Here we are, on the road: Back in Red Bay, Alabama

Sunday, November 3, 2013 Lorraine’s report

Hello from back at Red Bay, Alabama. Well, we left Saturday; yep, all finished, ready to head out west again. But then...a nasty O I L leak, so back we came to Red Bay , AL. The oil was all over the back of the rig and the car was covered, too.

Well, Chuck is explaining all the stuff we had done on our rig, so I will just say, it was hard to be up so early for them to do the work. You have to be up and ready for them to work on it by 6:50 am. They start out early so they can go home early in the afternoon, before the heat here in the south.

They do it year round, and it was cold, wet, and windy this past week. I was happy when we finished up fairly early, since Chuck was pro active for our getting our list done. We hadn't been here in Red Bay, AL for four years and had lots that needed to be worked on.

We met some really nice people here again. One couple we met was Tim & Peggy. We met them several years ago at Bay Diesel, and we met them there again this time. They are from Albuquerque, NM.

We parked by Roy & Cheryl from Florida, as well as Dave & Donna from Tennessee. All nice people. Dave & Donna invited us to go visit them on our way west.

Tonight we went over to Jag & Bev's for dinner with them as well as Greg & Mandy, whom are from Seattle, and Mark & Chris, from Canada, who came in with their new coach, a 2013 rig that broke down on their way from Canada. They had been to England to see his mom and had their rig parked outside while they were gone. They came back from England, and found one of the four slides filled with water, so they were coming to get it fixed when the serpentine belt froze up after the water pump or something broke, on their way down here in the US in Kentucky. Dinner was nummy, thanks you Jag & Bev.

Last night, we had gone on our way up to Hohenwald, TN to meet other friends, Susan & Bill and Larry & Gail. We got there and Susan said the group was going to the campground pot luck Thanksgiving dinner Thousand Trails was putting on. We went and found out that there were about 300 to 350 people who showed up for the dinner. Wow, what a group. Thousand Trails did the Turkey and ham for dinner and asked everyone to bring everything else. It was a great meal!!

Sorry, Susan & Bill & Gail & Larry that we couldn't stay with you all, but we have to take care of the leaking oil. We wish all you guys safe travels as you head south to Florida. It was nice to see you all again, see you next year.

So I guess that's it for me. I sure hope all is okay with the rig and I hope it doesn't take for ever getting the rig fixed.

See you down the road...

Hugs to all,

Lorraine

11/3/13 Chuck’s report

As the title of this post says, we are BACK in Red Bay. We actually left for awhile but had to return to get some rework done on the engine of the coach, more on that later.

Let’s see, we wrote our blog on Saturday last week, early for us; and this week we traveled on Sunday morning so it will be late. But we are working on getting it out soon.

Last Sunday our friends Jag and Bev were coming into Red Bay to get some work done on their coach. Lorraine made up a nice pork roast for dinner and we invited them over to partake with us. They accepted and we had a good visit with them, it’s been awhile. They had two long travel days to get here and were tired so we called it a night shortly after we ate.

Monday we were called to report to the weld shop to have the hydraulic line for the jack replaced. After they got it in the air they found three of the four lines had been routed too close to the muffler and were damaged. I also talked with the tech and foreman for the express bay we had working on our slide last week. We found the roller they had used to adjust the slide was broken, not saying they broke it but they did use to to make adjustments on Friday and we found it was broken on Friday evening. Anyway, the foreman said we would not have to go back on the waiting list but they would get us back in on our schedule.

But our schedule had us taking the coach over to the body/paint shop on Monday afternoon so it would not be exposed to the nighttime dew, instead it would be nice and dry and they could start work at 6 am on Tuesday. We could have stayed in it overnight but it was in a paint booth, inside a closed up building. We elected to spend the night in a motel instead. We found one in Fulton, Mississippi, about 25 miles away, not much in Red Bay. Unfortunately the room has a smell from whatever cleaning materials they used. So we ran over to a store and bought a bottle of Febreeze and a candle, made it better, we should have stayed at the Holiday Inn Express but they don’t allow pets there.

We met Jag and Bev in Fulton, they were staying in the Holiday Express because their coach was in a bay overnight too, and went to dinner with them. We found a BBQ place they had heard about and it was good. Back in our room we watched the Seattle Seahawks play the St. Louis Rams on Monday night football. The Seahawks played a crappy game but still managed to pull out a win somehow.

