Black Diamonds Are Forever - One

Last September our group took a trip to General Coach just outside of London, Ontario, to see just how a Black Diamond Edition park model is built. To our amazement, a beautiful product emerged at the other end of an assembly line in the matter of the few hours it took to tour the plant. Realistically speaking, it takes less than a few weeks once the order hits the assembly line.

Black Diamond Edition 550-2 Park Model from General Coach Canada

Guy and Charlotte spent weeks pouring over options presented to them in a step by step process. They had many questions from what the floors are made of to the colours of the counter tops and the exterior finishes. It was with great anticipation we went through each set of options as they presented themselves. By the time we were ready to place the final order it was eight weeks later (December 10th).

Let’s follow the progress of the Black Diamond Edition 550-2 ordered last fall by Guy and Charlotte Chateau for site #110 at Cherry Hill Living to arrive in a few weeks.

The Frame:

First they take a heavy duty tubular steel  frame with detachable hitch. Then add a seamless fiber mesh underbelly. On top of the steel frame is placed 2″x 8″ transverse floor joists on 16″ centers with  R20 pink insulation. This holds the guts of the unit – plumbing, heating, and electrical.

The Floor:

The floor is finished off with  3/4″ Tongue and Groove Plywood Subfloor, both glued and screwed, ready for the wood grain vinyl flooring throughout.

In this article we are featuring station 1 and 2 of 12 stations.  To follow along this particular model, there will be further blog articles over the next few weeks.

In the meantime, you can view the construction video of a regular Park Model going through the assembly line at General Coach:

OR visit the General Coach website at: www.generalcoach.on.ca/media.html to see the “General Coach Factory Tour”

To clarify some of the differences in the park model in the video and the Black Diamond we are featuring here, note the following pertaining to station 1 and 2:

– the Black Diamond Edition features 3/4″ plywood

– the Black Diamond Edition features 2″ x 8″ floor joists

Station 1 - The Frame - 2" x 8" floor joists.

Station 1 - The Frame - Heat ducting and R20 Insulation.

Station 1 - The Frame - Reinforced joists.

Station 1 - The Frame - Detachable hitch.

Station 2 - The Floor - 3/4" tongue and groove plywood subfloor.

Station 4 - The Floor - Water lines.

Station 4 - The Floor - Chassis