NORTHGATE RV Still the Place Customers Love After 22 Years

How It All Started ....

...Billy Yates worked at an RV Parts Distributor and his friend, Ben O’Daniel owned Northgate Parts & Service. Yates was a talented RV representative, who was eager to take his experience to another level. O’Daniel had a building and a piece of property and hopes that Yates would find a dealer that might open a satellite location. While O’Daniel was showing the building, Yates commented, “If I had the money, I would open a place here.”. Without hesitation, O’Daniel replied, “I have the money if you have the time.” They made their dream a reality in September 1994 when they opened their first location in Chattanooga. Within five years, they expanded their business and opened a second location in Alcoa, Tennessee. Business was flourishing and three, short years later they expanded once more and settled their third store in Ringgold, Georgia.

Northgate RV is now one of the largest towable dealers in the Southeast and they are also the # 1 selling FW dealer in the state of Georgia. Yates and O’Daniel have been partners for over twenty two years and they say that they have never had a disagreement about how the company should be run. During those twenty two years, Yates and O’ Daniel have been able to overcome obstacles such as a hail storm that demolished $400,000 worth of inventory, a tornado that destroyed our small town, and the recession of 2007 through 2009. The hardest hit Northgate RV ever took wasn’t the loss of a vehicle, it was the loss of a friend. Jeremy Davidson had worked with the company since he was a young man of fifteen and was managing the Alcoa location before he was taken from them in a car accident. “Jeremy was like a son to me and losing him put me to my knees; it was an hour before I could even speak,” commented Yates. At that time, Yates oldest daughter, Kaitlyn, uprooted and moved to Alcoa, at the age of only 22. Since managing that location, she has been able to more than double the sales there. Other family members that work at the locations are O’Daniel’s son, Rusty, who is a share holder in the business, Billy & Sonya are the current management at the Ringgold location and their two daughters are also involved in the business. Yates younger daughter, Lindsey, is studying to be an accountant at UTC.

With all of the obstacles and hardships that they have overcome, Yates still gives God all of the credit for their success. “The business belongs with the Lord and I just try to manage it for him. He’s blessed us with the best employees and customers that we could have asked for.” After twenty two years of business, Billy couldn’t tell us enough how much he appreciated everyone’s business and that he wanted to say thank you from the bottom of his heart to everyone who has played a part in the growth of Northgate RV. Yates said one of the things he loves about this business, is that we are able to help families create some memorable moments that will be remembered for years to come.

Northgate RV is a no pressure sales team and stands behind every vehicle sold. They’ve sold RV’s to several celebrities in the music industry as well as abroad in Germany and Korea. They are currently expanding their Ringgold location into a super center which is set to open sometime in July and the people at Northgate RV hope that you will stop by to see what they’ve changed in order to better serve your needs.