110331 Final Finish

I arrived at the Belmont plant at 7:00 am and the coach had already been moved to the "final finish" area where the workers were installing the lights and the retractable steps. Next, they installed the "slide toppers" and then the awnings over each window.

At the same time, the rear ladder was attached and the grate over the side radiator installed. By 9:45 all the outside attachments had been installed and the Bus was ready for weighing and then transport to Red Bay for further "final finishing." I went with the driver for the weighing and to my surprise, the rear axle came in at 19,700 pounds - with the tanks empty; and we still haven't added all our "stuff." True, the Powerglide chassis has a 22,000 pound rear axle rating, but the Federal highway limit per axle is 20,000 pounds - I guess we better stay out of Ohio where they have in-motion weighing on the major highways!

When the coach headed to Red Bay, I headed to Belmont to get a battery installed in my watch. Now I know what time it is! By 10:30, I was in Red Bay and found the coach already in one of the "final finish" bays. Workers were all over the coach. They were doing the final install of the outside TV and replacing the 37" inside TV due to a scratched screen. They ran all the systems to make sure they all worked and found a leak in the passenger side rear jack. that turned out to be a loose fitting. Otherwise all systems were "go".

I found the lead person and discussed a couple of items I wanted corrected. The response was virtually immediate. At 11:30 I picked up Suz and we went to lunch at Jack's, her favorite hamburger joint. At 12, we both went to the coach to do a full inspection. We started in the bedroom and examined everything we could see. There was virtually nothing to correct that we could find.

We then sat with the lead person again and reviewed our list (three items) and was told when each would be corrected. Both Suz and I are amazed at what a wonderful job the Tiffin folks have done in building our coach, and we can't say enough about how thorough and responsive they have been. In our view, you can't go wrong with a Tiffin!

From the "final finish" bay, the coach will go to the tile shop where any flaws in the floor tile will be corrected. We didn't see any, but we were told that the inspector would likely find at least one or two flaws. Following the tile work, the coach will go back to Belmont for a complete review of the paint and correction of any flaws. As we were leaving we noticed a piece of blue tape with "run" on it. I had a hard time seeing the run, but it was there and it will be removed. We are thrilled with the Bus as it is, and can't wait to get our hands on it at the Rivers RV dealership in Jacksonville.

I should note that during our stay we have eaten out at the Mexican restaurant, the Chinese restaurant (twice), the Backstreet Barbecue (great ribs - no ambiance), Gill's Grill (not our favorite), the Belmont Cafe (good for lunch), Jack's drive-in (Suz loves their burgers and their chicken burger is good too), the Rattlesnake Saloon (unique and inexpensive, but a bit of a drive), Swamp John's (great catfish, no ambiance), Subway (one of our favorites for lunch), Sonic drive-in (good hot dogs) and McDonald's (a steady choice for lunch). This list about covers all the options in Red Bay/Belmont.

Tomorrow will be our last day in Red Bay and we will follow the Bus as far as we can. Saturday morning we head back to Palm City and await the arrival of the coach in Jacksonville! Until then, Cheers! John, Suz and Dixie the Wonderdog

Again, photos on our Picasa web album.

110330 The final painting day

I arrived at the Belmont plant at 7:00 am to find the coach in the paint booth having it's two coats of clear being applied. This process was completed at 7:40 am and the coach was baked at 180 degrees for an hour. It emerged at 8:40 for the "teardown", where virtually all the taping is removed in preparation for the application of the "super clear" coats. They remove all the taping in order to prevent the dust and paint chips that are in and on the plastic and tape from inadvertently contaminating the final clear coats.

Once the teardown was complete, the coach was moved to the "super clear" line where it was examined for any paint flaws. These identified, and there weren't many, the spots were sanded and a tape mark placed on the coach. Then the coach was moved into the sanding booth and it was completely sanded (again) with orbital sanders, a process that removes one of the two original coats of clear. Once sanded, the dust is blown off with high pressure air and the coach wiped down with a solvent. It is then taped again for the final clear coats.

Clean and sanded, the coach moved into the final paint booth where the flaws were repainted and two coats of clear applied - the "super clear." After a brief ten minute bake at 180 degrees, the coach moved to the final bake, where it remained for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

In our case, the coach emerged at 2:15 from the "super clear" and went into the final bake. It will stay in the booth overnight and be removed for the final teardown tomorrow morning. I will be there to see the result before it is sent to "final finish" where the awnings, lights, steps, etc. are installed. From there it will be off the Red Bay for "final finish" at the main plant.

One thing I can say for certain - the final finish is spectacular. It is like a mirror. There is no "orange peel" or any other flaws. It is the best finish I have ever seen. What a rush!

