Our landlord was on the ball this morning picking us up just before 6am and getting us to Peterborough in good time for the 7.07 train to Edinburgh. We were only going as far as Newark North Gate where we changed to an East Midlands train to Grimsby. This line to Grimsby is quite intriguing in that you wonder why it missed the Beeching Axe back in the 1960’s but more of this later.
Grimsby signal box, closed and boarded up.
When we were about 5 miles out from Grimsby the surrounding farm land started taking on a white covering which we realised was the snow which had been forecast. During the course of the day we were aware of 3 snow storm flurries where the snow flakes were very large but didn’t really settle due to the wet ground. A taxi trip out to the Auto Trail factory got us there well in advance of the scheduled tour. Due to the atrocious road conditions further north the receptionist didn’t expect everybody who had booked for the tour to arrive. She was pleasantly surprised when the final couple arrived only 5 minutes late.
One of 2 production lines at the Auto Trail factory.
We learnt how every phase of the build takes place and that it takes only 3½ days from the time the chassis rolls into one side of the factory to the completed motorhome driving out of the other side. The factory turns out 26 motorhomes a month at present but due to increased orders they want to increase that to 30. Another interesting fact is that from the time the chassis leaves Italy to the time the completed motorhome is delivered to the dealers yards it never travels more than 10 miles as they are moved on low loader lorries all the way.
All parts are cut out by a computer driven machine ready for assembly. Curved doors are ply that is steamed into shape.
The factory has the most up to date computer CAD technology and does 2 production runs of 10 identical vans simultaneously. While we were there the last Mohawk was under final inspection and 10 Savannah’s were following close behind. The factory also produces the CI range of vans and there were 10 x 625’s in various stages of completion.
This side panel has been sprayed with glue and galvanized strips placed where the furniture is to be attached.
The tour was very informative with everything open to inspection, materials used, techniques displayed and any questions answered. Each phase is inspected before being allowed to proceed to the next dept. It proved to us that the Autotrail range are top of the line and we would recommend that anybody considering buying a motorhome should ring Autotrail and make a booking for the next available free tour to make up their own minds. In the meantime pictures speak louder than words.
Next large sheets of 40mm polystyrene are placed on the glue. It then goes through the spray booth for another dose of glue before the GRP (Glass reinforced plastic) Polyester sheet goes on top. It is then heated and compressed for 15 minutes.
Another heavy snow storm just as we were leaving to head back home.
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