The Build Of Our Allegro Bus 45LP with Time Lapse Video

[David Bott]

Why thank you ever so much Jim for the note. We had such a pleasure doing it, through we now need a vacation, so we are ready to leave for sure. LOL.

Did a few finishing touches today like added a soundbar and subwoofer to the bedroom TV and added a subwoofer to the dash radio system.

All in all, thanks again for the note.

[F117plt]

Originally Posted by David Bott

We plan to head out tomorrow, Wednesday. You can follow along on the Live Cam page that has an image taken out our windshield and a GPS tracker below that.

Dave, all the best to you and Brenda has you head out in your new coach. BTW, I love the section of your blog where you recommend things. I figure if you have tested it and recommend it, it must be good. I just bought an EEZ TPMS on your recommendation and love it. Also loved the video you did on how to setup the system. Happy travels!

[David Bott]

Glad to be of help! Glad people like the reviewed items area.

[tiffin43qrp]

I hear bob tiffin has offered david a job as product specialist/you tube video spokesperson......lol
I look forward to your travels and updates with the clutch fix....
Thanks again !!

[tiffin43qrp]

one question i forgot to ask you.... what card/hot spot wifi connection our you using for the camera and internet access etc.?
Verizon? What plan do provider and plan to you recommend ?
I assume your connection is 24/7....
thanks david

[tiffin43qrp]

what does cost per month etc.?

[David Bott]

Originally Posted by tiffin43qrp

one question i forgot to ask you.... what card/hot spot wifi connection our you using for the camera and internet access etc.?
Verizon? What plan do provider and plan to you recommend ?
I assume your connection is 24/7....
thanks david

I use Verizon through our phone when we need to. We have an unlimited plans that we will never give up. But we also use an internal CradlePoint router with a WiFi RogueWave for use in parks. The Rogue connects to the parks WiFi and then that feeds the WAN port of the router. The router then provides our internal WiFi network. So more or less, we always connect to the our own WiFi SSID.

The camera is a Focsam IP camera. It connects to our local router WiFi and sends out an image every 5 mins.

As far as what provider I would recommend...that would also be Version as they have the best coverage in all our travels.

Originally Posted by tiffin43qrp

what does cost per month etc.?

Costs be month will depend on the plan you choose and that will depend on the amount of data you may need, and that will depend on what you want to do with the connection. IE...You do not want to steam NetFlix as that will eat up your data. So that is a hard question to answer.

You could go with Millenicom, who uses Verizon, and get 20 gigs a month for $90. That at least gives you an idea.

[reubenray]

David - I have to ask this question and if you prefer to answer it in a PM that is fine.

With the Tour issues you chose to go with the Allegro Bus 45LP and still had numerous issues - would you do the Tiffin route or not if you was to do it again?

[Hayman]

I am willing to wager a lot of us would like to know the answer to that !!

[David Bott]

Originally Posted by reubenray

David - I have to ask this question and if you prefer to answer it in a PM that is fine.

With the Tour issues you chose to go with the Allegro Bus 45LP and still had numerous issues - would you do the Tiffin route or not if you was to do it again?

Hi...

In an word...yes. The reason is clear (at least to us). That being, Tiffin stood behind their build even BEFORE we took delivery. They fixed things that were seen just on us pointing them out. They treated us like a customer even before we were one. No matter how large an issue or how small, it was handled. Tiffin did not want to sell a coach with XYZ known issues. At least that is what we took out of it. (Not that others would not, it just was not our past experience.)

Yes, there were build issues...all have them. But it was how it was handled that made the difference. Right down to being able to talk to ANYONE in the company.

Tiffin stood behind the product before and after the sale.

Hope this helps.

[Trekkers]

Originally Posted by David Bott

Hi...

