Van Leigh 5th Wheel Factory Tour

Posted from Bakersfield CA

Back in February Pam and I visited the Ocala RV show.  We like to see what's new in the RV world and possibly pick up a new idea or see a new product.

Toward the end of our visit, we saw VanLeigh 5th wheels for the first time.  A new 5th wheel company.  Who are these folks?  Never heard of them...

We came to find out that this new company was part of the Tiffin family.  Bob Tiffin serves as the Chairman (and probably Chief Financial Backer?).  The company is headed up by one of his sons - Van - and his grandson Leigh  (VanLeigh).  The company is located in Burnside MS about 40 minutes from Red Bay AL.

We found the large warehouse that is the hub of the operation.  It also has the main offices and assembly plant.  We met Don K in Ocala and he gave us a tour of a couple of their RVs.  Interestly enough, he was on a visit to the factory and he showed us around that facility.  He remembered us and had some time, so we got a detailed explanation of what was going on at each of the stations and production lines.

VanLeigh is currently building 10 5th wheels a week and can not keep up with production needs.  They are signing up new dealers every week and are slowly expanding their network to the midwest and northeast.

The factory looks like a typical RV production facility and is brand new.

Lots of materials and supplies and equipment in the factory waiting to get moved into place and part of a new 5th wheel.

Frames/chassis arrive a few times a week.  The production could fluctuate a little so they have the supplier 'on call'.

One upgrade for 2017 is the new brake system that is one of the first things that are installed.

The floor is one piece and done before any of the units are moved down the production line.

This station is where the aluminum supports for the roof gets put together.

The rubber roof is built over here.

It is a little different seeing the 5th wheel at a station with no motor in place to drive it along to each station.

Here are a couple of front end caps with out the covering on them.

The interior of the endcaps is the bedroom entertainment suite and cabinetry.

In one of the kitchen slideouts, a new microwave is installed over the counter and backsplash.

The slideouts and front cap is moved into position.

The decals are being applied in this station.

Our guide Tom and a woman who is checking for leaks are describing the process.

Inside at the final inspection station, the high ceiling and new furniture make for a comfy living room next to the island and kitchen area.

Large TVs and in-cabinet fireplaces are the norm these days.

This Vilano has a light system with a ceiling box and lots of LED lighting.

We loved being able to see the Tiffin Facility and take a look at the new VanLeigh 5th wheels being built.  It was a bit of a drive from Red Bay, but worth the trip and it was fascinating.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Short Visit to Red Bay

We always love coming to Red Bay.  Everytime we come here it is worth every penny and we leave knowing that we got some things fixed and usually enjoy our time here.

We started off staying Sunday night at Brannon Hutcheson's Custom RV shop in Vina.  It was a quiet

 night and we were able to get started first thing on Monday morning.  Here's what we had on our Fix List:

• Bathroom hallway ceiling fan 
• Trouble shoot rope lights inside slide out above trim on Driver Side (DS) 
• Check chassis batteries
• Repair leak in clear water tank near drain spout (as a result of my attempt at repairing it months ago)
• Touch up wood near shower, bathroom back splash and floor corner round trim piece in bathroom
• Replace bolt in slideout that sheared off when we were getting ready to drive it into position in the bay at Brannon's (talk about great timing!)

We were prepared to purchase a new fan but Brannon worked with it and sprayed some silicon on the mechanism on the roof and it works perfectly now.  We have been without the rope light working a couple of months and he fixed it in 15 minutes.  The water leak in the clear tank is really a drip and it has been there over a year.  He fixed it in 30 minutes.  

The moisture and steam in the bathroom and shower area has affected some of the wood and trim paneling.  Brannon used a spray treatment that made it look great and it was fixed in a couple of minutes.

The chassis batteries checked out fine so no need for new ones.  The slide out would not retract because of the sheared bolt.  Glad it happened where we could get it fixed right away.  It took Brannon about 15 minutes to drill a slightly larger hole and use a more sturdy bolt to fix it.  

