’s RV Performance. We are a family owned and operated business in Centralia, WA established in September of 2004 by Steven R. Brazel.
You can trace the roots of this business all the way back to 1982 when Steve and his father Rodney opened a Chevron service station in Olympia, WA. Rod retired from this business in 1991 and Steve moved from General Manager to Owner. He quickly sensed that the gas station/service station concept was slowly transitioning into more of a focus on the gas station/convenience store concept and began to focus more on ideas to expand his ability to cater to automotive and RVing customers. With this vision he decided in 1997 to break ground on a brand new facility in the Olympia Auto Mall that would focus solely on automotive and RV repair. With the RV’s in mind he integrated an “RV Only” repair bay that utilized a heavy duty rack to lift the motorhomes off the ground for repair. This would mean that Brazel’s Automotive Repair was the only facility in the South Sound with the ability to raise a 40′ motorhome off the ground for repairs.
The main focus starting out in this business was automotive repair with the ability to work on RV’s, but over the next few years Steve saw that the idea of RV repair and upgrades was to be a necessary focus in the expansion of his business. At the same time Steve realized that the location that he was in was not suitable to the requirements of space needed to service and manuever RV’s at the level he wanted to. Because the property that Brazel’s Automotive Service occupied was on the side of valley it severely limited the workable flat land available without spending millions of dollars on back filling the hillside. In what Steve likes to call a “divine intervention” the next door neighbor, Topping Volvo, approached him with an offer to purchase his property and building to expand their used car sales lot. After quick deliberation with his wife, Holly, Steve decided it was the perfect time and opportunity to relocate the business to a more RV friendly location and focus all of his energy on repairing, servicing and upgrading RV engine and suspension.
He chose a location just south of Olympia in between Centralia and Grand Mound on Old Hwy 99/Harrison Ave. At the time it was a residential/commercial property with a mobile home and a couple out-buildings that needed to be completely removed and re-landscaped.
We all thought he was crazy at the time, but his vision into what he could make this property and business far exceeded what we ever thought possible.
Please check back soon for Part 2 of Brazel’s RV Performance’s beginnings!
Hello Guys and Gals!
This is our first ever blog and Part 1 of an introduction to Brazel’s RV Performance. We are a family owned and operated business in Centralia, WA established in September of 2004 by Steven R. Brazel.
You can trace the roots of this business all the way back to 1982 when Steve and his father Rodney opened a Chevron service station in Olympia, WA. Rod retired from this business in 1991 and Steve moved from General Manager to Owner. He quickly sensed that the gas station/service station concept was slowly transitioning into more of a focus on the gas station/convenience store concept and began to focus more on ideas to expand his ability to cater to automotive and RVing customers. With this vision he decided in 1997 to break ground on a brand new facility in the Olympia Auto Mall that would focus solely on automotive and RV repair. With the RV’s in mind he integrated an “RV Only” repair bay that utilized a heavy duty rack to lift the motorhomes off the ground for repair. This would mean that Brazel’s Automotive Repair was the only facility in the South Sound with the ability to raise a 40′ motorhome off the ground for repairs.
The main focus starting out in this business was automotive repair with the ability to work on RV’s, but over the next few years Steve saw that the idea of RV repair and upgrades was to be a necessary focus in the expansion of his business. At the same time Steve realized that the location that he was in was not suitable to the requirements of space needed to service and manuever RV’s at the level he wanted to. Because the property that Brazel’s Automotive Service occupied was on the side of valley it severely limited the workable flat land available without spending millions of dollars on back filling the hillside. In what Steve likes to call a “divine intervention” the next door neighbor, Topping Volvo, approached him with an offer to purchase his property and building to expand their used car sales lot. After quick deliberation with his wife, Holly, Steve decided it was the perfect time and opportunity to relocate the business to a more RV friendly location and focus all of his energy on repairing, servicing and upgrading RV engine and suspension.
He chose a location just south of Olympia in between Centralia and Grand Mound on Old Hwy 99/Harrison Ave. At the time it was a residential/commercial property with a mobile home and a couple out-buildings that needed to be completely removed and re-landscaped.
We all thought he was crazy at the time, but his vision into what he could make this property and business far exceeded what we ever thought possible.
Please check back soon for Part 2 of Brazel’s RV Performance’s beginnings!
Total Comments 2
Comments
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Do you have any pictures of the place in that time frame?Posted 11-22-2011 at 09:50 PM by JohnRR 
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Hello, I recently bought a new 2010 Bay Star on an F53 Ford Chasis - rough ride - to say the least.....I almost dread taking any lengthy trips...I have seen a lot of blogs suggesting various remedies but don't want to invest in something that I'll be wasting my money on - any suggestions?
Posted 11-29-2011 at 08:31 AM by Bobby88
