We traveled all day today and drove a little more than 500 miles. We stopped for the night in Amarillo, TX and again made use of the local Walmart parking lot for the night.
The weather was very cold most of the day but warmed somewhat in the afternoon. At least we missed the freezing rain predicted for Red Bay on Thursday. It was raining when we left this morning but was not a heavy rain and the temperature was warm enough that the roads were not slick, so again we dodged the weather bullet.
I talked about our tour of the Tiffin Factory on Thursday but there were several facts mentioned durning the tour that I found pretty interesting. When we arrived in Red Bay, I fully expected it to be located on a lake or some type of a bay area but found nothing to confirm the name. Our tour guide told us that the reason it was named Red Bay is because of the red dirt, which is a very deep orange color, as well as a
local tree known as a Bay Tree. Bob Tiffin, owner of Tiffin Motor Homes, is at least a third generation of Tiffins raised in Red Bay. His grandfather was Chief of Police of Red Bay for many years. His father owned a lumber supply and a cotton gen and Bob worked in the family business as a young man prior to developing the Tiffin Motor Home Factory. Part of buildings that house the motor home factory is the original building used as a cotton warehouse that his father owned.
I believe the first Motor Home was built by Tiffin in 1973 and parked next to the visitor's center is a 1976 model of a Tiffin Motor Home. The motor home is open to the public and we went inside and was amazed at how far this company has come from the first homes built. The interior of the 1976 motor home was a pea green shag carpet and the wallpaper was the same green with a very ugly print. The walls were cheap wood paneling and everything about it was just very dated and ugly. I put this in perspective by realizing that our oldest daughter was born a year after this motor home was built. The progress in the past 36 years is absolutely unbelievable!
We met Bob Tiffin last year at the Good Sam Rally in Phoenix, AZ. He is like your next door neighbor, friendly and wonderful to talk with. His policy on customer service is matched by no other motor home manufacturer in the U.S. He encourages his owners to contact him directly with any problems they incur and tells them to call him at home if needed. Tiffin is family owned and his sons are now part of the business as well. We had several minor issues as well as a rather major problem with the propane tank on our RV. These were taken care while in Red Bay and everything, including 8 nights in the RV Park was free. The service people were friendly, helpful and basically wonderful to deal with. Tiffin has 60 service bays totally devoted to service on Tiffin Motor Homes. The RV Park was filled with Tiffin owners whom, many of them, make a yearly trip to Red Bay to have their motor homes serviced and problems corrected. I think the idea is that it all gets done at once and if parts are needed they are normally available immediately. There are also a great number of people who bring their motor homes and leave them for several weeks to be serviced when time is available, rather than staying with the RV waiting for service.
Also our tour guide mentioned that Tammy Weyneth claims Red Bay as her home. She told us where her home was located just outside of town. The museum in Red Bay has a Tammy Weyneth room and would have be an interesting place to visit if we return. I am glad we made the trip to Red Bay as it was a friendly, clean little town with a lot of charm. After hearing some of the history, we should have plenty to see and do when we return.
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