Next morning we headed back to Red Bay, had to check out the coach in the body/paint shop first. Everything was going good there so we made a trip to Tiffin’s paint shop in Belmont, Mississippi, where they paint all their new coaches. While we were there, we got a call from the body/paint place telling us they thought we would have to leave our coach in the bay overnight again, due to some possible rain coming in. So we headed back to talk with them, by the time we got back, the skies had cleared up and the forecast was more sunny and no rain until Thursday afternoon. So they were able to finish and we were able to put the coach back in our site and stay in it that night, yea.

We also got a call to report to the wet bay floor repair bay at 6:50 on Wednesday morning, another early start. But we needed to get this done so we were there, ready, before the doors opened at 7:00. They had to disconnect all the plumbing and wiring and remove the fresh water tank. In order to do that, they also had to use a small jack to lift the black and grey tanks out of the way. I wasn’t too sure about how everything would hold up to that amount of movement but they have done this to over 1400 coaches already so they assured me everything would be OK.

Sure enough, about three hours later they were finished, filled the fresh water tank and nothing leaked, yea. I had been working with the foreman in the express bay and he was ready for us to pull in there as soon as we were finished here.

While we were in this bay, I got the tile repair guy to come into the coach and fix three tiles that had lifted a bit. He managed to route the grout out, install a thin grout and get the tiles back in place. He put a screw in place to hold them down overnight and would finish the repair on that in the morning. Good deal, we are almost done here.

The express bay techs had a real tough time getting the old roller out and the new one installed, it looked like they might have to pull the whole slide out to gain access. But finally they were able to break off a couple of screws used to hold the old one in place and get it out. But now they had to figure out to get the new one installed and held in place. But together we came up with a workable solution and by 3:30 we were out of there and back to our site again.

We had met a couple who were getting work done here also and were parked near us so we asked them if they wanted to have dinner with us that night. So we headed to the only steak restaurant in town and had a good dinner and visit with Dave and Donna. They have a place in Tennessee and invited us to stay at their place anytime we happened to be in the area, a very nice offer that we may take them up on someday.

However, while we were setting up, I noticed we had a water leak somewhere in the wet bay, shoot. All the work they had done must have broken something loose, I figured.

Thursday we headed over to Bay Diesel, a place that works on the engine and such. When we were inside the paint shop, we noticed we had an antifreeze leak coming from the engine somewhere. So we made arrangements to have them check it out. They got it up on the lift and found we had a bad wire braided hose, it had a soft spot and two small holes, looked about like a snake bite.

They also found we had a small oil leak but couldn’t tell if it was coming from the front oil seal or from the timing cover. To change the front seal, they had to pull the timing cover so I told them just go ahead and do both. I also wanted to put new serpentine belts on, we were still running with the original, 6 1/2 year old ones.

While we were there we met a couple, Tim and Peggy, we had met there last time we were here, four years ago. They are from Albuquerque and just happened to be back in the area for work on their coach too. Small world, four years later and we were both back at the same shop getting work done on our rigs.

Finally they finished putting the new front seal and timing cover on and we headed back to our site. It had rained all day and was a miserable day and we were glad to be back and almost done with all the work we needed/wanted done.

While they were working our on coach I drove back to the Tiffin Service place and talked with the techs in the wet bay floor repair about our leak. They said they could get us back in at 10 am on Friday when I was getting some Diamond shield replaced in the next bay. Diamond shield is a heavy film we had installed on the front of our rig the first time we were back here. It helps to reduce rock chips and such and for sure makes cleaning the bugs off the front much easier. The body shop guys had to remove a section to repair a small area on the fiberglass just under the front headlights.

Friday, before we headed over to the Diamond Shield bay, we took the coach back to the body shop where they repaired our roof access ladder that’s mounted on the back of the rig. He had lots of parts and pieces and had no problem making the repair. We’ve had real good luck with this body/paint place, Bruce Deaton’s in Red Bay.

