RV Nerds

(Red Bay, AL: 11-14 May) Erin and John have started calling us "RV nerds". We mentioned to them that we were going to Red Bay, AL, the location of Tiffin Motorhomes, the maker of our RV, because "everyone says you have to go". When I was researching motorhome company's to determine which brand/company has the best reputation in the industry, I read and heard nothing but good things from this little family run company in Alabama. Their service-after-the-sale is legendary. Even if you are not the original owner they will work on your motorhome and do a quality job at a reasonable rate. When we would see other Allegro's or Tiffin models in campgrounds and talk to the owners, they would ask, "have you been to Red Bay"? They spoke of it in terms almost like pilgrims making the journey to Mecca.
So, we went. We worked up our "punch list" of items we wanted fixed; everything from "big deal" items, like the leak in our bathroom skylight that dripped water into the inside whenever it rained hard, and our awning that had a small rip that started shredding the entire fabric; to the not so big deal, like the variable speed exhaust fans that only worked at one speed and the soiled entry door handles we wanted replaced.
We found Red Bay (no small task) and checked into the Tiffin-Allegro Campground fully prepared for the wait "everyone" said was ahead of us, but willing to grind it out to have the experience of the Tiffin treatment. Now you have to understand that Red Bay is a small town in northwest Alabama, about 40 miles from Tupelo, MS (where Elvis was born). The population of Red Bay is 3374. The closest Wal-Mart is 25 miles away. The one McDonalds in town is in a gas station/minute-mart. And did I mention it is in Alabama? Hot, humid, Alabama. At the campground we were given a bunch of paper work to fill out and were directed to the overflow lot. As we made our way to our spot we saw row after row of Allegro's, Phaeton's, and Zephyr's (all the models Tiffin makes) in a large flat parking area probably covering the area of four football fields that reminded me of the ramp/apron area of an airport. Later I counted over 90 RVs in the holding pattern! Their service bay warehouse-building had over 50 service bays each with an RV in some stage of repair! Everywhere we looked we could see RV owners in various stages of waiting....walking their dogs, sitting in camp chairs reading, talking to their neighbors...all waiting their turn get serviced. We completed the paper-work turned it in and were informed that "someone will be by to see you in the next day or so". At that point we would know what kind of wait we were in for, but we already found out they were 3 weeks behind! The next day about 2 pm a good ole tobacco-chewin', juice-spittin' southern boy called D-Jay came by our spot in the red station wagon with the Tiffin logo on it I was told to look for. He had my paperwork, asked me a few questions, and in between dips, chews, and spits, informed me of my options. "I kin git ya into the Express Bay by Friday [this was Tuesday] but that's 2 boys workin' on yer rig for no more than 3 hours. They won't git all this-here done. Or ya kin wait here 3 weeks and we kin git ya in and they'll work on it till they git 'er all done." He paused to spit, "But ya need to git that skylight leak fixed. This here's thunderstorm season and that'll cause damage if ya don't git 'er fixed", he said. "Their is another option. McKinney RV is across the street. He and Bob Tiffin started this business 25 years ago. He broke off a while back and started his own place doin' repairs mostly and sellin' new rigs... (If you're not the boss, you're just workin' for the man...know what I mean?) He does good work. Most of his boys come from here. Same rates as we have. He could get ya in probably tomorrow. Hop in the car, we'll go for a ride." I took the ride and met Theron McKinney, the owner. They could get me in the next day, if I had it in their driveway at 7 a.m.
We balked at the early hour (spoiled as we are by our new routine) but we took that option. A while after dropping the rig off for repairs we took the tour of the Tiffin plant. Very impressive. I can see how Tiffin has built the reputation they have for a quality product. McKinney was able to get all the work done on our list by 3 p.m. when I brought Joy over for the inspection. They passed.
We had been scouting out things to do in an around Red Bay, just in case we had to do the longer wait. We're a little disappointed that we didn't get the true taste of the Tiffin experience, but we were thankful to get everything done and be one our way inside of 4 days. We were especially thankful that we didn't get so desperate in our wait that we had to visit the Coon Dog Cemetery!