FTL Gaffney

The Shadow · 03-11-2005, 04:56 PM

Anyone had their Winnie DP into FTL in Gaffney for service? If you have, any tips you can pass on to make it a better experience?

The Shadow · 03-11-2005, 04:56 PM

Anyone had their Winnie DP into FTL in Gaffney for service? If you have, any tips you can pass on to make it a better experience?

ichn2go · 03-12-2005, 04:08 AM

Call the service department, talk to Pat. She will schedule you when its convenient to both you and them. Tell her your milage, let them tell you what needs to be done. Have a list of your concerns and what you would like to be done. Fax it to them if possible and ask for an estimate on each item. When you see the price delete what is not absolutely necessary. They are great folks to work with.
It may take a couple of phone calls but its best to have it worked out before you arrive if at all possible and this way there is no surprises to either one of you...Good luck, Good miles and

CaptBill · 03-12-2005, 04:10 AM

I did Don. Took my rig there in October of '03 for M3 service, a wheel alignment and ride height adjustment. I was in the 2nd bay, and my "tech" was a young guy probably in his thirties.

Well, he did the M3 service just fine, and I also had the Allison trans changed over to Syntech synthetic ATF, with new filters installed. I asked if they purged the system of all the old ATF, and the answer is no, just drain. That doesn't get all of it out, but OK, that's what they do.

The M3 maintenance was do ok, but the ride height was set so far wrong that on the test drive, the whole coach vibrated from the steep driveshaft angle. The tech, who was driving, never said a thing. When I said that this vibration was never there before, he said he set it to specs. I told him there was no way that it could be driven back to Delaware like this, so he reluctantly set it back to where it was. He also did not do the wheel alignment correctly.

Freightliner took care of these issues by arranging for me to take the motorhome to an Oasis dealer in Baltimore about a month later. Inconvenient, and at my expense (for fuel and time off), but they correctly set R.H. and did a 4 wheel alignment, which included moving the rear axle about a half inch. That job required grinding off the welds of the alignment washers, aligning the axle, and welding the new washers in place.

Any advantage of taking the rig to Gaffney was completely lost on my trip, as it all could have been done 90 miles from my house.

The Shadow · 03-12-2005, 06:58 PM

captbill, I think Allison says not to purge. They also say to get the extended fluid change interval you have to do 2 refills with TranSynd. So, if I do it this year I'll have to do it next year.

I booked the FTL appt a couple of weeks ago. I asked about shifting to TranSynd and the fellow in service said he wouldn't do it unless he were going to put on a lot of miles and keep the coach for many year.

I guess the reason I want to get at least this first year done at FTL Gaffney is because I figure they have to be familiar with MHs and should know all the things that should be done.

CaptBill · 03-13-2005, 04:00 AM

Don, that's why I went there too. There are great people there, and I don't think you will be disappointed. I just happened to get a new guy who came from the production line. I'm a detail-oriented person, and he wasn't into details. But I think that most of them are fine.

Their prices were very fair, and make sure you go the the lady at the front of the main offices, and join FOC if you haven't already. That will cost you $10, and you will get a discount (I forgot if it's 5% or 10) from your parts bill. Definitely worth it, plus you will be getting a Freightliner mag very quarter.

I believe the change to transynd is worth it if you tow and/or travel in the mountains in the summer. The transmission runs 20 to 25 degrees cooler, and since Allison offers an extended warranty (at additional cost) only if you make the change, it seems they must believe that the trans will last longer with it. And, as you say, it also extends the change interval to 150,000 miles.

The Shadow · 03-13-2005, 07:52 AM

Bill, I have the extended warranty as I was able to get a change to their warranty policy to cover all 3000mh units made before 2004 (mine was manufactured in the fall of 2003). I don't have to switch to get the warranty (you may want to look at the policy statement on the Allison site).

Interesting on the heat issue - I've had a devil of a time getting the transmission fluid hot enough to test. On a couple of occasions I've tested it after running 4 hours and got the message that it was not hot enough. That has made me wonder why I want it even cooler yet.

On the other hand, not having to change the filter for 3 years and the fluid for 4 years (after the 2 changes) would be nice. I'm still not sure of the cost difference however. Anyone know the approximate difference in cost going from Dexron to TranSynd?

I did join the FOC - just have to find my membership card (so many cards and too easy to lose them even through I have a folder that should have all of them - but I'm sure they will have my name on file). First year was free so I didn't pay anything.

I may one day take advantage of their offer to buy a Chrysler product at 1% below dealer cost - if I can ever see a Toad I'd like. I wish they'd make their vans towable 4 down.

Beabop · 03-13-2005, 02:10 PM

Our 04 Journey came from the factory with Transynd already in it. We are going to
Gaffney on the 31st for the first service.Don we got the same color as yours. Bea PA

The Shadow · 03-13-2005, 05:48 PM

Freightliner started shipping them with TranSynd as of Jan 1/04. Our chassis was shipped to Winnie in Nov 03 so it had Dexron. The warranty terms were changed and then restated so that those shipped prior to 04 get the 5 year warranty using Dexron.