Service Bay 10: This and That

Camp Tiffin — Red Bay, Alabama

(Although these are all maintenance items rather than mods, I’m posting this on our Mods page.)

Our first day of service at the Allegro Tiffin Service Center was on Monday, February 4.  That was the day of our “appointment” for two specific items.  In addition, we came to Red Bay armed with a list of “fix-its” that included, amongst other things, non-appointment recall items.

(The photo to the right shows just a small number of the 49 service bays here.)

By the way, the appointment system has now changed.  In fact, we got in right under the wire before the new policy went into effect.  Now, only those within two years of purchase can make an appointment.  From what I understand, the policy change was necessitated because appointments were being taken up by owners of older rigs, leaving new owners trying to get things fixed within their warranty period high and dry.  Time will tell how the new policy will work out.

In the meantime, on to our experience.

Reporting for service at the appointed time.

When we checked in on Saturday, we were given our bay assignment and asked to pull up to Bay 10 at 6:45a on Monday.  We dutifully did so.  When the work shift started at 7:00a, the door rolled open on the dot of the hour.  (There is a short break at 9:00a; lunch is from 11:20a to noon; and the work day ends at 3:00p.)

The door rolls open …

… and we get our first glimpse of a Tiffin service bay.

After we pulled in, Chad, the service tech assigned to the bay, came aboard the coach to discuss our list and add a few more items that we wanted to include.  In the process, we learned that Bay 10 is a generalist bay.  Not only did they replace the fogged up driver’s side window, they also took care of many of our non-appointment items here.

Leaving Mui to schmooze with the service guys and watch over them, I retreated to the customer lounge adjacent to Bay 10.  Since I could pick up our own internet signal there despite the thick wall, I intended to catch up on my blog reading.  Instead, I found myself chatting with Maria and Nigel, a British couple.  They’ve been spending 6 months of the year in Florida for 10+ years and decided to get a motorhome so they can see the rest of the US in bits and pieces over the coming years.  They’ll get going as soon as they are “released” from Camp Tiffin … just like us ;-)

The Customer Lounge; in the unseen corner to the left is a TV.

A place to eat, work puzzles (several to choose from), or play a game or two of Mexican Train.

I’m not going to do a play by play of all the maintenance items that were taken care of on this first day … but here’s a list and some photos for those interested in such things.

#1 — Replace the driver’s window, which had fogged up because of a busted seal (appointment item).  The window got so bad that it was actually filled with water between the panes — yup, could have had our own little aquarium in it.  Mui ended up breaking the outer pane last September just so he could drive the coach.

The replacement window that we had pre-ordered in January was ready and waiting, and the installation was a cinch.

Going, going …

… Gone!

Good riddance — that old window is right where it belongs … in the trash!

Here comes the new and improved driver’s window.

#2 — Replace the driver’s window MCD night shade (damaged by a small drilling accident way back when).

The timing was good to get this done since the shade had to come down to replace the window.  The shades come as a set — black day shade and white night shade — so both were replaced.

A new window deserves new window treatments!

#3 — Check and replace slide seals (as necessary).

It turns out that the seals are in good condition, and the only one that needed to be replaced was the one that had pulled away from the top of the front driver’s side slide.

Tricks of the Trade: Wipe down the side of the slide with Windex; it will ensure the seals move in and out as they should without being caught on the edge of the slide … seems to be working for the new seals; will have to wipe down the other slides as well to test this tip.

With the slide topper rolled back, the seals on the slide are quickly replaced.

#4 — Check the front driver’s side slide for weight and electric motor sufficiency.

It turns out that we’re OK on this.  The motor has sufficient torque for the weight of the slide.  A minor adjustment eliminated the horrible ratcheting sound the slide was making when it was being pulled in.

#5 — Adjust the slide roller so that it doesn’t scratch the tile (recent development).

This was a matter of removing the roller and replacing the existing riser screws with longer ones.  Craig, the tile guy, was able to clean the scratch with a 3M product, so the tile looks as good as new.

The offending slide roller.

With the adjustment made, the roller is ready to be put back in place.

Note the scratch (black line at the top edge of the slide flap); the tile guy was able
to remove it with a 3M spot finishing solution … good as new now.

#6 — Check driver’s side slide floor for rot (recall item).

Got lucky on this one; we don’t have a problem … at least not yet.

#7 — Fix where water comes in on the floor when the front driver’s side slide is pulled in.  (The amount of water coming in was miniscule, so this wasn’t a major problem.)

They ran a bead of silicone where they think water was accumulating and seeping in; will know if this has solved the problem after we pull in the slides following a good soaking rain (hopefully while we’re still in Red Bay).

After cleaning the slide with denatured alcohol, Dustin runs a bead of silicone along
the edge of the slide to stop water from coming inside when the slide is pulled in.

#8 — Clean up rust spots along the inside edge of the basement doors.

A quick and easy steel brush buff and a spray of Krylon BBQ & Stove paint did the trick on this.

#9 — Fix the alignment of some of the basement doors.

Minor adjustments took care of this.

#10 — Repair small tear in the vinyl wall in the door entry.

Done in a jiffy.  The repair is not perfect — I don’t think vinyl repairs ever are — but the tear won’t get bigger.

#11 — Fix the kitchen island pull-out hesitancy.

It turns out that a screw had come loose at the back end of the slide mechanism; no wonder considering some of the roads we travel on.  Mui was happy to have someone else do the heavy lifting required to remove the island to get this problem fixed.

#12 — Repair the co-pilot seat base.

Couple of screws did the trick to fix the base.

#13 — Buff the Corian counters throughout the coach.

Buffing the counters with a 3M solution worked to remove some of the scratches, but not all.  At this stage, we don’t think it’s worth the $400 cost to enclose the area with plastic sheeting to sand down the counter and then polish it again to get rid of all of the scratches; maybe another time.

The corian counters get a light buffing with a 3M product called Finesse-It.

The one area where we had a particularly nasty scratch did get sanded and polished.

In addition to all this, they checked …

• the wet bay floor (recall item) and determined it needs to be replaced
• the roof rails (recall item) and determined they need to be replaced

Some of the other things on our list will require us to go to bays designated for specific types of work.

And so the story of our days at the Allegro Tiffin Service Center continues …