Update from Camp Tiffin & Trevor’s Mods

Wednesday, 6 February
Camp Tiffin — Red Bay, Alabama
Temps: Lo 47F / Hi 70F (8C / 21C)

(If you’ve come to the post just to see the mods, scroll past the up-front text.)

It’s kind of sad when you see a bunch of Tiffins on their way to the service bays streaming past you and you’re sitting tight because you didn’t get the “call.”  Sniff, sniff.

I’m jesting of course, since we’ve had two days of bay-work done already.  Actually, I’m enjoying just sitting here on another blue-sky day — our third such day in a row, and it’s already up to 57F (14C) at 9:30a.  We certainly can’t complain about the weather, especially now that the nighttime temps have warmed up.  They even turned on the water yesterday (not that being without a water hook-up was a problem).

No sooner did I write the above that Craig, the tile guy, came by.  We’re  now pulled up to his work area and I’m continuing this post from our location adjacent to Bay 46.

It’s nice that we can stay in the coach while the guys do their thing.  We’re hooked up to power, so I can even finish drying the clothes I’d thrown into the washer ;-)

Continuing from where I left off …

Looks like we’ve earned our Red Bay “Star!”

Our first service day was Monday, February 4th.  We reported to Bay 10, which turned out to be a generalist work area where they replaced the driver’s window (appointment item) and took care of a whole bunch of other stuff that was on our list.  The next day, we reported to two separate bays — first, to the welding shop to have the levelers replaced (appointment item); and next to the wet bay shop to have the floor replaced (recall item).  But I’ll write about all that separately.

I mentioned in my previous post that we used the services of Trevor Nichols (of Nichols Customs) for a few small mods.  A former Tiffin craftsman, he is familiar with all of the coaches, and we are pleased with the work he did.

Dashboard Cover

In addition to re-binding the slide carpet (photos here), we asked Trevor to make us a custom dashboard cover to protect the vinyl.  He offered two color options, laid out the one we selected and cut a rough outline, took it to his shop to bind it, and returned the next morning to install it.  Here they refer to the fabric as felt, but it’s more like a thin carpet-like material without the rubber backing.  The cover is held in place by the vents, so no slip sliding around.

Having done a lot of these dashboard covers, it doesn’t take Trevor long to do a rough cut.

Installation is done in a jiffy, too.

The finished look.
the cover is held in place by the two vents, which he removed before the installation
and then screwed back in place once the cover was in position.

Entry Mat and Step Covers

Next, we had Trevor make us a contoured entry mat that goes between the cockpit seats and all the way under the gas/brake pedals.  He offered a choice of black or brown carpet with no-slip backing.  We chose black since our living/dining area rug has black in it.  The entry mat comes with matching inside step covers.  Small strips of velcro helps keep everything in place.  All of this will help with the dirt that seems to get tracked in no matter what.

Left: temporary step covers Mui fashioned out of carpet remnants;
they served us well for two years, but they were in dire need of replacement.

Right: our new step covers and a glimpse of the entry mat.

The floor mat as seen from the living area.

The contoured portion around the steering area.

As I noted before, we are pleased with the work Trevor did for us, and would not hesitate to recommend him.  He also installs adjustable lumbar support in the cockpit seats, and does the LED change-out using fixtures with wood trim.  We did not avail ourselves of those services, but thought I’d mention them for anyone who might be interested in that kind of work as well.  Trevor does not have a website, but he can be reached at 662-279-4461.