The six photos I put up on the Picasa web album show the coach coming out of the booth with its initial clear coat; the sanding and detailing process and finally the rear of the finished coach entering the final bake over. More photos will follow tomorrow - count on it!

Until then, Cheers! John, Suz and Dixie the Wonderdog.

110329 The painting continues

This morning the Bus was fully stenciled and ready for the application of three more colors - white chocolate, black and Rocky Mountain brown. The process would take all day to complete. First, the white stripes were painted, then these areas were taped off and the black stripes applied. Then this area was taped and the final, main color - Rocky Mountain Brown was applied. the painting process took over two hours to complete.

The Bus exited the paint booth and the "tear-down" began. All the stenciling and taping was removed and the coach examined for paint flaws, which are always present. The flaws were then taped and sanded as needed. This took another two hours with a 5 person crew. Once the taping was completed, the coach moved into the next paint booth and the final painting took place. Two top painters went over every flaw, sanding and painting, sometimes more than once if they didn't like the outcome. This took well over two hours and the end result was a terrific looking paint job.

The coach is now ready for trimming all the edges of the stripes with a razor blade so the edges do not stand up. Then the first application of clear coat will be applied - there ultimately will be four coats. Two coats are applied first, then the Bus is sanded to give a completely smooth surface, then two more coats of clear are applied. The end result is a finish that will "knock your eyes out".

But that is the job for tomorrow. Until then, Cheers! John, Suz and Dixie the Wonderdog!

110328 Belmont Paint Shop

Suz took the morning off, so I headed over to the Belmont paint shop at 6:45 am to watch the preparation for, and beginning of, the painting process on the Bus. When I arrived, the coach was still in the sanding shop getting its final go over. By 8:00 it had arrived in the queue to enter into the paint shop, which happened at 8:45. Once inside, the cleaning process and initial taping of the windows, hardware and roof (which does not get painted) began.

By 1o:15, the coach was fully preped and ready to enter the first paint booth where the base coat of "Sahara Gold" would be applied. The paint crew takes a variable lunch break which depends on when they finish painting a coach (usually somewhere between 10 and 10:30). Then the paint crew works while the rest of the workers take their lunch break from 11:30 to 12.

The paint crew returned from lunch at 10:45 and the coach was rolled into the paint booth. The first step was to wipe the coach down with tacky cloths to remove any residual dust. Then the 4-man crew starts the spraying: 2 on the ground and two on moving lifts to cover the high sides, front and back.

I left to pick up Suz for lunch at 11:15 and the painting had just commenced. When Suz and I arrived back at the plant at 12:00, the base coat painting was complete and the coach was in the drying process. At 12:30, the coach rolled out of the booth and a 6 person crew began taping for the second and third coats. The taping process is very interesting. The stencils are on long rolls just over three feet high that extend the full length of the coach. Three rolls are required to cover each side, two for the front and back. The crew applies the middle stencil, smoothes it with squeegees, and removes the backing. then the upper and lower stencils are applied in the same manner. The final result is a completely stenciled coach, which after fine detailing, is ready for the second and third coats.

At quitting time (2:30 pm), the coach had been almost fully stenciled, with the only remaining part the stenciling of the slide walls. The coach will then await its turn in the second paint booth. That will happen tomorrow morning between 7 to 7:30 am. I will be there as usual! Until then, Cheers from John, Suz and Dixie the Wonderdog!

P.S. As usual, the pictures for thsi phase are to be found at our Picasa web album, the URL for which is https://picasaweb.google.com/john.evansesp/110321BuildingTheBus#

110325 Over to Belmont for painting

I went to the plant alone this morning since it the Bus was largely completed, but for undercoating and mechanical, before being sent to Belmont for painting. I found the Bus in Station 18 waiting to go to the undercoating building, a move of about 100 yards. the coach was raised on a 30 ton lift and workers walked underneath spraying undercoating and painting any rust spots on the chassis.

The work took no more than 20 minutes, then it was off to mechanical where the chassis would be aligned, the height of the air ride suspension set and the headlights aligned. Then it was off for a test drive to check out the ride and handling - everything was great.

At that point I left for the campground to deliver the Phaeton to the cabinet shop for the final finishing of the repairs to the counter top. The job entailed glueing and clamping the countertop to bring it back into alignment. The clamp had to remain in place for several hours, so I decided to leave it on all night. One problem, the clamp extended out the kitchen window - and the temperature dropped to 35 degrees overnight! The furnace worked overtime to say the least!

