MOTORHOME IS FINALLY READY TO ROLL

Friday, May 14 – We arrived at service bay #3 at 7 a.m. for our service work. They actually finished us up at 3:10. Three, new windows were installed, adjusted  and greased level jacks so they would be leveled more accurately, adjusted dinette slide by replacing a roller, replaced front marker lights, fixed small basement door, and repaired door awning mechanism.  They didn’t get to fix the squeak in the floor but the repair guy, Myron, told Paul how to fix it.

Door awning being fixed.

It was a very boring day for Marsha and Bella. Marsha took Bella to the park for over two hours. Poor thing was so scared of all the loud noises in the repair bay.

Saturday, May 15 – We had our mail forwarded on Thursday. On the website, it said it was delivered to the Red Bay post office at 8:00 a.m. That means it was too late of the mailman to get it for delivery. Paul called the post office, and they said they had it. He drove there and picked up our mail. So, we finally got on the road at about 10:45 a.m. But not before saying good bye to two really wonderful friends, Brian and Janet Henderson. We have been spending much of our time with these two. They are from Kansas City, MO. Really neat people. We have enjoyed our time with them and hope to meet up in the future.

Janet wasn’t too happy with Marsha. She caught her early in the morning and she hadn’t had time to put on the make up. Marsha thinks you look LOVELY just the way you are!

We drove to Meridian, MS. It took about three and a half hours…very nice, easy drive. We are staying overnight at the Bench Coach and RV Park…very nice, clean park. Even though the address is Meridian, it is in Marion, MS.

Tomorrow we will head to Sliver Slipper Casino in Bay St. Louis, MS.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see you soon.

LIFE AROUND RED BAY

Thursday, May 13 – Had some good news today.....we may be getting into the service bay this afternoon or Friday morning....yea!!!! Robert Ruff, a fellow poster on the Tiffin Network website, came by the MH Wednesday afternoon wondering if we would be interested in an appointment slot that a fellow poster was unable to keep. Heck yeah! So Rob did his work and was able to have us “trade into” her appointment. WOW! That is really good news. I stopped in the appointment office this morning and Jimmy Olivier, the service manager, said be ready for a possible spot this afternoon.

Got into the service bay this afternoon. They got 2 windows replaced and then some women came in that didn't get finished yesterday because of lack of parts. We then lost our two service techs. So back Friday morning. The guys said they will finish us tomorrow.....we'll see?????

Earlier this week, we did some looking around Red Bay and the surrounding area. One thing we noticed as soon as we got here was that one of the cemeteries had HUGE, FRESH flowers on the graves. Almost all the grave stones were decorated. We had no idea why, other than…maybe for Mother’s Day. Well, Marsha asked the locals in the office, and they gave her the answer. In the South, each cemetery takes either the first, second or third Sunday in April and May to clean up and decorate the cemetery. It is a very important day for those families that have loved ones buried in the cemetery. Most families clean up the area around the cemetery, decorates the gravesite and then have a family reunion at one of the relative’s home. Norris, the scheduler, was in the office when Marsha was asking the question. He shared that just this past Sunday, his family cleaned, decorated and had a great family reunion. Quite a different approach from up North.

Marsha took some pictures just to show how BIG and beautiful these arrangements are. Most are real flowers and will last most of the summer. She Photoshoped out as much of the stones as possible.

We also visited the TVA Cedar Creek Dam. Cedar Creek Dam is one of four dams that provide flood damage reduction, recreational opportunities, and water supply in northwest Alabama.  Cedar Creek Reservoir, impounded in 1979 as a flood control reservoir, holds 4,200 acres of water at full pool. Located nearly 10 miles west of Russellville in Franklin County, it is one of four Tennessee Valley Authority reservoirs operated by the Bear Creek Development Authority. Camping and fishing provide the main recreational opportunities.

A bit windy!

Marsha had to take pictures of her flowers.

We kept driving. What a pretty drive it was.

Now we have see it all…Coon dog Cemetery.  You can find the Coon Dog Cemetery 7 miles west of Tuscumbia on U.S. Hwy 72. Turn left on Alabama Hwy 247, and travel approximately 12 miles. Then turn right, and follow the signs. What a hoot!

In a small, grassy meadow, deep in the rich, thick wilderness of Freedom Hills, Key Underwood sadly buried his faithful coon dog, Troop. They had hunted together for more than 15 years. They had been close friends. What is a coon dog? Glad you asked….A Coon Dog s a hunting hound specially trained to hunt raccoons. It is an American sport dating from Colonial days and is held at night.

Courteous of website.

Out of one hunter's devotion to his faithful coonhound was born the "Key Underwood Coon Dog Memorial Graveyard," which has became a popular tourist attraction and is the only cemetery of its kind in the world.

