More From Red Bay

Since I last wrote about our motorhome repairs, we’ve had 3 windows replaced, the Diamond Shield on the front replaced, and some structural reinforcement around the rear jacks. We are still on a waiting list for the roof cap rails to be replaced.

The windows are a minor thing that take very little time to replace. Tiffin recognizes there was a problem in their windows with moisture leaking into the air space between the double panes which causes them to fog up. So we think they are still covered even though they are out of warranty. These windows were replaced in less than an hour.

The Diamond Shield on our coach was determined to be ‘bad’ and needing replacement by Igor last year, and he said he’d put it on our record that it would be replaced at our convenience, under the 3-year warranty, because we didn’t have time to get it done then. Igor is no longer here, and Barry couldn’t find any such note on our record. Still, he did replace the bad parts at no charge.

First, the old film was removed by softening it with a heat gun and lots of patient pulling and pealing.

Next, the surface was cleaned with a solvent and prepared for the new film.

Chrome pieces were taped off and the new film was applied.

In discussing a leveling problem with a fellow Tiffin owner since our last Atwood jack was replaced, we were advised to talk with the jack experts a few bays down. David, one of the service techs, came by to check things out with us. When we described the problem, he immediately knew that we had a structural problem with the rear of the coach, where the floor is attached to the chassis frame. He put us on a list to get into his bay as soon as possible.

We thought, “Oh no, not another waiting list!” But we got a call the next day, went in right away and were finished in about 3 hours. It was strange to see our home-on-wheels up on lifts.

David showed me where the weaker structural members were being replaced by stronger ones, and where a second beam was being added behind each rear wheel. They also discovered that the right rear jack was placed in the wrong spot and was having to travel farther to level the coach, so it was repositioned correctly. All this work was covered under the 10-year structural warranty.

Now, the only remaining work to be done is the cap rails. Because we arrived for service without an appointment, those with appointments get serviced first. We hope to get in tomorrow or Thursday for this work.

In the meantime, we had a chance to meet Bob Tiffin, company founder.

We had a nice chat about what the company has done to eliminate the problems that we (and others) have experienced in their current production. He apologized that we’ve had to come to Red Bay and spend so much time waiting for service. He said they are considering adding another building with several more service bays and expressed how much they want to keep their customers happy. That has been the ‘mantra’ of this man since he founded the company almost 40 years ago, and is being continued by his family as they carry on running the business.

Of course, having to spend a month of our time in Red Bay can’t be reimbursed, but we understand the situation. And the fact remains that there are no perfect RVs. We just hope this kind of delay never happens again.

Yesterday we met a delightful couple, Mark and Chris. Their blog, Phaeton Place, is one I’ve followed for a couple of years. We were both in Red Bay a few weeks apart last year, but we managed to meet up this time. The four of us had dinner at Gill’s Grill and had a nice time getting to know each other.