Lake Gaston Auto & RV opened three weeks ago at the intersection of Highway 158 and Weaver’s Chapel Road, just a few miles outside Littleton.
“We live near Littleton and knew there was a need for this,” Perkins said today at the shop.
“We always had customers coming in from Lake Gaston to Roanoke Rapids because they couldn’t find anyone to meet their service needs,” his wife, Shawn, said.
Roanoke Valley Auto Works, which Perkins started nearly 20 years ago and is located off Franklin Street Extension and Hinson Street, will remain open, he said.
The business has always had a relationship with RV owners as it has been providing mobile service to them before the opening of the Littleton area business, Shawn said.
“We had been looking to open a new shop for at least two years,” she said.
Said Mark, “We looked at other places, eventually this became available.”
Lake Gaston Auto & RV occupies a former hot rod shop and former home interior and building store.
“The building was about perfect for our needs,” Mark said. “The size of the showroom gives us room to display products we need to sell from wheels to RV accessories. The garage gives us plenty of room to work on everything. We want to have expansion room.”
The business is open for every job from RV maintenance and repair to passenger car maintenance and repair. It will sell custom wheels, tires and accessories, be a Rough Country Suspension dealer and will have wheels from several manufacturers for sale. It will be a dealer for many RV parts and accessories including Dometic air conditioners.

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The business will have a children’s area and open waiting area as well as a waiting area where customers can bring their laptops or tablets and get work done.
The bay has a rack large enough to fit dualies and there are five lifts. The business has been certified as a AAA repair center. It can perform state and federal inspections and do towing from the new garage.
Mark said the focus on RV service helps fill a void in the area. “Some of our new customers used to travel to Raleigh and Fayetteville.”
One of the criteria in choosing the location was the space the bays allowed for work on bigger motorhomes, fifth-wheel campers and boat and other trailers.
Mark said Roanoke Valley Auto Works will remain open “and continue to serve our customers to the best of our ability.”
Like Roanoke Valley, Lake Gaston Auto & RV will continue with its electronic processes of 27-point inspections where customers receive diagnostic information through email and text.
Shawn believes the success of Roanoke Valley will carry over to the new business. “Our customers, they believe in Mark.”
Said Mark: “We always try to treat our customers fairly and be honest with them. The last 19 years have given us a blueprint to follow. That’s what we intend to do is follow that blueprint.”
Lake Gaston will maintain five employees and Roanoke Valley four. “We’re constantly looking for quality help.”
Open now for three weeks, Mark said business “is better than expected. It’s growing every day. We’re very thankful for it.”