This will be mainly of interest to Rvers and others who follow my Perils of Paul series. With any property one is inclined to accumulate minor failures which are more aggravation than serious failures, what I call show stoppers. This will also function as a reminder to me of what has been done that I can take off my list.

We left Colton RV rather dissatisfied with the way work was not completed on a timely basis and some jobs were missed altogether. Given that and other needs we determined to spend some time in Red Bay AL where our motorhome was built. Not only is there a factory service center, but there are many vendors who have worked in the factory and have set up their own repair and modification shops in the area. The ecosystem for Tiffin built RVs is deep and strong.

We arrived on Tuesday before Thanksgiving and found the place almost deserted. Many people from the Northeast make a pilgrimage to Red Bay on their way to Florida. During the “migration” it is hard to get a place to stay and the wait for first-come-first served access to service can be weeks. Nobody, well very few people, wanted to spend four days in a campground with all the service facilities closed. We planned on that. The first surprise was on arrival on Tuesday I called Chris Berry, cabinet maker, to let him know we were in town and he showed up to get the work done within two hours. He got most of the work of replacing worn latches in what I thought was an unreachable space done in 30 minutes and carted off a drawer that needed resurrecting. When he returned with the drawer I mentioned that the design of the cabinet with the trash pail was a nuisance, first one had to open the door then reach in and pull out the slide holding the pail. Two actions where one should be sufficient. Within 15 minutes he had dismounted the door and mounted it to the front of the slideout with the pail. It is taking us some getting used to having it be so simple now.

Next up was the service bay, with no advance notice they called for us to get the coach into a service bay “now”. It was a scramble but we got there and the step cover switch was replaced and the paperwork for mechanical service was forwarded to a different bay for service on Monday. They start work at 7 AM so we were ready for the call when it came at 8. Oops and oops. They noted propane leaking from the regulator so I had to return to see them demonstrate the leak and authorize the replacement. Next the turn signal mechanism needed to be replaced but they didn’t have that specific part anyplace in Red Bay. I drove the coach back to the campsite with no turn signals. It is a small town and everyone knows where you are going anyhow. The defroster now also works.

But there is more! That night the temperature was headed into the low 20’s and we knew we would be dependent on the propane furnaces to keep us warm and the water system from freezing. It was working fine when we went to sleep. At 3 AM I noted it was getting cold. The furnace was running but blowing cold air. I turned on the gas range to see that there was propane flowing. . . there wasn’t. The tank gauge showed half a tank. We learned in the morning when we returned to the bay that the gauge was stuck. I should have noticed that it had not changed in a week, but we had not been using the furnaces. Anyhow I filled the tank and still could not get things to light. Back to the bay again. During his diagnosis Jesse had loosened a connection and had failed to tighten it. Now with heat and hot water we parked next to the bay to wait for the delivery of our turn signal mechanism which arrived as promised and works as promised and we happily headed back to Red Bay Acres to wait a day to have four new slide toppers installed. These awnings have been exposed to the elements for 8 years and were looking really shabby.

When we had a house we had similar failures, water heaters, furnaces, garage doors all failed, but no one took that amiss. When similar things happen to RVs some people think it is really terrible. Carol and I just think it is part of the lifestyle we love and enjoy. Even the failed furnaces resulted in comfy snuggling until it was time to crawl out of bed. We have learned to smile in acceptance and get on with our lives.

As I post this we have stopped for the night in Rocky Springs Campground on the Natchez Trace Parkway for the night and moved on to Abbeville LA and Betty’s RV Park Where we will be for 2 or 3 nights.