Then we drove into the Diamond Shield bay and had the fresh water tank pulled out again. The found the inlet pipe had a crack and was able to cut it out and plastic weld in the new piece and were finished in just a couple of hours. The tile guy also removed the screw he had put in place to hold the tile down and the Diamond Shield guy did his thing too. While all this was going on, I made another run to the parts store here to get more spare parts I wanted to carry. I hope the fact I have the spare parts means I will never need them too.

Now it was time to head to the office and pay for our repairs we had done here. I figured most of them should be covered by Tiffin, such as the wall that was bowed and caused the slide out to not close properly. But they had put all the hours and parts on the bill. I asked to see the supervisor to discuss these and he agreed on a couple of the biggest items but not all. For example, he wouldn’t pay for the HWH hose repair we had done but it wasn’t that much so I didn’t fight it. By the end of it all, we got our of there for about half of what I figured it might be. I was pleased, a 6 1/2 year old coach and we were still getting warranty work done. By the way, most of the work we had done at the body/paint shop was covered under warranty to, good deal for us.

Around noon we were done with all the work, repairs and rework and back in our site. We had made arrangements to meet with Jag and Bev for dinner with a two other couples at the Mexican place in Belmont. We ended up with 5 couples and were surprised to see Doug and Nada there too. We had met them in Hershey, PA. back in 2010, corresponded with them a few time but didn’t know they were going to be with the group. It was good to see them and Greg and Mandy who we’ve known for 4 or 5 years too. Plus we also met a new couple, Al and Peggy, and will be on the lookout for them in the coming years.

Our plans when we left Red Bay was to head to Little Rock on the first night out. However, on Friday evening we were discussing heading to 1000 Trails in Hohenwald, TN. to see some of our friends from Lewis and Clark Chapter. They are on a lengthily tour back East, we saw them a few weeks ago when we were in Ohio and they are not planning on being back to the West until spring/summer of 2015.

So Saturday morning we got ready for travel and headed North. I was a bit low on fuel but we decided to see what the prices were like in either Mississippi or Tennessee and by the time we found a good place to fuel up we were in Hohenwald. We traveled up the Natchez Trace from near Belmont all the way up, a very pretty drive. This is a two lane road with a 50 MPH limit and no trucks are allowed. We have driven this stretch of the Trace before and its always been a nice drive with hardly any traffic. This time the trees were turning and it made it even better that what we have seen before. We have always seen deer and turkey but this time we only saw one turkey and one squirrel however.

When we stopped for fuel, I did my normal walk around to make sure everything was ok. But when I got to the back of the coach I saw we had developed an oil leak, a big one at that. I quickly shut down the engine and checked the oil level, it was low. The engine holds 36 quarts of oil and we were down three quarts after driving for about 2 hours and about 100 miles.

To my eye, the leak appeared to be in the same area where they had replaced the main seal and timing cover at the shop on Thursday. I called Chris at the shop, he happened to be in on Saturday and he asked if we could fill it with oil and drive back to his place, checking the oil occasionally on the trip back. I carry a gallon of oil with me and only had about 1 quart left to add along the way but knew I could get more if needed so we agreed to head back to Red Bay on Sunday and get it looked at on Monday morning.

We drove on over to the 1000 Trails park, got checked in and went over to where our friends were staying. We lucked out and got a site right next to them that had full hookups and we were able to get satellite reception through the trees too. The only problem was the sewer was about 30’ from the coach but we had just emptied the tanks before leaving so I figured I would just back the coach up and empty the tank in the morning when we left, no problem.

So we were visiting with Bill/Susan and Larry/Gail. As luck would have it, the campground was having a Thanksgiving pot luck dinner that night, they were supplied all the meat and everyone was supposed to bring a dish of their choice. Lorraine quickly made up a salad for our contribution.

The pot luck was supposed to start at 6, we went over about 5:30 and found at least 100 folks already set up and waiting in line. We quickly got in line, saving spots for our friends. Lorraine called them and they came right over and a few minutes later they opened the pot luck.

There must have been over 300 folks there for dinner and everyone got all they wanted. There was plenty of everything except for mashed potatoes and apple pie and a few other deserts. Everything was good, including the company. We talked with a couple of folks from the area, they welcomed us and made us feel right at home. And boy are there some good cooks in that crowd. I can say none of us left hungry for sure.

After we got back to the coach, Bill and Susan stopped by to visit for awhile then we got ready for yet another travel day, this time returning to Red Bay.

