Spartan Chassis Plant Tour (Part 3)

One of the last items on the tour,  (besides the military division where we did not have access) was the production of Isuzu “small” chassis equipped with gasoline engines. These are similar to the ones GM built prior to their reorganization. All gas engine chassis have a Spartan frame rail and body and a GM power train. The plant is running overtime to keep up the production. Some are being converted to run on natural gas or propane and EPA testing is currently underway for certification. There is no doubt that this mode of transport will become very popular with tradesman and delivery companies. There was even a crewcab model which is popular with landscapers so that they can take their crew along to the jobsite. Ultimately the hope is that they will be able to build the diesel models currently made in Japan and shipped to North America. Spartan is also shipping fire trucks to China and has begun training there as well. It looks like the economy is slowing coming back in the USA and the various interests they have developed in emerging economies will ensure this company prosper and grow in their southern Michigan location.

Owner as well as technician training is available in the extensive training facility located in Plant one (the service center) This four day course shows the owner the many subassemblies on a typical coach as well as how various components operate and are serviced. In addition a complete walkthrough of your coach is included with many helpful hints and techniques provided to make the owner experience even better.

All in all, this tour was a very informative and encouraging one. -- R.L.

This is part 3 of a 3 part series

Click here to go to Part 1.

Click here to go to Part 2.

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A Surprise Encounter at Wakarusa, Indiana

While staying in Elkhart, IN prior to attending the Family Motor Coach Association’s (FMCA) Great Lakes Area Spring Spree (G.L.A.S.S.) Rally, I took a short trip to Wakarusa, IN home to a large Monaco production complex. While in the downtown area I heard the whine of an electric vehicle slowing down. I looked up to see a unique, white van approaching the stoplight. As it pulled around the corner, the unmistakable whine of an electric powertrain could be heard. I recalled that there had been plans to produce electric vehicles in the Elkhart area and recalled seeing a very new RV dealership facility that had been closed in the downturn with plans to reopen it as a sales store for electric vehicles. As I drove over in the direction of the dealership, I wound my way through the Navistar/Monaco production complex. It was obvious that towables and Class C RV’s were being built to meet the new market demand.

As I approached the dealership, I saw a number of the vans similar to the one I had seen on the road. A portion of a Navistar plant was obviously producing these vehicles. They were white with distinctive black accents, taller than the typical “North American” full sized van (similar in height to the European designed Mercedes/Freightliner model). Their width was about ⅓ narrower, featuring a large windshield and single wiper. The front end was distinguished by a very modern looking, swooping fascia with projector style lighting set in a black accent panel. Ample black panels accented the body look. The single entry door was on the curbside and a rear rollup door was in the rear. All in all it was a very stylish, functional design.

With my mind spinning about how this could be utilized to create a unique class B RV, I drove past this facility to the dealership which was completely fenced off, although all of the signage was still on the building and on a street side sign. It was being offered for “For Lease”.  Changes in the market are slowly working their way through, with early adopters becoming casualties of change, yet there are glimmers of hope for a bright future showing up.

My trip so far has allowed me to see some unique, smaller, purpose designed trucks which will run on LP gas (propane), Natural Gas, and electricity. Can a “green“ RV be far behind? We’ll keep following this trend. -- R.L.

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Spartan Chassis Plant Tour (Part 2)

On the RV chassis lines it was interesting to see the different approaches taken by the RV manufacturers in specifying what Spartan does for the RV maker.  For instance, Fleetwood has the complete chassis bridge for their American Coach RV’s outfitted by Spartan. All the framing for the exterior compartments right out to the exterior walls, the leveling jacks are installed by Spartan so the body builder can focus on installing the body componentry.  Chassis destined for Newmar and Tiffin do not have any bin storage assemblies on them. 

Those chassis do have a number of wiring connections designed to mate with body components. Each RV maker has a location for their wiring looms and air brake hoses. Fleetwood has it mounted along the road side upper chassis rail accessible from the bin areas in the finished RV. Newmar has that harness run much closer to the outer edge of the central chassis structure which will be accessible from covers placed along the bottom of the chassis.   Spartan does supply and install jack systems however each RV maker selects whether to use the Spartan supplied system or the one they supply to Spartan to install.

The bare chassis allows one to get a good view of the additional components required to meet the 2010 emission standards. With the additional “muffler”, the tank for the Urea additive and the computer equipment needed to operate and monitor the system   take up at least the space for one exterior compartment.

Quality production is evident and to further aid in field diagnosis of problems our tour leader is championing a project to photo document each chassis model. This will be stored on line and available to those doing service in various forms. What he has discovered from this project is that installing components on a bare chassis from the top and bottom and then having to document it (and service it) when the chassis in under a RV body highlights the difficulty a technician has in servicing it. The natural and logical upshot of this project is “can we do it differently to make the component accessible in the finished RV?” Certain this project will drive better service and product improvements which will make it less expensive to service. 

--R.L.

This is the 2nd of 3 parts. 

Click here to go to Part 1.

Click here to go to Part 3.

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Spartan Chassis Plant Tour (Part 1)

I had the opportunity to tour the Spartan Chassis Assembly plant this morning, while our coach was in for service at the Factory Service Center. Here are some impressions and comments that arose from the tour. Spartan started operations in 1975 when a couple of executives from the Diamond-Reo organization that had gone bankrupt decided to build custom chassis for fire trucks. They have numerous manufacturing plants spread around the Charlotte, MI campus. All plants were amazingly clean and tidy: the proverbial eat off the floor clean. The bulk of the production lines are oriented towards fire truck production with most of the cab outfitting being done on site. The actual “body” is added elsewhere. The cabs move station to station by hand without the use of robotics. This is explained by the fact that the options, sizes and features are so extensive that it would be almost impossible to automate. That being said the production and support equipment is all state of the art. One feature that was really leading edge is that the wiring is all multiplex wiring where digital signals are sent along a common bus or wire and arrive at the appropriate component which interprets this information and acts accordingly. This greatly reduces the number of wires and individual circuits required to operate all of the various components. It also allows diagnosis much like that used in cars and trucks for much more of the systems.  With integration between the chassis builders and body makers this simplicity provides the end users with a quicker diagnosis and a greater chance that the repairs will be completed right the first time. -- R.L.


This is the 1st of 3 parts.
Click here to go to Part 2
Click here to go to Part 3
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A teaser about our RVing FuseSwitch™

People ask us questions about our RVing FuseSwitch™ all the time.  We're getting ready to make a few posts about it, but here's a teaser to show you how great it is!

Most vehicle manufacturers want you to pull at least one of these fuses before you tow your car.

Interior Fuse Panel - 2011 Honda CR-V

Our RVing FuseSwitch™ solves that problem, neatly, and easily.

Before installing our RVing FuseSwitch™

After installing our RVing FuseSwitch™

 Keep following our blog for more information, or if you can't wait, check out the RVing FuseSwitch™ on our website by clicking here.

We're Blogging!

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Our experience has taught us that success on the internet depends on many things, but the most important aspect of our success has been our customer service.  It's the conversations that we have everyday with our customers that allow us to have customers for life!

This blog, and the many other online tools that we are starting to use, are tools for us to help you.  We hope that you will enjoy our new voice online!  Bookmark this page, and we'll keep you up to date with all kinds of tips that are well researched, and accurate.  There is plenty of information about RVing on the internet, but how do you know when you've found good, thorough and accurate information?  If it says RV-PartsPlus, you can be confident with what you see.

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