Matthew’s Road Trip – Day 6

Tuesday was a busy day.  Our goal of this trip was to get the damage from a roof leak repaired, get the 10K Atwood leveler rear jacks upgraded to 15K, fix a short in the central vacuum cleaner electrical system, and fix a chip in the edge of the kitchen counter. 

On Monday, we accomplished the vacuum cleaner repair, chip in the countertop, replaced one jack (because they only had one base plate!!) and they ordered the replacement roof.  They did place an overnight order on the base plate, but it did not come in on Tuesday!!

On Tuesday, they removed and replaced the roof section.  It was a bigger job than I thought.  Patsy took some pictures because I was at the factory with Duane to watch his Phaeton build and touring the other Tiffin facilities.  Here are some pictures of the job, with the first one showing the wood trim removed:

The roof is a composite of a metal roof, foam insulation, luan board, and foam-backed vinyl.  I expected them to leave the metal roof and remove only a part of the lower layers.  However, they had to remove the entire piece, which resulted in us being able to see the ceiling of the shop………..

Here’s a view from the outside with the new section waiting to be hoisted in place………

And, here are the Tech’s setting the section in place:

By 3:30PM, they had it all back together with only the cleanup needing to be done. 

Another job that we wanted to accomplish was to have a “couch cushion” installed by the Techs who work during the off hours ‘on the runway’.  Patsy had seen this cushion in someone’s else’s coach during a recent rally and wanted one for sitting on the coach while watching TV or reading.  Here’s a picture of it with the guy who made it……. Mr. D (aka Dudley Hall):

The following three (3) pictures show the cushion in place, ability to slide out for removal, and a side profile of the cushion.  Mr. D has modified the profile from previous designs, and I like it better.

Here’s a picture of Patsy enjoying her new seat!!

Regarding Duane’s coach, it went into the welding shop on Monday morning, and Duane got here about 9:30am on Monday.  We got to the factory in time to see it after it was all welded, painted with corrosion-proof coating, and wired.

Here are some pictures of Duane checking out his wired and corrosion-proofed chassis:

It is starting to get cold and rainy here.  On Thursday, we will get the second 15K jack installed, and that will finish up this visit.  I have made an appointment with a Front End Alignment facility in Florence. AL for 7:45AM on Friday morning.  This is an RV speciality that Tiffin uses on coaches with major problems.  I don’t have a problem that I know about, I just want it checked since it has 27,000 miles on it.  We will leave Red Bay on Thursday afternoon, and spend the night on the parking lot at the alignment shop. 

After that, we intend to drive to Little Rock, AR to visit Deanne.