Total price of $230 was very fair and a less than I thought it would be.  Plus Brannon does great work and does it quickly.  He doesn't lollygag around.  He gets on it and gets it done right.  If you haven't ever had work done by him, you should give him a try at Custom RV in Vina near Red Bay.  We've never been disappointed.

Later that morning we went to the Downtown RV Park in Red Bay where long time RV friends Steve and Karen were staying.  It was great to see them again and catch up.  Lots of stories and fun adventures to hear about.

Later that morning we went over to the Tiffin Parts store where my hubcap and middle insert screw attachment.  Last time we filled up I notice the Passenger Side rear hubcab was gone!  I ordered a replacement one and put it on in a few minutes.

We had a nice time chatting during an impromptu happy hour with Steve and Karen.  Those kind of evenings are some of the best times in the RV experience -- just hanging out with friends and hearing their stories and experiences and sharing ours.

This morning I got up motivated to clean out the main storage bay area.  I pulled everything out and vacuumed the inside, threw away some stuff and repacked it.  I stopped to chat with a new friend in the campground - Brent and Eileen (who are actually from our new home town of Green Cove Springs, FL).  I found out the entire side mirror on the DS need not be replaced.  It comes apart as the arm and the mirror.  Our arm is pitting and may need to be replaced in the future so I could save a few hundred bucks by just getting a new arm.

 While I was doing that Pam went for a long walk.  After she returned we went over to Bruce Deaton's Custom Paint and Body Shop.  Here Pam is talking with Melody Deaton and new friend Carleen.  We have been to Bruce's Shop many times and he is another one we have high regard for.

Next we went to a new restaurant downtown - Mason Jar on the Main.

Very friendly place and good food.  Here the owner (Sherri) and our server (Savannah) let me take their picture.

Next, we drove over to Burnsville, MS to see the Vanleigh RV 5th wheel factory.  Bob Tiffin is co-owner and chairman as well as mentor and strategic advisor to the company.

Grandson Leigh is the running the day-to-day operations and his father Van also works there a couple of days a week.  Van is also one of the main people involved at Tiffin Motorhomes along with Tim and another brother Lex.

With the Tiffin backing and reputation, I would bet this startup will do well.

When we returned to the campground Steve was replacing the anode rod on the water heater.  Yearly maintenance cuts down on the rust inside, helps extend the life of the water heater and helps it run more efficiently.  It has been far too long since we replaced ours and we were overdue.  Years ago we bought a 1 1/16" socket (what an odd size) just for this purpose.

Draining it became a bit of a mess but the water ran off the concrete pad and down the back pretty easily.  Meanwhile it was a bit of a shock to see how overdue we were on the replacement.

Here is a look at our old one compared to Steve's.  As Karen said, "Not much chicken on that bone!" It is really a simple maintenance item so we'll be staying on top of that one from now on!

Next it was time for some social / happy hour time.

We were joined by neighbors Bob and Jan and Carleen.  All full-timers, it was fun to meet them and to hear about what's going on.  Bob and Jan are going over to Sherman RV in Tupelo MS to pick up their brand new 2017 Allegro Bus!  Carleen is in town for some paint work at Bruce Deatons.

Steve, Karen, Pam and I walked over to Jack's for dinner and enjoyed it as well as pleasant spring evening in Red Bay!

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Roadrunner Summer Travel Plans

We started our summer travels and left Virginia Beach on Monday. We were going to overnight at the Fort Criswell RV Campground which is about halfway to Maynardville, TN.  We left early and got through the Elizabeth River Tunnel without incident and on our way to Charlottesville to Interstate 81.

We got to the Criswell area about noon and decided to keep going since we only had about  four hours of driving left.  I started out driving but Pam ended up putting in most of the time behind the wheel which worked out great.

I love being on the road again.  The Roadrunner rides smoothly, has comfortable seats and a big front window and it is a joy to be still living the dream.

We are about to wrap up seven years on the road the end of the month and it has been one great adventure!

