Finished in Red Bay

We’re Done! The short version: all the work is finished and we’ll be out of here tomorrow.

This picture shows the roof rails being replaced. The techs drove the motorhome into the work bay, after moving the outside mirror out of the way, so they could get it very close to the work platform. I’m glad I didn’t have that job!

They had to back it in to work on the passenger side, and we were locked in for about an hour when they did the first part of the job because the door was blocked by the platform. The tech climbed out through the window after backing in. The next day when they finished up that side, we decided to get out before getting trapped.

The total bill would have been over $7,000 if we’d had to pay for everything. Almost all the work was covered under warranty or good will, so we paid less than $600. 

Although there are definitely concerning problems with some of Tiffin’s motorhomes, we are very happy that they are still in business and they stand behind their products. Their philosophy for customer service is one I really admire. I’ve dealt with other RV manufacturers and have had some good and some bad experiences. This one was mostly good.

At the start of our ownership of the Phaeton I wholeheartedly recommended Tiffin’s motorhomes. Over the next 4 years, there have been a few times when I said it was hard to recommend a Tiffin product. My pendulum is now swinging back to the other side. While I might not go out on a limb to recommend them wholeheartedly to others, but I can say I’ll definitely consider another Tiffin motorhome if and when we get ready to buy another one in the future. And for others my advice is: check out what kind of service RV manufacturers provide by joining an owners forum. There are no perfect RVs, so you WILL be getting customer service.

Now that the motorhome is done, we’re also happy we got the car fixed, with a new windshield and sunroof, dings front and back repaired and painted, all for less than the estimate and during the same time frame.

Don chose a Jeep Wrangler as our rental car while our Honda CR-V was in the body shop. It had a rougher ride, and was tall enough that it was hard for me to climb into. It’s also only 2-wheel-drive – we thought all Jeeps were 4WD! I don’t think we’ll be buying a Jeep anytime soon (or ever).

Here are the two cars at the body shop where we transferred our stuff back to the CR-V and Don put the kayaks back on the roof racks. It was good to get our smooth-riding “Carrie” back, looking a lot prettier than she has for awhile! And we can see better out of the new windshield and sun roof.

As usual, Shadow enjoyed all the hours we spent in Tiffin’s customer lounge. He loved watching people and other dogs, getting lots of scratches behind the ears and occasionally “speaking” with the dogs.

Tomorrow we’re heading the wheels southeast toward Rainbow’s End (a 2-day trip through Vicksburg, MS), Escapees RV Club’s HQ, where we’ll link up with friends. Then we’ll go west to our lot in Benson, AZ. We haven’t made any plans for Thanksgiving or Christmas yet – they both seem far away although I know they’re not. We’re hoping to get together with Craig and Liz sometime soon, maybe for the holidays. In the meantime, we’ll be very happy to see Red Bay in our rearview window.

Finally, we are very thankful for all America’s veterans who have fought and continue to fight for the freedom we enjoy. On this Veteran’s Day, we salute you!