All this having been said, the job was completed today and was done to perfection. We are very happy with the results and relieved that the craftsmen here were able to rectify my error. I can now trade the coach with a clear conscience!

Once the coach was back on site 20, Suz and I headed to Belmont for lunch and to follow the progress of the Bus as it was prepared for painting. Little did I know that our plans were about to change! We viewed the Bus in the sanding building where all the exterior imperfections are removed and the entire surface, except for the roof, sanded in preparation for painting. One does not stay in the sanding building long without respirators, let me tell you!

From there we headed up to see where the coach would go next - final prep for painting. There, the workers wipe down the coach to remove any dust or other foreign materials. then the coach heads into the first of several paint booths for its base coat - in our case "silver". Ah, but I get ahead of myself.

I decided to take Suz on a tour of the plant to view the coaches ahead of our in the various stages of completion. then it happened. At the final booth, Suz saw a Bus painted "Rocky Mountain Brown", and that was it. She was "in love." It just so happened that Lex Tiffin was in the plant and at that very moment came up to say hello. He heard Suz say she had to have that color and immediately took us outside to look and our selected color (Silver Sand) and her dream color (Rocky Mountain Brown) in the sunlight side-by-side. There was no question, she had to have the new color.

Lex wrote our service order on the palm of his hand and told us to call the head office and see if they could still put through a "change order" to make Suz's dream come true. Danny Inman was out of the office, so we jumped in the car (it being 2:10 on a Friday with the plant closing at 2:30) and headed back to Red Bay. We arrived at the plant at 2:25 and found Jerry Williamson, the sales manager, who immediately began calling the paint shop. After several calls, success. However, we needn't have worried, Lex Tiffin had already told the paint manager to expect the change order. Suz will get her wish (but I told her the trade was that she couldn't complain anymore about having to go to rallies!).

the entire experience is but one more example of how the Tiffin company and Tiffin people go that extra mile for their customers. We will long remember the wonderful treatment we have received and will strongly recommend Tiffin to any and all who will listen.

Being Friday night, and having succeeded in getting Suzanne's color change, we decided to head out to the Rattlesnake Saloon (about 25 miles from Red Bay - where they serve BEER). We arrived around 5:00 and enjoyed a pitcher of Miller Lite, stuffed breaded Jalapeno peppers (rattlesnake eggs), breaded mushroom caps (cowboy buttons) and a polish sausage in a bun, all for $20 including tax. Not a bad evening. We arrived back at the campground at 6:30 in time to watch the NCAA tournament game between North Carolina and Marquette (having taught at North Carolina, I guess you can imagine who I rooted for).

The weekend is here, and on Saturday, Suz and I plan to head to Russellville to the WalMart to re-stock. On Sunday, I think we will go to Tupelo to visit Elvis' birthplace and then drive a bit of the Natchez Trace Parkway. Monday will see us at the paint plant to watch the coach get its coat of Rocky Mountain Brown! Until then, Cheers from John, Suz and Dixie the Wonderdog!

110324 Nearing the end of the construction/installation

Suz decided to stay at the coach this morning so I headed down to the plant alone. I arrived at 7:00 am to find the coach back in the main plant at station 12. There, the workers added the front hood cover, installed all the electric bay door locks (push one button and all the bay doors unlock or lock), tested the jacks and began a thorough quality inspection of the entire coach.

At the same time, the finishing of the interior continued. The TVs were installed (including the mid-coach TV on my swing arm!). The dash was completed and, over this and the next two stations (13 and 14), all the cabinet drawers and doors were installed, the doors hung, the dining room table installed, the driver's and co-pilot's chairs installed, the recliners brought into the living area, and a myriad details taken care of.

By lunch (11:30 am) all of the construction/installation was essentially completed. At that point, I left to pick up Suzanne for lunch, expecting that the two of us would return for the last two hours of work. Wrong! Upon arriving at the campground, the cabinet shop workers informed us that they could do the repairs on the Phaeton cabinets right after lunch. So after we ate a quick lunch at the Mexican restaurant across the street from the campground, I unhooked the coach and delivered it to the cabinet shop. Suz, Dixie and I then proceeded to drive up to the Coon Dog Cemetery for a look, then headed over to the Belmont paint plant to look at coach colors. We have already decided on Silver Sand, but wanted to be absolutely sure - we are now.

Returning to the campground, the workers had made the repairs to the Phaeton (it was not such a big job after all!), but --- they will need to have the coach again tomorrow to do the final finishing of the repairs and to install a new cabinet drawer. This should take about an hour, so I will go to the plant early and then deliver the Phaeton to them about 10:00 am so it can be finished before lunch.

