Getting Painted in Red Bay etc

One of the maintenance items on our list was to get some painting done on our coach.  Over the years, some flaking and paint air bubbles showed up near the top of some bay doors.  The grill on our DS grill for the rear side radiator was also chipping and flaking.

When we think of how to maintain and take care of these issues on our 2007 Tiffin motor motor, we always think first of Bruce and Melody Deaton in Red Bay.  Their Custom Body Shop is an excellent choice for paint and body repairs.

We have been going to them for years and prefer them over the Service Center for a number of reasons.  We like to support small businesses and have been there so many times we consider them our friends.  They have a great crew in Austin, Turbo and Heath.  They do great work, do it quickly, efficiently and at a very fair price.

It was a no brainer to have Bruce and his team work on the chipped and flaking paint.  The issues were on a number of bay doors.  The Roadrunner is 10 years old now and we want to 'continuously maintain' and improve it so that it lasts another ten years and beyond.

After finishing with MSRV Solutions on Tuesday morning, we rolled it into a paint bay and Bruce, Austin, Turbo and Heath got started.  Instead of a lot of work done on most bay doors here and there, we decided to repaint them all as well as the two rear engine access doors.

I had previously ordered a new set of headlights from Brannon Hutcheson at Custom RV.  He was packed solid with appointments and could not install them, so Austin installed the new headlights after everything was primed and painted.

 Heath also repainted the top of the door awning that was starting to peel.

The before and after photos of the headlights.  The old ones were working fine but they were just that 'old'.  I want everything about our home to reflect updated and well-taken-care-of features.

This update makes it look like a newer coach.

They got all the painting done at the end of the day on Thursday but it was raining and we thought it would be better to leave the Roadrunner in the painting bay overnight.

The historic Hotel Red Bay opened a few weeks ago.  We had lunch there and I think the Railroad Rueben might be the best reuben sandwich I have ever had.  Later the next day, we ended up staying in one of the rooms with a king size bed.  The whole hotel has been refurbished and is decorated very nicely.  The restaurant is great and it was a fun evening.

We were glad to get in an unscheduled stay at the Hotel Red Bay.  Now we know what it is like and can recommend it.  The restaurant is also worth checking out.  And we were very happy with the excellent work we got done at Deaton's Custom Auto Body and Paint shop.  We highly recommend them and their work.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  

Getting Things Done in Red Bay - Sept 2016

We always have a list of things we need to get done when we go to Red Bay.  The list usually starts shortly after we leave.  Sometimes it's a matter of finding out how to fix things and other times we pay to have someone do it.

When we tell folks we are going to Red Bay often times they will ask what are we getting done this time.  It is usually is a mix of 'must fix' items, routine maintenance and things we'd like to have upgraded.  Here's a list of what we had done during our recent stay:

• HWH touch panel replaced
• Bathroom hallway ceiling fan not working
• Front door hard to open
• Water leaking out the overhead vents from the front/rear air conditioners
• During a rainstorm water leaking through the bedroom ceiling fan 
• Water on floor near far end of Passenger Side rear slide out
• Water from air conditioners not draining off rear and front corner downspouts
• Driver Side overhead lights and outlets quit working
• Keyless entry quit working
• Shock absorbers on all four wheels need replacing
• Dash air conditioning not working
• Two year maintenance on coach differential
• Car headlights foggy, need to be fixed
• Two bay doors dented on bottom and need repainting
• Digital antenna old and needs replacing
• Roadrunner wash, wax and wheels polished
• Tow cable frayed 
• Tow electric connector cord dry rotted
• Rubber seals around each slide cracked and need replacing

Here's what we did for each item:

HWH touch panel replaced

We called HWH and for a replacement touch pad on the driver side console to raise and lower the jacks.  We got voicemail and finally got a return call 7 or 8 days later.  They need to go to two shifts or hire more people.

I called Tiffin parts and they had the item in stock.  I could get is sent to us for over $300 or pick it up in the parts store for $141 which we did.

Hall ceiling fan not turning

Jason (Brannon's Custom RV in Vina) replaced the switch and it works fine now.

