Sitting In Red Bay

     We made it to Red Bay, AL, the home of Tiffin Motor Homes, early on Saturday, Dec 1 and got in on our scheduled date of Dec 3. It took most of the week just getting the things fixed that didn't work right  (like lights that were out, shades that wouldn't retract, outlet that didn't work, etc.) We did splurge and have a sound bar added to our outside TV setup. The TV's speakers are in the back and you had to really crank up the volume just to barely hear the program. We tried to rig an external wireless speaker, but eventually we decided that this was the best way to go. We are now waiting to have our big slide out room removed and the floor replaced. Seems we are not the only ones having this issue. In fact, they have two repair bays dedicated strictly to floor replacement and that's all they do. Even with that, we are looking at Thursday or Friday of NEXT WEEK before we come up on our turn!! After that, we still have paint issues and that will necessitate waiting our turn for the paint shop. The plant goes on Christmas break on December 22 - January 1 and we sincerely hope we are done before that happens.

     We think that a sign of the times can be seen in the number of units here for repair. When we were here in December of 2010, we got right in with no appointment. There were probably only 10 units in the parking lot and we were out in a week's time.  The motorhome market had kind of crashed at that point, and the plant was pretty quiet.

Tiffin repair lot - Dec 2010

     When we arrived last weekend, the lot was almost full to overflowing. In fact, we were told that just recently it WAS full and there was only room for "dry camping" in the parking lot. (Dry camping means no water/electric/sewer hook ups are available. Kind of like parking in a WalMart parking lot.) There have been several coaches leave this week, but the lot still is pretty full.

Tiffin repair lot (same point of view) - Dec 2012

The picture above only shows one line of coaches. There are three other lines beyond them and they are equally as full!

More coaches in the lot (this is the view from our front door)

I don't think that Tiffin is making a product of lesser quality than before; I believe that there have been that many more coaches sold in the last couple of years.

     So far, the weather has been unseasonably warm. Back in 2010 when we were here, we had freezing rain and it was so cold that the water had been turned off in the park. Today, it is almost 70 degrees and sunny. But that is due to change. Next week they are predicting freezing temperatures and fall will be a distant memory. One more reason to get things done and get back out on the road.

     I'm still working on the Mediterranean trip pictures and blog. It should be out soon. I put some pictures out on our Picasa Web Album site (Cunningham Web Photos ) if you're just needing something to look at.