In an word...yes. The reason is clear (at least to us). That being, Tiffin stood behind their build even BEFORE we took delivery. They fixed things that were seen just on us pointing them out. They treated us like a customer even before we were one. No matter how large an issue or how small, it was handled. Tiffin did not want to sell a coach with XYZ known issues. At least that is what we took out of it. (Not that others would not, it just was not our past experience.)

Yes, there were build issues...all have them. But it was how it was handled that made the difference. Right down to being able to talk to ANYONE in the company.

Tiffin stood behind the product before and after the sale.

Hope this helps.

As a former owner of a 2013 Itasca Ellipse (which we loved) that was only 600 pounds UNDER the GAWR on the front axle the day it was delivered to us and were told "There's nothing we can do about that" by Winnebago when we asked them about it AFTER we found out, we totally understand the difference between Winnebago's attitude and Tiffin's. With Winnebago the attitude was "Shove it out the door with engineering deficiencies and shoddy workmanship intact. Rack up the sale and move on."

We were forced to sell our Itasca Ellipse because even minimally loaded we simply could NOT get under 1000 pounds OVER the Gross Axle Weight Rating on the front axle. To us that is an unconscionable decision by a company to operate KNOWINGLY that close to the engineering limit of a component.

To be honest it was David and Brenda that brought this to our knowledge (the front axle overweight issue). We began a search and ended up going with the Tiffin 45LP. It was us that suggested to David and Brenda they consider the 45LP after their fiasco with the Winnebago Tour. We met them in Indianapolis on "Delivery Day" for the Tour and were HORRIFIED at the piece of junk they were being asked to accept. It was the final nail in the coffin for us. We realized that the corporate attitude at Winnebago was continuing to deteriorate.

We also, like David and Brenda, watched our 2014 AB 45LP be built from beginning to end. We fell in love with the workers and their attitude and desire to "get it right" for the owner. Sure, it helps that we were there because we could say "would you please do THIS for us" or "Do it this way please" and the answer was virtually always "SURE!"

We've broken down 2 times since we got our new bus. One time it WAS the fan clutch assembly. They paid for our hotel and shipped the parts OVERNIGHT EXPRESS to the repair facility and paid for the labor all under warranty. The second time it was the exhaust recirculation hose coming off caused a lack of "get up and go" because the turbo couldn't build up any pressure. Again, they paid for the towing, hotel and all parts and labor. We will pass through Red Bay and get one of the new fan clutch assemblies installed and guess what - they will WILLINGLY pay for that too.

When Winnie made engineering mistakes it was "tough, live with it."

When Tiffin made engineering mistakes it's "we'll pay to have it replaced."

That isn't a hard choice in our books.

[David Bott]

Well said Jim.

And BTW...As the only current owner and thus real world tester of the new fan clutch design, I think they have a winner. Not only does it engage with authority, they also changed the pull ratio some. As such, in "free spin" (the mode it is normally in unless it has to engage for full cooling) the fan spins at a slightly higher rate. Because of this the engine is staying cooler which results in the full power of the fan not having to be engaged as often.

As reported back to Tiffin....

------------

Today, Wednesday, in a 280 mile drive in 84 degree weather in the Appalachian Mts' and the Smokey Mts' in TN, the fan clutch only engaged 4 times. Each time was after a long climb up hill and each time there was small, like 1/4 second squeal and a small thud you could feel in the coach. (The power hit when it engaged the squeal being the belt slip.) I think it only coming on 4 times could actually be really good thing over time. That is 4 times, in 280 miles with hills climbs in TN. And that it only happened near the end of the climb. Thus very good.

----------------

All in all, thus far happy with the result. We are now parked for at least a month visiting family and doing doctor things. By the time we leave I think Tiffin will more than likely received their first shipment and would have begone using them.

[Trekkers]

C c

[Hayman]

David, Jim,

Thank You for your answers and explanation for your reasoning . We also owned a Winnebago ( Journey ) prior to our Tiffin Allegro Bus and agree all have issues. It is how those issues are handled that make the real difference !