As I sit with my spouse and canine in our 2014 Tiffin Allegro Open Street, I can’t assist however mirror on the superb group, service, and attraction we now have found as Tiffin homeowners in Crimson Bay, Alabama.
For these unfamiliar, Crimson Bay is the headquarters for Tiffin Motorhomes. It attracts Tiffin homeowners from throughout the nation who come right here for repairs, upgrades, and repair. We now make an annual pilgrimage to Crimson Bay to have varied repairs addressed, buy components for a couple of repairs I do myself, and benefit from the southern attraction and hospitality of the city. This text walks you thru our expertise as Tiffin homeowners within the Tiffin group and highlights the worth of visiting the manufacturing plant and associated service suppliers, all positioned in Crimson Bay, Alabama.
House owners of Tiffin motorhomes have cultivated a supportive group. By means of on-line boards, social media teams, and native meet-ups, we alternate ideas, tales, and proposals, and all of us share a typical ardour for exploration, the liberty of the open highway, and “roughing it easily.”
Our first weekend proudly owning our Tiffin Allegro Open Street—affectionately nicknamed, “Optimus Prime”— the step motor stopped working correctly. o We jumped on Fb and started looking out Tiffin boards. Inside minutes, we discovered tales of comparable points, together with replies from different homeowners.
I bashfully posted, asking concerning the ability stage required to interchange the motor. After being assured that this was an ideal restore for a beginner like myself— and being supplied step-by-step directions from different homeowners—I ordered the half and had a brand new step motor put in and dealing two days later. From there, I used to be hooked, and I browsed different Tiffin boards on-line, studying as I went.
We quickly realized about Crimson Bay, listening to about upgrades Tiffin homeowners obtained from the consultants there, and it wasn’t lengthy earlier than we had our personal listing of upgrades we might have carried out ought to we ever go to. Then, throughout our first cross-country, multi-week summer season journey, one in every of our slide-outs stopped working. We ultimately received it again in and will proceed our journey, however we’d not lengthen it again out till we might get it serviced. And there was just one place within the nation the place we needed to go for such service…
Crimson Bay: The Coronary heart of Tiffin Motorhomes
Why Crimson Bay? Since Tiffin’s founding in 1972, a material of Tiffin-related companies, professionals, components stock, and generational data has grown in and across the city of Crimson Bay.
On the border of Alabama and Mississippi, the city has a inhabitants of solely about 3,200 folks. Everyone who lives in or close to Crimson Bay has both labored at Tiffin Crimson Bay, AL (or in close by Tiffin crops in Belmont or Winfield) or is aware of any person who has labored there. Artisans, mechanics, and craft staff have constructed household enterprises round Tiffin motorhomes, creating extremely sought-after expertise and providers. The quantity of data and experience for these hand-crafted motorhomes is unmatched.
Many Tiffin workers started moonlighting out of their very own garages to offer service and customized upgrades for Tiffin homeowners who would stream by means of Crimson Bay for varied service wants. Whether or not you want customized woodwork to match your authentic cabinetry, customized flooring to mix with the decor, or the newest lighting and know-how to combine into your coach’s present electronics, the entire data and experience is there in Crimson Bay.
Slide-Out Restore
With this understanding, a visit to the Tiffin Crimson Bay, AL heartland for our slide-out restore made sense.
I wanted to first determine the final service heart I might use for our slide-out restore and an inventory of different minor repairs we had observed needing consideration. The Tiffin Service Heart operated by Tiffin doesn’t settle for appointments and works on a first-come-first-served foundation. Till not too long ago, they wouldn’t even service coaches as previous as Optimus Prime (2014). As we aren’t but retired, and nonetheless have two youngsters at dwelling, we would have liked a service heart who scheduled appointments.
After some analysis within the boards and some telephone calls, we scheduled our appointment with Precision RV in Golden, MS – about quarter-hour outdoors of Crimson Bay. House owners Tony Darracott and Terry Ray opened Precision RV a couple of years in the past with a number of a long time of expertise on the Tiffin plant underneath their belt. Papa Joe, Tony’s father, took my name and went above and past answering my questions to assist me navigate the Crimson Bay ecosystem, making certain a productive and profitable few days in Crimson Bay.