Next morning, after the one hour time change, we were ready to leave shortly after 9 or so. We hung around with our friends for a bit then headed back down the Natchez Trace, once again seeing all the colors. I don’t think we saw any animals on the return trip but it still was a very pretty trip none-the-less.

We got in about noon at the same place we have been, Detail Depot across the street from Tiffin Service Center. Our friends from Canada, Mark and Chris, had already taken possession of our site, but they were happy to assist us in getting backed into a different site. Soon we were able to visit with Mark and Chris and see their new 45’ Tiffin Allegro Bus, very, very nice.

They are from Canada and this was the initial trip for them and they had a water pump seize up on the engine and break/burn the serpentine belt. This caused all the lights, bells and buzzers to go off and they were able to get to the side of the road and check things out. They called Tiffin to get their suggestions and they worked with them to get them into a local repair shop and parts for them. They were back on the road in under 24 hours, getting to Red Bay a couple of hours after we had left on Saturday, missed them by that much so it was good to see them.

Jag walked over to check out our issues and invited us to their place for dinner later, we accepted. For dinner there was Jag/Bev of course, Mark/Chris, Greg/Mandy and Lorraine/me. Once again, we had a good meal and a very good visit. The guys were talking tech stuff WAY over my head so mostly I just listened and asked stupid questions. The gals were over at the table and the conversation seemed to be going on there pretty strong too. All too soon it was time to call it a day and head back to our place.

And that’s when we started working on our blog, late Sunday. Soon my eyelids were slamming shut, I was still on daylight savings time and not used to the extra hour. I called it a day and went to bed, Lorraine followed shortly thereafter.

Monday morning we were up and headed back to Bay Diesel to get the oil leak repaired. Seeing as how they already had folks scheduled, we had to wait almost 1 1/2 hours to get into the bay where they soon established the problem was indeed the newly installed seal leaking.

They had to spent over an hour cleaning things up before they started to tear things apart to get to the seal. After they came back from lunch the finished tightening/torqueing the bolts and putting things together and I took it out for a test drive. When I got back, there was no sign of a leak, yea. They put the rest of the stuff back on and suggested I go for another short test drive before signing off that all was OK. I drove to Red Bay and back, about 5 miles or so and pulled back in the bay, no sign of any leak.

Lorraine called about then and said she had the guys waiting to wash our coach as soon as I could get back there. I walked over to the coach and what did I see but two drops of oil under the engine. The tech came over and checked, took off the belts and such and sure enough, the latest seal installation was leaking now. So here I sit, in the coach, while the owner is working on the seal. They are talking that maybe they have gotten a bad batch of seals and may send someone to the parts place to get a new one, not take it out of their supply here.

I worked at the refinery in the operations department but worked with the maintenance guys a lot. It was not unusual for them work on something correctly but have to redo it, sometimes more than once. I guess it didn’t bother me that much that they had to redo something as long as they had a good attitude about it and try to make it right and that’s what they did on this job.

I was supposed to stop by the wet bay floor bay at Tiffin to have the guys make a check for us and we have the guys waiting to wash our coach back at the place where we are staying but neither of those things will happen today. I had called a campground in Little Rock for three nights stay starting Saturday but changed that when we decided to go to Hohenwald. I had to call them again today to let them know we wouldn’t be in tonight but would plan on tomorrow, if we don’t have any more issues here. So right now, our plan is to finish up here, head back to our site, spend the night then run over to the wet bay floor bay in the morning before we get on the road. Wish us luck!

The weather this past week has really been a mixed bag. We had a good rain storm go through all day Thursday and into the night, probably made it tough on the kids who were out trick or treating. Most of the other days we had sun at least part of the day, high temperatures getting into the high 60s for the most part. We had two clear nights when there was some frost on the pumpkins and other cloudy nights when the temperatures only dropped into the 50s. We’ve had some nice afternoons/early evenings and had to wear a light jacket in the mornings and late evenings.

Our travel plans are the same as we had last week, we will start heading towards California, keeping on I-40 and watching the weather forecasts. If we have to head South and get on I-10, that’s just fine too. But we will be keeping to our plan on being with Susy and Katie by Thanksgiving.

And now to add some pictures to this.

Two workers removing and re-installing the floor of the wet bay.