After lunch, the Bus will have completed its initial phase at Red Bay and will be taken over to Belmont for undercoating and the preparation for painting. Friday will involve extensive sanding of the entire coach and making any cosmetic and other adjustments. The painting will begin in earnest on Monday. Don't forget to see the new pictures at https://picasaweb.google.com/john.evansesp/110321BuildingTheBus#

The final leg of our journey is about to begin. Until tomorrow - Cheers from John, Suz and Dixie the Wonderdog!

110323 Building the bus continues

Suz and I were at the plant at 7:00 am to see the next installment of "building the bus." When we arrived, the workers had nearly completed the installation of the AC units, the satellite dish and the "Fantastic Fans." The web album we referred you to yesterday contains all the pictures (from the start). At 7:52 the Bus moved to station 9 and the fun began. The refrigerator was inserted into the coach, all the slides were installed. At 9:55 the coach moved to station 10 where the front and rear caps were put on and the front door installed. The Bus finally looked somewhat completed.

In the meantime, work continued on the inside. The swing mount for the mid-coach TV that I bought from Newmar was installed. Danny Inman and the Tiffin folks were so impressed that I am sure there will be swing mounts on the mid-coach and outside TVs on the 2012 models. By lunch time (11:30), the Bus was ready to be moved out of the first half of the construction line and into the second phase.

After lunch, Suzanne decided to stay at the campground and entertain Dixie. I headed back to the plant as the coach was being moved to station 11 where workers installed all the bay doors just in time for the end of the work day (2:30) and a healthy rain shower. No problem, we are delighted with the fit and finish of the coach and with the absolutely terrific way the Tiffin family has treated us. Our every request has been met with total cooperation. We could not be happier with the experience so far and would recommend it to anyone.

Tomorrow, the coach moves to station 12 where the interior work begins in earnest. Thursday and Friday morning will see the coach virtually completed on the inside and outside. Friday afternoon it heads for the Belmont paint shop where it will be for most of next week. We will watch it all. Until tomorrow - Cheers from John, Suz and Dixie the Wonderdog!

P.S. don't forget to see all the photos at https://picasaweb.google.com/john.evansesp/110321BuildingTheBus#. Just cut the address and paste it into your browser.

Day 2 - Building the Bus

Before I start, let me say that I have decided to put our photos on my Picasa Web album instead of trying to upload them on the Blog. I can't add enough photos to the Bog to do justice to the process that we are witnessing. As such, I ask my friends to log on to our Web album at https://picasaweb.google.com/john.evansesp/110321BuildingTheBus?feat=directlink. I think this will work.

That having been said, Suz and I arrived at the plant at 7:00 am (that's right Suz and I) to see the transformation of a bare chassis to a finished motor home. When we arrived, the floor had been laid and they were preparing to lay the tile and carpet. Next, they installed the dashboard, all the while connecting what has to be miles and miles of electrical wiring.

The coach moved to the station 5 where the real transformation began. The interior cabinet modules were installed, including the toilet, the bathroom walls and cabinets, the shower and the washer and dryer. Then the inner back wall was installed, followed by the frame for the front of the coach. The passenger and driver's side walls were then installed followed by the cabinets above the dashboard. Other interior cabinets where also installed.

The coach then moved to Station 6 were the roof was brought over and attached to the sidewalls. The coach was really beginning to look like a motorhome! The workers then installed all the mechanisms for the slides and began the interior electronic finishing.

The coach then moved to station 7 where the fiberglass roof cap was put in place and the holes cut for the AC units, fans and satellite dishes (2). All the while, off to the driver's side of the plant, the four slides were being built and prepared for installation. The slides will be largely completed before they are installed. This will happen at Station 9, tomorrow. Before that, at station 8, also tomorrow, the AC units, satellite dishes and fans will be installed on the roof, and further interior work will be done. We will report the progress tomorrow! Until then, Cheers from John, Suz and Dixie the Wonderdog!

110321 The Build Begins!

Monday morning couldn't arrive soon enough! I was off to the Tiffin Plant at 5:30 am to see the first real day of the build. Grabbed a quick breakfast at Jack's then headed to the plant only to find that Mr. Tiffin now won't let non-workers in until 7:00 am. So I "cooled my heels" in the office talking to a couple of other new owners - learned some things in the process.

Seven-o-clock arrived and in we went. Our coach was just coming our of the welding shop, heading for the bay where the batteries are installed

and the wiring harnesses are routed throughout the chassis.

The boys worked diligently and by 9:00 am the coach headed for the Aqua Hot installation.

By 10:30 am it was into the queue to enter the plant, which it did just as the crew broke for lunch at 11:30 am.