Front door hard to open

While we had the Roadrunner parked out front of Bruce Deaton's and it was drying, Bruce came out and adjusted the door latch and sprayed everything with WD - 40 silicone spray.  Not entirely fixed but works better.

-Water leaking out the overhead vents from the front/rear air conditioners
-During a rainstorm water leaking through the bedroom ceiling fan
-Water on floor near far end of Passenger Side rear slide out
-Water from air conditioners not draining off rear and front corner downspouts

All these issues got fixed when Brannon cleaned out the a/c downspout.  The hose was crimped behind the driver side headlight.  Once that was slightly rerouted and straightened out, it immediately unclogged and discharged a lot of water that was in there.  Drains correctly now.

Driver Side overhead lights and outlets quit working

Pam hunted around inside for the fuse for the outlet on that side of the motorhome, checked out the GFI switch and finally found the breaker switch (the fuse panel under the refrigerator) had tripped.  She reset it and all the lights came back on.

Keyless entry quit working

Pam took off the corner fuse panel cover in the first bay under the Passenger Side seat.  It was secured by four screws.  She hunted around and found the correct fuse and replaced it. Works fine now.

-Dash air conditioning not working
-Shock absorbers on all four wheels need replacing

-Two year maintenance on coach differential

Took the Roadrunner over to Bay Diesel and they replaced the air dryer and checked the freon.  Works great now.

All shock absorbers were replaced with Koni shock absorbers.

Standard maintenance on the differential done at Bay Diesel.

-Car headlights foggy, look old and tired

-Two bay doors dented on bottom and need repainting

The headlights were buffed out and sprayed with Clear Coat

The bay doors were banged out, straightened, contoured with bondo and smoothed out, primed and painted.  Both items were done at Bruce Deaton's Paint and Body shop.

Digital antenna old and needs replacing

The handle on the antenna was getting harder and harder to turn and it kept coming apart.  The antenna on top of the Roadrunner needed to be raised and lower for every wash and wax and it was getting bent.  I had heard good things about the newer Winegard Razor digital antenna so we had Brannon replace our old one with it.

Roadrunner wash, wax and wheels polished.  Awning covers and arms were looking bad

I hate to pay anyone to wash and wax the motorhome so I did it myself.  I worked especially hard on the roof and cleaned and waxed it, hoping that I could prevent the vinyl top and white streaks from dripping off onto the sides of the coach.  Brannon indicated the only good way to stop that is to Clear Coat it.  Might do that one day.

One thing that caught my eye was how nice Bob and Steve's wheels looked.  Bob does his own and Steve was having Jarold (local guy) do his.  For $90 He agreed to do all four of mine so he started on mine in the heat of the day.  He finished one wheel before he gave out and I spent the better part of the next day cleaning and polishing the other three.  They came out well but it was knuckle busting hard work.  I'm glad I cleaned them well this time. From now on it will be easier to maintain and get the shine going. I used Meguiars Mirror Glaze 3 on all the arms and metal awning covers which brought back their dark sheen.

-Tow cable frayed 

-Tow electric connector cord dry rotted

-Rubber seals around each slide cracked and need replacing

We took the tow cable off and measured it and Brannon ordered a new one for us.  We did the same thing for the tow electric cord.  It was so old that it was dry rotting.  I taped it up a dozen times and the cord would crack some more.  Because of all the tape, it lost its coil.  Both items were replaced and work great.

The rubber seals are hard to get to and a knuckle-busting experience.  Brannon replaced three that needed a new one and they work well.

I didn't get pictures of all the work done but I got many of the items.  It is always good to get things fixed and do the maintenance.  While some are able to purchase new motorhomes after a few years, we are likely going to keep this and are planning on it being our one and only Class A.  We've seen a lot of motorhomes on the road that are a lot older than ours and are doing our best to make it last.

That's a look at our recent stay at Red Bay and what we got fixed while there. Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Getting Things Done in Red Bay - Sept 2016

We always have a list of things we need to get done when we go to Red Bay.  The list usually starts shortly after we leave.  Sometimes it's a matter of finding out how to fix things and other times we pay to have someone do it.

