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Not wanting to waste any more time, we are going straight to the meat of this blog. My following blog will take you BEFORE and AFTER our Red Bay adventure. But right now, it's time to walk you through what it was like for us in Red Bay, Alabama: May 2023.
As most of you know, this unique community is where our 2008 Tiffin Phaeton RV was manufactured. We have journeyed over the years to this headquarters for repairs and updates on our RV. Most of you have experienced all that, along with us, on those occasions. The Mothership calls its’ Tiffins back at one time or another. We have been called several times as you well know. We’re coming! We’re coming!
We bid a fond farewell to our few remaining friends at Tropical Palms on May 19th. After 9 months of living there, it was such a strange feeling to see it fade into the distance. It felt even more strange to be sitting in our front seats with Cory driving our mobile house away. We sailed merrily along the familiar highways of I-192 onto Rt.27. Our merry mood was short-lived! Just outside of Clermont, Florida.....27 miles from
our starting point....the yellow “check engine” light came on our dash. RATS! Nooooooo......now what does this mean? Nothing new to us to find a spot to pull our rig over....been there, and done that. Fortunately, Cory pulled us into a large, mostly empty parking lot. He got out and checked everything he could. Nothing obvious. Next step: call Tiffin. It was a challenge getting through to the fellow who could help us. RATS! We have a Freightliner chassis and he only now works on Tiffin’s Powerglide chassis. Step Two: call Freightliner. Yippee! The man was very helpful. He interpreted our code and said it was something with the circulation of something through the exhaust or something like that.....Hey! I'm not a mechanic. He said we were safe to keep driving unless the warning light turned red. If that happened: pull over, stop, and call for roadside assistance (been there, done that). We prayed for our light to stay yellow...God lives: it did....all the way to Red Bay! Hallelujah!
On our first night on the road, we stayed at a KOA outside of Dothan, AL. We wanted to visit our granddaughter, who lives in Birmingham, but our “check engine” light
took preference over that initial plan. Cory kept us rolling along so we could get to Red Bay. We had previously made an appointment with the diesel company that we always visit. Our RV was glad of that. We were so happy our engine light never turned red!
Saturday afternoon, we arrived in Red Bay. We were finally back to the Mothership. She welcomed us warmly. We parked in the camping area we always stay in: Convenient Camping. Cory paid for our site for a week....even though we had no idea how long we would actually be here.
Sunday was a quiet day. We had no appointments scheduled. We rode around town, recalling all our favorite places from previous visits. We contacted a business called Lindsey & Winchester. They could remove our window valences and shades and put up new ones...Yippee! We went to their factory so I could select the covering for the top replacement valence. Every single person we met there was so gracious and nice. Gary and Kim came to our unit, removed the old, and put in the new. They were terrific! We are so pleased.
A new restaurant was having its “Grand
Opening” just down the road from our campsite. J&V BBQ Smokehouse.... It was great. We ate here three times. They had a wonderful buffet for $10. Their regular menu also offered many various, delicious food selections.
Monday was our day at Bay Diesel. Here they do a complete inspection of our chassis and change our oil, fluids, filters, etc. It's like taking our RV to the doctor for its annual physical. We had also requested that they put in a new “air dryer and valve”. Remember, on our way down to Florida, we had the issue with our airbags not filling? God....we try to forget it but we did get it fixed....temporarily. Anyway, that issue was now resolved at Bay Diesel. Then, they addressed our “check engine” light. They found the problem and fixed it. There's no way I can explain it all to you. You can read the comment I inserted in one of our photos....it tells you what they did....if you even care.
We went to the Tiffin lounge while all this work was being done. Only the “pets allowed” side was open....which was fine with us. We miss Chip so much. It was decorated with
beautiful furniture and signs. We met a nice couple who were staying at the same campground as us. They were full-timers also. Tracey and Jeff: a lovely couple. She gave me a lucky stone that she painted. I think it did bring us good luck, too.
We had new carpeting put under our sleeper couch and dinette. I would rather not have any carpeting but they say we need it on our slideouts. Oh, well....suck it up Buttercup! We had this done at Nichols Customs....the girls worked like ”The Flash”. Bamg, Zip, Snap, Bing, Bang....the job was done! It looks great! We are happy. We had hoped they could do our window awnings and inside stairway but they couldn't.
We called another outside vendor. Our RV is too old to be worked on directly at the Tiffin Service Center so we, as well as many others, use vendors all around the Red Bay area. Most have worked at Tiffin at one time and branched out on their own. They are all great...very skilled and competent.
We lucked out. Precision RV had a cancellation and could work us in. They were fantastic! Each man was so intelligent and
courteous. They put new black window and door awnings up for us. They fixed our crazy outside steps that had a mind of their own. For years, for no reason at all, they would occasionally, atomically just go in.....when we were parked. We have had several folks try to fix them but no luck. So far, knock on wood, Prevision RV may have fixed them.....anysay they have acted the way they should.....SO FAR.....FINGERS CROSSED, TOO. Pray for us and our steps. They also touched up a small paint peel spot on one of the basement compartments. They lubricated all our slides. They straightened my passenger chair which was starting to lean a little. We brought them a box of biscuits and honey so they would have the strength to do all this. They were grateful. Note- I say honey.....no jam. When you are in the South, when you eat biscuits....honey, molasses & butter, chocolate gravy, or sausage gravy..... that's what you put on your biscuits....No JAM!
On Facebook, I saw a wooden counter support that Chris Berry had done for someone. I wanted the same. He is so busy that I thought...no way will he be able to do
it for us. The stars were aligned perfectly! Yes, he came to our RV, measured the area, made the support, and put it up. It looks wonderful and helps the little sag I noted along the cabinet slideout. While in our RV, he noted how rough and grimy our inside entrance handlebar was. He took it, cleaned it, polished it, and put it back up. It's just like brand new! He is wonderful and so is his expert carpentry work.
We noticed a fellow cleaning out the black and grey tanks for other RVers in our campground. Even though Cory felt our tanks were immaculate, he asked Thomas if he could do ours. Yup....he could. Yippee! He set up his apparatus and began the high-power flush. Yikes! We weren't immaculate!! He was very thorough and we were very glad we had it done.
We wanted to have our inside stairway remodeled. We couldn't find anyone who could fit us in. That's the only project we didn't get accomplished. There's always another day, another time. In the meantime, we’ll get our scrub brush out and clean that area. RATS!
Cory was busy all the time. He walked over
to the Tiffin Parts department. They used to have a parts store but now, it's a walk-up counter inside the repair bay building. He was glad he could purchase a few items that we need that he could only get here at Tiffin.
Red Bay has a rural town feel to it.....like home, almost. The roads are very winding and narrow as we drive our RV to the various outside vendors. No shoulders! Cory keeps our rig steady while I screech in an unpleasant manner. It's awesome to see the many big behemoth-like motor homes slowly moving along throughout the town. Every day, all day and even into the night, these rolling monsters are constantly traveling every which way. You have to give the town folks credit for living with all this. This is truly an RV town. This is why it is called the Mothership for all the Tiffin RVs ever made.
We left Red Bay on May 26th to head home. But that's part of my next blog....so stay tuned. It will be published shortly. I'll give you rest from getting through this lengthy epistle. Glad to know you stick with us. None of this would
be the same without you!! Have a wonderful summer!
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David Berry
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Good Ships
Great to see you have made the journey back home safely and with the normal events! That gives us something to celebrate at a later date !! Have a great summer ! Seeya