Other hunters started doing the same when their favorite coon dogs died. Today more than 185 coon dogs from all across the United States are buried in this spot in Northwest Alabama.

We spent a while walking around and reading the gravestones. Some were really interesting.

This is the memorial to all coon dogs.

Now don’t think you can just bury your coon dog here. There are burial standards…to qualify for burial, there are three requirements.

---The owner must claim their pet is an authentic coon dog.
---A witness must declare the deceased is a coon dog.
---A member of the local Coonhunters’ organization must b allowed to view the coonhound and declare it as such.

So there you have it.

They were all decorated.

You could actually write a testimony for good old Ruff.

We never did find out why some have flags.

Not sure this has been used for a while.

If you are looking for something to do this Labor day, read on…Each Labor Day, the Tennessee Valley Coon Hunter’s Association host a celebration at the cemetery. Entertainment includes music, dancing, food and a liar's contest. Time: 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. Official Coon Dog T-shirts (Click to View) and camouflage caps available to purchase.

Here is pavilion they have the celebration in.

Paul didn’t use this but if you look close enough, you may see him behind it.

What a great way to end our adventures in Red Bay.

Thanks for stopping by. Y’all come back soon.

TIFFIN PAINT SHOP

We started the day with a visit from Norris, the service writer here at Tiffin. We went through our list of repairs and put us on the “official” waiting list. We can check in a week to see how close we are to getting in the repair bay.

After that we headed to the Paint Shop to see the new Tiffins getting their four coats of paint. We drove over to neighboring Belmont, MS (just a couple of miles) and checked in the watchman station to get our safety glasses and ear plugs.

He then invited us into the plant and told us to walk around, look wherever we like, and feel free to talk with the workers. We were shocked. No tour guide, no safety issues, no camera restrictions, and the freedom to talk as long as we want to the workers. “We're proud of what we do. We want you to ask about what we do here at Tiffin Motors,” was his reply.

Most of the paint shop employees are young people in there early twenties. Many of them girls.

We were told the young have better eyesight to catch paint flaws and to mast carefully and better hand coordination for the meticulous work. They spend many hours on their knees and running up and down ladders. They certainly take pride in their work.

It takes about a week from start to finish for the four coats of paint at a price tag of approximately $10,000. The unpainted manufactured coach enters the building to get its first coat of paint – the primer.

 

The next coat is a base color.

If some pictures look a bit dirty, we had to shoot through windows. Many times they were coated with paint.

After the base coat the graphics are masked for painting. This is very amazing! Young guys and gals crawl all over the coach applying tons of masking tape to outline all the graphics. We just kept asking, “how do you know where to apply the tape?”

Cutting the pattern

After all the tape is applied and the windows, wheels, rubber gaskets, etc. are masked the coach enters another paint booth. This spray booth too is very high tech with little or no over-spray or paint fumes. Everything was so clean.

The bays were so clean…no dirt anywhere.

They use gallon cans of paint.

Soon after the graphics are painted, including the small sign - “Tiffin Motor Homes Red Bay, Alabama” all that tape and paper had to be removed.....jeesh! We had to laugh at one of the girls removing the tape. He fingernails were BLACK from pulling off all that tape. She says she scrubs them constantly but has to live with it....ha ha!

Taking off the tape for inspection.

These graphics are then inspected and any defects are marked for repairs. That 's the next visit to the paint booth – repair painting.

They inspect the entire coach with a blue light.

Masking the mistakes.

All the places this coach needs a touch up.

The motor homes then receive two coats of clearcoat protective paint. Then comes the dirty part – buffing. The entire bus is hand buffed....wow! After that, the coaches receive a “super” clearcoat. This makes the coach really shine!

 

Next stop is final finish were they are cleaned inside and out, awnings added, wiper blades and a final inspection. They are now ready for shipping!

All the motorhomes are already sold.

Before we left, we asked to meet the brains behind this operation. Does he look familiar?

Another building on the lot is the tile shop.

This is were the tile floors are manufactured. Individual tiles and porcelain tile inserts are glued to a ¼ inch plywood floor. Over 3000 pounds of tile, glue and grout. They are then loaded onto a trailer for shipping over to the Red Bay manufacturing plant.

These two factory tours were very interesting and the work these people were doing was amazing. I was surprised to see that the motor homes are practically hand made. A tremendous amount of hands-on labor go into each unit. It takes about 3 weeks to build each coach and then a week to paint. Tiffin is completing about 10 units per day. That's a big bunch of money driving out of little Red Bay, Alabama each day!

Spent the evening sharing life stories with Cathy & Dan. We toured the Paint Shop with them this afternoon. A wonderful couple. They are “part-timers” meaning they still own a home and only travel part of the year. Dan still wo, wo, wor, wor....WORKS! Ouch!!!!!

Thanks for stopping by. Y’all come back.