When we tell folks we are going to Red Bay often times they will ask what are we getting done this time.  It is usually is a mix of 'must fix' items, routine maintenance and things we'd like to have upgraded.  Here's a list of what we had done during our recent stay:

• HWH touch panel replaced
• Bathroom hallway ceiling fan not working
• Front door hard to open
• Water leaking out the overhead vents from the front/rear air conditioners
• During a rainstorm water leaking through the bedroom ceiling fan 
• Water on floor near far end of Passenger Side rear slide out
• Water from air conditioners not draining off rear and front corner downspouts
• Driver Side overhead lights and outlets quit working
• Keyless entry quit working
• Shock absorbers on all four wheels need replacing
• Dash air conditioning not working
• Two year maintenance on coach differential
• Car headlights foggy, need to be fixed
• Two bay doors dented on bottom and need repainting
• Digital antenna old and needs replacing
• Roadrunner wash, wax and wheels polished
• Tow cable frayed 
• Tow electric connector cord dry rotted
• Rubber seals around each slide cracked and need replacing

Here's what we did for each item:

HWH touch panel replaced

We called HWH and for a replacement touch pad on the driver side console to raise and lower the jacks.  We got voicemail and finally got a return call 7 or 8 days later.  They need to go to two shifts or hire more people.

I called Tiffin parts and they had the item in stock.  I could get is sent to us for over $300 or pick it up in the parts store for $141 which we did.

Hall ceiling fan not turning

Jason (Brannon's Custom RV in Vina) replaced the switch and it works fine now.

Front door hard to open

While we had the Roadrunner parked out front of Bruce Deaton's and it was drying, Bruce came out and adjusted the door latch and sprayed everything with WD - 40 silicone spray.  Not entirely fixed but works better.

-Water leaking out the overhead vents from the front/rear air conditioners
-During a rainstorm water leaking through the bedroom ceiling fan
-Water on floor near far end of Passenger Side rear slide out
-Water from air conditioners not draining off rear and front corner downspouts

All these issues got fixed when Brannon cleaned out the a/c downspout.  The hose was crimped behind the driver side headlight.  Once that was slightly rerouted and straightened out, it immediately unclogged and discharged a lot of water that was in there.  Drains correctly now.

Driver Side overhead lights and outlets quit working

Pam hunted around inside for the fuse for the outlet on that side of the motorhome, checked out the GFI switch and finally found the breaker switch (the fuse panel under the refrigerator) had tripped.  She reset it and all the lights came back on.

Keyless entry quit working

Pam took off the corner fuse panel cover in the first bay under the Passenger Side seat.  It was secured by four screws.  She hunted around and found the correct fuse and replaced it. Works fine now.

-Dash air conditioning not working
-Shock absorbers on all four wheels need replacing

-Two year maintenance on coach differential

Took the Roadrunner over to Bay Diesel and they replaced the air dryer and checked the freon.  Works great now.

All shock absorbers were replaced with Koni shock absorbers.

Standard maintenance on the differential done at Bay Diesel.

-Car headlights foggy, look old and tired

-Two bay doors dented on bottom and need repainting

The headlights were buffed out and sprayed with Clear Coat

The bay doors were banged out, straightened, contoured with bondo and smoothed out, primed and painted.  Both items were done at Bruce Deaton's Paint and Body shop.

Digital antenna old and needs replacing

The handle on the antenna was getting harder and harder to turn and it kept coming apart.  The antenna on top of the Roadrunner needed to be raised and lower for every wash and wax and it was getting bent.  I had heard good things about the newer Winegard Razor digital antenna so we had Brannon replace our old one with it.

Roadrunner wash, wax and wheels polished.  Awning covers and arms were looking bad

I hate to pay anyone to wash and wax the motorhome so I did it myself.  I worked especially hard on the roof and cleaned and waxed it, hoping that I could prevent the vinyl top and white streaks from dripping off onto the sides of the coach.  Brannon indicated the only good way to stop that is to Clear Coat it.  Might do that one day.

