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!