Red Bay 2015

     Well, we decided that there were a few things that we wanted to modify on our coach and there were a few things that needed taken care of while still in warranty, so we packed up and headed to Red Bay, Alabama. We have been here several times before and we find that it is the best place to have work done on your Tiffin motorhome. Since it is the location of the manufacturing plant, the repair and service bays can usually get any part that is needed to fix your coach in a short amount of time (usually measured in minutes), and their service techs are well-versed in all things Tiffin.

    There are slots for over 100 coaches in the campground parking lot. Each site has 30 and 50 Amp hookups along with water and sewer connections. This time of year the water is turned off at the sites, but there is water available at the RV wash rack that is located on the west end of the service bays.

     Our logic was that there wouldn't be very many folks in Red Bay in the middle of January. Snowbirds should be in their southern "nests" and other part time RVers would have their units safely winterized and tucked away in their storage spots. Since service is "first come, first served" we thought this would be the time to show up. Well, we were wrong!!! There were 40 people on the waiting list and that didn't include everyone who was already in a repair bay. As our kids are so fond of saying, "You're retired so what else do you have to do?"; we signed up and started the wait.

     Above is the camp office building. There is always a pot of coffee brewing and the folks are friendly and helpful about things to do and see in the area. They are the ones that check you in and out and assign you your camp space. Their offices are on the right. In the middle is the laundry facility. Here you can do your laundry at a reasonable cost if you are here that long (and most usually are). The two doors on the left are the restroom/shower facilities. We use them for showers and it conserves our on board water and propane usage. Minimizes our trips to get water refills.

     Next to the office is a parts store. Here you can buy any part you desire for your Tiffin motorhome. If it is not in the store, they can get it from the factory parts bin. It's like a Camping World store that specializes in Tiffin products.

     New to us was the Customer Waiting Lounge. The old one was located inside the repair service building and I thought that it was pretty nice. The new building is just outside of the service building and is divided in two sides. One side is pet friendly and one is for those without pets. Both sides have a coffee machine and they share bathroom facilities and vending machines. There is satellite TV setup on both sides and comfortable seating for those long hours spent servicing your motorhome.

One side of the Customer Waiting Lounge

Cushy seats, reading materials, and coffee 

   

     Above is just one side of the repair bays. There is another set on the other side of this building. Inside are general repair bays, specialized bays for chassis work to include a lift that can pick up the biggest motorhome, several bays that can handle painting from touch up to entire coaches, and a carpentry shop that can fix, manufacture, or replace anything wooden you want/need in the coach. Every weekday morning around 6:45 am you hear the RVs start up that are scheduled for service. They roll up to their assigned bay door and magically just before 7:00 the door opens and they are guided to their repair position. 

     Above is another new item since we were here last. This is an RV wash pad and dump station. Here two coaches can pull up and fill fresh water tanks, dump on board holding tanks, and/or wash the rig. This is where we go when we need water during times when they have turned it off at the sites. You can see a coach pulling in to get some water.

     Also on site is the Allegro Club. This organization consists of members who own Tiffin motorhomes. There are local chapters across the country and they hold national rallies in different part of the country throughout the year. 

     This trip, besides getting some flaws fixed and things that were not working as designed repaired, we had two upgrades/modifications made to the coach. In all of our previous coaches the window near the passenger's seat is a two piece window that can be opened by raising the lower portion. This is all well and good but we never really opened it. In fact, Barb likes to take pictures out of that window and the horizontal center of the window is blocked by the window pane frames. This "bar" is right at viewing level and annoyed her to no end. It bothered her so much in fact that she asked Tiffin reps a few years ago that since they made their own windows, couldn't they replace it with a single pane model. They said that it was not available but that they would make note of the suggestion. Well, while perusing a 2015 sales booklet, Barb saw that a single pane was now a standard feature! Armed with that information, we asked if one could be retrofitted into our coach and they said "Yes" (for a price but that price was not nearly what I expected).

Original Passenger side window

New "Upgraded" window

     In our Phaeton, we had a microwave/convection oven. Barb really liked how it worked and its versatility. This coach came with the standard microwave. We asked the Tiffin folks if they could swap the microwave for a microwave/convection unit, and if so how much. They could and again, it wasn't as expensive as I had thought. So we told them to "Make it so!" 

Original Microwave

New Microwave/Convection (with cookies as the first test subjects)

     As of this writing we are still in Red Bay. We have completed our repairs and warranty work and are now on the list for paint fixes. Hopefully that will happen within the next couple of days. We are very happy with the results of this trip and the modifications really make the motorhome feel like an even better place to live in.