Between 10:00 and 11:30, I took headed back to the campground and talked to the repair center cabinet shop about having some repairs done on the Phaeton. A worker came with me to the coach and the work was scheduled for sometime later this week. Back at the plant, I took a swing arm mount for our mid-coach TV over to the main cabinet shop to see if they could install it on our Bus instead of the fixed mount they normally use. The supervisor was very helpful and said they would be happy to so so.

As per an earlier agreement, I then raced back to the campground at 11:30 and picked up Suz and we grabbed a quick lunch at Jack's. Then it was back to the plant at 12:15. I gave Suz a quick orientation then we headed for our Bus. We watched the installation of the floors

in the bays,

the Magnum inverter/converter,

the water and waste tanks and all the piping connections (which I watched very closely - don't want any leaks here!), the wet bay accessories such as the hose reel, water filters, and so on. The folks on the line were very careful and did what I believe was a great job. They also installed the carpets in all the bays and the slideout tray.

During lulls in the above process, Suz and I headed over to the stations where our walls were being built.

That is an interesting process bringing together steel frameworks, foam insulation, interior finished walls and exterior fiberglass walls. The foam insulation is shaped by two huge robotic routers that cut the necessary channels in the foam for all the electrical wiring, outlets, etc.

The floor is made up of a steel structure with foam insulation in between.

All this was completed on day one and is now ready for the day two installation.

All during the day, we were free to ask the workers questions and watch every aspect of the build. The workers are extremely friendly and went out of their way to explain what they were doing and how things worked. Many asked if there was anything special we wanted them to do. Day two starts at 6:30 am tomorrow with the installation of the floors and tile, the bathroom modules the walls and the roof. Until then, Cheers from John, Suz and Dixie the Wonderdog!

Camp Red Bay

We arrived at "Camp Red Bay" on Saturday around 3:30 pm Central time. The campground has 90 full service sites and 10 water and electric only sites. At the present time, it is reaching capacity with only about 12 full service sites empty. I would expect that by Sunday evening, there will be no full service sites available.

We checked in to site 20 and were fully established by 4:30pm. We then went out for a quick meal at one of the few eateries in Red Bay - Gill's Grill. The food is passable and the prices are low. The total bill is also kept down by the fact that Franklin County, where Red Bay is located, is "dry".

Tomorrow (Monday) the fun begins as we will be at the plant watching the new Bus being built. Very excited about that! Today, we will tour the local area and visit the "Coon Dog Cemetery" plus other local attractions. After that, I will be watching the NCAA tournament - especially Washington/North Carolina. I am torn having graduated from Washington and taught at North Carolina! Tough choice.

Only one photo today, but get ready for the onslaught tomorrow and beyond. Until then, Cheers from John, Suz and Dixie the Wonderdog.

The Villages to Dothan

So here we are in Dothan (pronounced DOEthan), Alabama, one day away from Red Bay. We visited with Don and Dianne Rioux at The Villages last evening. We tried to go to the St. Patrick's Day celebrations at one of the town squares - what a total zoo! No parking within miles and thousands of golf carts. We wound up - where else - Applebees! Great meal and lots of fun with old friends.

Today we stopped in Gainesville to visit the Florida Natural Histroy Museum - more specifically the Butterfly Rain Forest. The exhibit is located in a large climate-controlled atrium with a living rain forest. It is part of a full scale butterfly breeding and nurturing facility and is spectacular. the atrium is full of beautiful butterflies and a few unique finches (that don't eat butterflies). The parking for motorhomes is "limited" to say the least, but we managed, and it was well worth the effort.

From there it was 200 or so miles across the unending panhandle to Dothan and a well deserved break. The Pecan Point RV Park is right on Hwy 231 and promises to be a somewhat noisy night. However, ....

We are looking forward to arriving in Red Bay and starting the build adventure. Until then, cheers from John, Suz and "Dixie the Wonderdog".

(Don't ask --- there is an Applebees in Dothan!)

Heading to Red Bay

We are leaving for Red Bay, Alabama, the home of the Tiffin Motorhome Corp., on March 17 to watch the building of our new 2011 Allegro Bus. The build starts on Friday, March 18 and is scheduled to finish on Monday, April 4. The Friday work is mainly in the welding shop, and we will not see that (Tiffin doesn't allow folks to view work in the welding shop for obvious reasons!) However, we are welcome to walk along with the coach as it moves through all the other steps in construction. We can even ask the workers questions and check on the integrity of the build. As such, we plan to watch it every step of the way from Monday morning, March 21, and post photos and commentary for our friends to share. See you at Camp Red Bay, then the chassis plant!