Along with a store, their 5 campsites with full hookups positioned of their parking zone took the service expertise to a different stage of comfort and ease.
The work they carried out on Optimus Prime was second to none. They know the way each half and system inside my coach is constructed and the way it works, and personal the entire instruments essential to service any of the components or techniques. With the Tiffin Elements counter on the Tiffin Service Heart solely a 15-minute drive away, they will full nearly any restore required on the home facet of my coach. And their service comes with a demeanor that makes you are feeling like household. I’m joyful to report we left Precision RV with our troublesome slide-out operating smoother than it ever had within the time we now have owned our coach, and the rest of our minor repairs accomplished as nicely.
Woodwork & Physique
Whereas there, we needed to take full benefit of the Tiffin Crimson Bay, AL assets out there.
Subsequent, we started working by means of our listing of dream upgrades. First was the woodwork and tabletops. Chris Berry, proprietor of Making Sawdust, constructed us a customized console with two drawers and three cup holders to go over the doghouse in between the captains’ chairs. I might lastly attain my cups with out bending over or taking my eyes off the highway!
Whereas minor, these modifications convey me pleasure at any time when I sit down and start one other journey on the open highway. Not solely was the standard of expertise top-notch, however Chris has the precise kind of wooden and stain colours to match the handcrafted cupboards that have been constructed with our coach again in 2014! We additionally had Chris change our laminate eating desk, TV console countertop, and loo countertop with strong floor counter tops.
There was yet another former Tiffin worker’s enterprise to go to whereas in Crimson Bay, and that was Professional Finishes in Belmont, MS, about quarter-hour from the Tiffin plant. Ricky McGee owns Professional Finishes, and he and his group are precision consultants in bodywork and paint element. Ricky spent a few a long time working within the Tiffin paint manufacturing unit in Belmont earlier than retiring to run his personal enterprise full-time. We wanted to handle a couple of scratches on the outside of Optimus Prime. Just like Chris along with his wooden stain, Ricky’s group has the entire paint colours used by means of the years and was in a position to match colours completely.
Exploring Crimson Bay: City & Manufacturing facility
Whereas my coach was being labored on at these varied stops, we explored Crimson Bay. I loved strolling the charming downtown streets, the place we discovered native retailers and cafes. I soaked up the nice and cozy hospitality of the locals as I visited a few of the historic enterprise institutions, reminiscent of Tiffin Provide and Resort Crimson Bay. All informed, Crimson Bay’s small-town ambiance is a refreshing break from the hustle and bustle of metropolis life.
A go to to Tiffin Crimson Bay, AL, wouldn’t be full with no cease on the Tiffin Manufacturing facility itself. I took a tour of the manufacturing facility, witnessing firsthand the craftsmanship and dedication that goes into constructing these distinctive motorhomes. The woodshop was essentially the most spectacular, as the entire cabinetry is hand made with high-quality wooden and building methods that really set these coaches aside.
The spotlight of the tour, although, was when Mr. Bob Tiffin, the founding father of Tiffin Motorhomes, got here out of his workplace to greet us and pose for photographs. Bob has fostered a service-oriented tradition and customer-first mindset his whole life. Now years since he and his sons offered the enterprise to Thor, he nonetheless takes dozens of buyer telephone calls every week. He greeted every of us on my tour, requested the place we have been from, and answered our questions. His ardour for serving to clients shined by means of, and these interactions make Tiffin and Crimson Bay what they’re in the present day.
The ecosystem that exists in Crimson Bay is exclusive and price experiencing as a Tiffin proprietor. With service professionals who know my particular unit in and out, personal the precise instruments required for my unit, and might have vital components in hand inside quarter-hour, it’s the type of service expertise all of us pine for.
The place do you’re taking your RV when it requires substantial service, restore, or upkeep? Do you will have expertise visisting a RV producer or headquarters? Tell us your expertise within the feedback beneath.