Red Bay house frame broken. need repair and advice on crowding at Red Bay

[HGC]

We must take our 2014 36LA to Red Bay because the house floor framing has collapsed. So, my question is, how crowded will Red Bay be the first week of March. We hope to leave Pittsburgh on March 5 and arrive in RB on the 7th, weather permitting. Not something I want to do but must. The framing cracked and is broken and Don Boyd said that only they can fix it, plus it is still under warranty. I really hope they can take care of this but we don't know what to expect in Red Bay. If there are any words of wisdom concerning this, please let me know. Thanks for any words of wisdom.

[lllkrob]

Originally Posted by HGC

We must take our 2014 36LA to Red Bay because the house floor framing has collapsed. So, my question is, how crowded will Red Bay be the first week of March. We hope to leave Pittsburgh on March 5 and arrive in RB on the 7th, weather permitting. Not something I want to do but must. The framing cracked and is broken and Don Boyd said that only they can fix it, plus it is still under warranty. I really hope they can take care of this but we don't know what to expect in Red Bay. If there are any words of wisdom concerning this, please let me know. Thanks for any words of wisdom.

Your not the first to have this frame issue and Tiffin in Red Bay will completely replace the necessary frame structure. As to how busy, this time of year is the slowest period during the entire year. You should be able to get in and out of the frame shop in about a week. Given the nature of your repair you may not be able to stay in your coach while it's being repaired so be prepared to stay at the Red Bay Hotel a few days. It's actually a fairly nice place. Also plan on visiting some of the local attractions like the "Coon" Dog Cemetery, Swamp John's Restaurant (if the health department hasn't closed it again), Elvis' Birthplace in Tupelo, MS, and others. Just ask for a list and directions at the Allegro Campground registration desk when you check in.

[jkroboth]

I'll be heading there for the same reason. Herd what sounded like a gun shot under the passenger seat area and now have a bad creaking noise . I crawled under there but could not find it. I'm sure they will when they lift it up.
Good luck to you.

[HGC]

Thanks for your responses. And sorry I'm slow in responding.

So we will be leaving March 6th and hope to make it in 2 days bar any weather hazards. Was told by a Tiffin person to register and they will recommend a campground that may be available. Don Boyd mentioned that the bay for that repair is up to speed and shouldn't be too much of a wait.
Well, we will find out. Just want it FIXED the right way. We are trying to make an adventure of it. We will keep you posted. Thanks again.

[Byrdbetsy]

We are curious about what to expect at Red Bay. Thought I’d tag onto this thread to ask a few questions:

We are planning to arrive in RB on the 13th of March to get our “within 1 year” warranty work done….it’s our understanding that we are to show up, register and hope there is a site available?? Can registration be done ahead of our arrival?

When your coach goes to the relevant bay to be worked on do you keep your assigned site the whole time?? We’re hoping we could keep a tent on the site to hang out during the day.

Just wanting to make sure we’re doing our best to be prepared for our first RB visit.

Thanks for any advice!

[lllkrob]

Originally Posted by Byrdbetsy

We are curious about what to expect at Red Bay. Thought I’d tag onto this thread to ask a few questions:

We are planning to arrive in RB on the 13th of March to get our “within 1 year” warranty work done….it’s our understanding that we are to show up, register and hope there is a site available?? Can registration be done ahead of our arrival? NO, it's strictly first come first served. This time of year there should be no problem finding a place at one of the 6 campgrounds in the immediate Red Bay area.

When your coach goes to the relevant bay to be worked on do you keep your assigned site the whole time?? We’re hoping we could keep a tent on the site to hang out during the day. Your site is assigned for as long as you are there. No tents or structures are allowed on any site, they're too narrow. Tiffin has a very nice waiting lounge to use while you are in for repairs, or you could go see the "sites" of Red Bay while waiting.

Just wanting to make sure we’re doing our best to be prepared for our first RB visit. Check in at the Tiffin Allegro Campground when you arrive and they will guide you through the process.

Thanks for any advice!

[JerryP]

When you get to Red Bay go directly to the Service Center to register. They will have you wait at a local campground. A tech will come to visit you the next day to evaluate your rig. They will give you a service number that needs to be put on your front windshield immediately. (I did not realize that this number is how they find you at your RV park.) I had to wait an extra day because I did not do this. Depending on what's needed you can wait for the Express service or full service. To qualify for Express service, you repairs will need to be completed in 3 hours or less. A frame repair would probably be assigned to the Full service wait list.

In the fall of 2021, the wait for Full service was over 2 weeks. I would have been 44th on the waiting list. I decided to use the "Outback" service. In this service, you leave your coach and go home. They will call you when they start the work. My Outback service took 5 weeks.

If you decide to wait for Full service, you can travel while you wait. They have a wait list status email that they send out every day. You can return to Red Bay when your service time get's close.

Red Bay Acres is a great RV park. It's more expensive than the other parks. The other parks are basically gravel parking lots with hookups. I think that the current Tiffin campground policy is that only first year warranty work can stay at the Tiffin RV Parking.

Good Luck,
Jerry

[Ghost]

A few months ago, the wait to get service was a month or so.

Because my rig is over ten years old, I need to get to the body shop next door.

I'm wondering if the recent spike in fuel prices is starting to thin the herd, so to speak...

[TandW]

You might get your front house struts reattached okay and later find that the flooring screws are working out and up through the carpet or other coverings. Chassis frames just are not rigid. Some people are having windshield problems because of this flexing. Good luck to you all!

[john foose]

we are here right now, and there are tiffins everywhere. Some of the local fix-it shops are booked into July, I was told by one place. John

[Ghost]

I was able to make an appointment for July 18th for body work...

[jkroboth]

Have you made it to Red bay,was there a long wait and did you get repaired? I will be heading that way on the 22nd for a frame repair also.
Thanks for any info you can supply.

[HGC]

We recently returned to Pittsburgh after a needed trip to Red Bay. So I decided to report our experience. We registered our 2014 36LA in and had to reveal what we needed done. It was straightening and rewelding the subframe which literally broke. Because it was still in warranty we got into bay 40 2 days afterward. Not bad, since we met people that were there from Feb.16th. AND STILL WAITING. They were waiting for some body work ,I think. Since Tiffin shortened the warranty time to 1year most of the coaches were less than a year or at most 2 yrs.old. Tons of them waiting in line. We were fortunate that there weren't so many needed this dreaded frame repair. So the way this works is, once you register you are put on a list, and the next day a Tiffin fellow shows up to verify the nature of your repair. He then reports your problem to the appropriate department and bay. They then call you and tell you when they are ready for you to bring in your MH. For us they were very efficient. But they are obviously overwhelmed in other departments. well, they got our MH within spec and the welds were superior to the originals. No one else can do this repair.
With the time we had we contracted a Tiffin employee to do other repairs, like rugs ,batteries. and upholstery repair. His name is Steve Brooks, and he will be coming totally private soon. He had is own bay at Tiffin, and has decided to go it on his own. FABULOUS! He was referred to me by Don Boyd. Thankyou Don. Steve in turn advised me to go to Red Bay Auto Body to rent a car since I didn't want to tow anything because of possible weather problems. They were great. Very nice people, as were all that we encountered. Went to the Coon Hound Cemetary, the Rattle Snake Saloon, and found a coffee shop in Hamilton. We ate at Sparks restaurant. God old home cooking.
The roads for us, especially I65, and I71. AWFUL! an embarrassment.
Well, that is our tale. Let me know if you need any help.

happy Trails.

[dabrooks]

Thanks for updating your repairs. Did you get any before and after photos of the repair ?