Home, Saturday, June 8, 2013

On the road by 7am and heading home.  We continued our travels on I-81 to Hagerstown, Md.and then we worked our way over familiar back roads to Taneytown at 3:10pm and 411 miles.  We only stopped for fuel and then just ate a snack in a mall parking lot in Winchester, Va.  We were pleasantly surprised to see that we have new neighbors in a house that has been for sale for a couple of years.  We are feeling somewhat tired tonight.  It was a long travel day and then we had the chore of getting the motorhome in the driveway and bringing items from the motorhome into the house.  But it is good to be home for a spell.
I forgot to mention that we had rain last night in Bluff City, Tn.  This morning Tom found that the leak around the door is still there.  We have been to Red Bay twice for this problem and it still exists.  Upsetting!!

Bluff City, Tennessee, Friday, June 7, 2013

A few minutes past 7am we were on the road traveling east to Huntsville and then northeast to Chattanooga, Tennessee on to Knoxville.  East of Knoxville we got on I-81 the route that will take us through Virginia, West Virginia and then Maryland.  We have now crossed back into Eastern time zone again.  We are in a campground in Bluff City, Tn., Lakeview RV Park, which is close to the Bristol Speedway.  We drove 429 miles today.  How nice it was not to have the sharp clicking noise that we had experienced on this trip.  Tony, the Tiffin tech, did a great job using resources to find the cause of the noise and then seeing that it was corrected.  Tomorrow we will continue up I-81 and, hopefully, will be home by evening.

Second Day in Bay 6, Thursday, June 6, 2013

Again today we were in Bay 6 with Tony, the RV tech.  The goal today was to find the source of a noise in the front of the motorhome on the passenger side.  We have been hearing this noise for sometime and it has been getting more noticeable, especially on rough roads.  First thing we along with Tony went out on a test ride in order for him to hear the noise.  Then he tried tightening up the window shades  and added some caulking and another test drive and the noise continued.  Tony consulted with cabinet experts and they went out on a test drive  applying some additional screws in the cabinets in that area but that was not the answer.  So more coverings were removed in that corner and then Tony’s boss went along for a test ride and found a metal frame was the cause of the noise.  The 2 guys that do wind shield replacement got involved.  More test drives.  The metal frame causing the problem should have had 5 screws securing it in place but there was only 1 screw which the head was no longer on.

From Dropbox

  Trying to figure out how to put screws in place was a problem and thought perhaps the windshield may need to be removed in the morning.  But after much trying they finally were able to get the screws in place.  A last test drive confirmed that the problem was solved.  We were at last finished and would be able to leave and the workday had ended for the Tiffin workers.  We are staying tonight and will leave in the morning.

Tiffin Service Center, Wednesday, June 5, 2013

At 6:50am we were in Bay 6 ready to have some work done on the motorhome.  We had a list of things that needed to be dealt with.  Our tech, Tony, seemed a little slow getting started but that is always the way here.  The first problem was the steps and it was found that the arm that had broken was not the only problem but something with the step motor (gears were stripped) so we had to have a whole new step assembly installed.  While Tony was  dealing with that problem another tech, Chris, started to look at our big slide in the front and found that the gear box had teeth broken off and stop bolts had not been installed at the factory.

From Dropbox

From Dropbox

(This was the slide that had been taken out last July and new flooring installed but the problem with the lack of stop bolts were not seen then.  Luckily, a loud bang (teeth being stripped, probably) occurred just yesterday, and not the day after we were gone from here, when extending the slide that caused us to ask questions about what was going on with the slide.)  The water leak in the stair well was thought to be a caulking, or lack of, issue so Tony took care of that along with replacing a taillight that had moisture in it.  Another team of 2 workers replaced the noisy fan in the bedroom.  And then the black tank flusher was checked out with a new no-flow valve installed but then they had to, as a last resort, break into the black tank and take out the spray nozzle to drill larger holes in it.  Tom said the spray nozzle had pinholes so it is no wonder that that becomes clogged.  By the end of the workday we were feeling good about all that had got done today.  We still have a noise in the right front corner that is of concern.  Tomorrow, Tony will test drive the motorhome in order to assess the problem and, hopefully, find a solution to it.

Second Day in Red Bay, Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Day 2 at Camp Red Bay.  How lucky are we??  Since our appointment here is not until tomorrow and this place is busting at the seams we did not have anything done in the Tiffin service bays today.  Not only is this campground filled but folks are in other campgrounds in the area waiting for service.  We feel real fortunate to have a campsite at this location.  Tom had made an appointment at Bay Diesel for chassis lube and oil and filter changes prior to getting here so this afternoon we had that taken care of.  Bay Diesel is a mile or 2 from here so it is real convenient.  We did get a call this evening telling us that we are scheduled to be in Bay 6 at 6:50 am tomorrow- let the games begin. 

Red Bay, Alabama, June 3, 3013, Monday

This morning we were up real early for Tom- must to have been due to windows being open and the sun shining in.  So we were able to get on the road a before 7:30am and continued our travels south on I-65 for the  five remaining miles in Kentucky and then through Tennessee into Alabama.  In the vicinity of Decatur we turned west on state route 24 that goes right to Red Bay- 235 miles today.  We were here before noon and once we got checked in at the Tiffin Allegro campground we then went to the local Mexican restaurant for lunch.  The restaurant choices in this town are so limited- Mexican restaurant, Piggly-Wiggly lunch counter, a fast food place and a restaurant that looks nice on the outside but food there lacks. We comment that the best place to eat is the Piggly-Wiggly.   We are here once again for work on our motorhome and we do have an appointment for Wednesday and plan to stay no longer than Friday.  We just relaxed this afternoon, took a walk and then made a run to the grocery store for milk.

Kentucky, June 2, 2013, Sunday

This morning we left Van Buren, Ohio traveling south on I-75 on through Ohio and then into Kentucky.  We stopped in Elizabethtown for lunch at a Cracker Barrel, then refueled  at a Pilot station before ending our travels today (402 miles) at Franklin, Kentucky, 5 miles from the Tennessee border.  The time zone has changed once again for us from Eastern to Central- we gained an hour today.  We have not had any rain so far today but the clouds have been heavy off and on today.  We are staying in the Bluegrass Music RV Park.  Tomorrow we will continue to Red Bay, Alabama and the Tiffin campground.

Tom’s High School Reunion, June 1, 2013, Saturday

Today was a busy day.  We went to the American Legion in North Baltimore, Ohio for a lunch with the 50 year club of North Baltimore High School.  Tom’s class was the honored guest since this year marked their 50 year anniversary.  There were about 20 of the 46 classmates in attendance.

In the evening we went to Findley, Ohio for a dinner at Waldo Peppers restaurant with Tom’s classmates and guests.  Everyone that attended the lunch plus a few more were there.  A nice meal served buffet style was enjoyed and then the reminiscing and visiting filled the next several hours.  It is always nice to reconnect with the past.