One thing that caught my eye was how nice Bob and Steve's wheels looked.  Bob does his own and Steve was having Jarold (local guy) do his.  For $90 He agreed to do all four of mine so he started on mine in the heat of the day.  He finished one wheel before he gave out and I spent the better part of the next day cleaning and polishing the other three.  They came out well but it was knuckle busting hard work.  I'm glad I cleaned them well this time. From now on it will be easier to maintain and get the shine going. I used Meguiars Mirror Glaze 3 on all the arms and metal awning covers which brought back their dark sheen.

-Tow cable frayed 

-Tow electric connector cord dry rotted

-Rubber seals around each slide cracked and need replacing

We took the tow cable off and measured it and Brannon ordered a new one for us.  We did the same thing for the tow electric cord.  It was so old that it was dry rotting.  I taped it up a dozen times and the cord would crack some more.  Because of all the tape, it lost its coil.  Both items were replaced and work great.

The rubber seals are hard to get to and a knuckle-busting experience.  Brannon replaced three that needed a new one and they work well.

I didn't get pictures of all the work done but I got many of the items.  It is always good to get things fixed and do the maintenance.  While some are able to purchase new motorhomes after a few years, we are likely going to keep this and are planning on it being our one and only Class A.  We've seen a lot of motorhomes on the road that are a lot older than ours and are doing our best to make it last.

That's a look at our recent stay at Red Bay and what we got fixed while there. Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Another Campground Upgrade

We arrived in Maynardville last week and I'm pretty excited about our latest upgrade.  The 'campground' is our private Roadrunner parking space at brother-in-law Mike's place.

Over the years we've put in a 50 amp pedestal and run a water line over to it.  The but we didn't have a septic solution.  Until last week.

Mike is on a septic system and I thought we could use it somehow but have never really checked it out.  We got a 'blue boy' and a new lid for the septic tank and problem solved.  It came together a lot faster than I expected.

The first thing to do was dig around and find the lid.

 Next, I got a crowbar and got the lid off to see what it looked like and what was underneath it.

 The beveled lid measured 19.5" inches on the top and about 16" on the underside.  What we found inside was a very full septic tank.  Every few years it is a good idea of pump these things out and it had been more than a few years.

Then we had a couple of other things to do:  get a 'blue boy" septic tote and find a septic pumping company.  

We found the nearest Camping World and picked up a small 12 gallon "Blue Boy". (Blue Boy is a generic term that refers to another company's model that is all blue plastic.

Next, Mike called and scheduled a local company to come by the next morning and pump out the septic tank.  J&J Septic from Luttrell showed up promptly at 9:30 AM and we got going with it.

 It only took about 20 minutes to drain the 900 gallon septic tank down to the bottom.  Then the washed off the hose and put things away.  We asked them about a lit that might have a removable plastic top.  Sure enough, they knew of a company over by Heiskell, TN that had a lot of models.  We drove over there and went right past the Escapees Park at Raccoon Valley.

We normally stay there for a night after our time at Joan and Mike's just so we can use there dump station/sewer.  

With our new set up though, we won't have to do that.  

On down the road past the Escapees Park, we found Knoxville Pre-Cast Concrete.  The lady behind the desk asked what size of a lid we had and I told her and to my surprise she said, "ok - yeah, we have one.  Cost is $51.02.  Pick up a round plastic green top outside and here are three screws to secure it. Drive abound back and a guy will be waiting there with the concrete lid."

 Done deal.  We put it in the back of the truck and returned to Mike's house.

 We turned it around twice to see which way fit best, put it down and Mike filled in the loose dirt around the top.

 I needed to do a "Proof of Concep" demonstration, so I emptied the black tank on the Roadrunner.

 Then I got two flat boards to make a ramp over the new dump station.

 I aimed, tipped and emptied the tote tank.

 After hosing it out and cleaning it, the job was complete.

We now have 50 amp power, water and a dump station at the Roadrunner RV Campground and Resort.  Pretty excited about it too!

Now all we have to do is figure out a DirecTV solution so we can get satellite TV again.  In the fall and winter the trees have no leaves so it hasn't been a problem.  But it the middle summer, the trees block our Winegard Trav'ler set up on the Roadrunner.

But for now, we watch local TV and don't have to worry about managing our toilet use.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!