After driving all day long, we were a little below half full on the diesel tank so we pulled into a gas station in Tazewell TN.  It cost us $174 to fill up.  I still remember not too long ago and it was twice that to fill up.  While filling up I did a walk around and to my surprise noticed we had dropped a PS rear hub cap somewhere.

 I have no idea how that happened but sadly now have to chase down another one and get that done.

We are going to the Tiffin factory in Red Bay next week so we'll get one there.

We had a nice day driving with some clouds and 60 degree weather.  In the afternoon it cleared up and it was bright and shiny when we rolled into to our camp spot at Mike and Joan's about 4 PM.  Long day but we got a good night's sleep and an extra day here.

While Joan and Pam went out to see their dad, Mike and I tried to hunt down a hub cap.  We came up empty handed but had a good day hanging out together.

Pam and I had a few minutes so we firmed up some reservations along our next couple legs of our summer travels.  We haven't finalized all our plans but we do have the following places on the schedule:

• Roadrunner RV Resort and Campground (Private), Maynardville TN
• Tiffin Factory, Red Bay AL
• Kirk and Susan, Oklahoma City, OK
• Reid and Amy/Kirtland AFB, Albuquerque NM
• Paul and Bobbi, Tehachapi, CA
• Bob and Sue, Yucaipa Regional Park, Redlands CA
• Sequoia National Park, CA
• Yosemite National Park, CA
• Brothers and Wives Reunion at Marty's Cabin, Arnold CA
• Oregon Coast, OR
• Olympia National Park, WA
• Glacier National Park, ID/MT
• Care-A-Vanner Habitat for Humanity Build, Sheridan WY
• Sioux Falls, SD
• Omaha NE
• Elkhart IN
• Philiadelphia PA
• Virginia Beach VA

That translates to something like this:

I am still learning Google Maps and overlaid a number of maps to create this one and got duplicate letters for the destinations.  Something to work on at a later date...but the main point is to create some semblance of a route for our travels the next four months.

That's all for now - Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Maybe we'll see you all the way somewhere?

Our Days in Virginia April - May 2016

We have done a lot of things the last few weeks since we arrived in Virginia Beach in mid - April.  We are staying at the Dam Neck Annex/Sea Mist RV Campground.  This is a favorite area.

It's a low maintenance kind of place but everything works.  They have a small staff and friendly staff. The grass gets mowed, the laundry room gets cleaned up.  Basically a well run campground.

We've had lots of time with Brooks while here.  He is one amazing little guy.  Here he is deciding which wheel to use while making his way into Krogers on a windy day.

Here he is asking Grandpa if he can have the iPhone.  He does that a lot.  And Grandpa gives it to him a lot.

Another things we've done while here is take care of lots of appointments.  Here is my hygienist Mia after a successful teeth cleaning.

We also had the pleasure of seeing Marg and Bill for a few days.  They stopped by on their way back to Ontario from spending time in Florida this winter.

This is the Collision Center manger taking a picture of the rear deck lid that needed to be adjusted.  We got rear ended in December and got it fixed in Fort Walton Beach.  USAA said if we ever heard any rattles or something needed adjustment after it was fixed to contact them.  They set us up with these folks and it all got squared away.

Then too, there has been a couple of projects around the house I got to work on.  Apart from mowing the yard a couple of times, I finished up some of the flower bed trim logs.  I cut them to size, Kelly drilled holes in them for the 12" pipes to hole them in place.

We also made another trip to Fairfax to see Adam and Melissa for a few days.  While there we drove by our old house.  Kind of sad -- the yard not mowed and the fence needs painting.  No flowers.  The whole place needs some TLC... ;(

Adam and I worked on a new table for his record player and Sonos speakers.  They were looking for something functional and basic.  We measured things out and got a 4' x 8' of birch plywood at Home Depot and had them make two cuts.

Next, we went back to his basement workshop and cut some dividers.  He orders some short legs with a metal plate to screw on the bottom.  

We pre-drilled holes for some screws and also used a nail/brad gun to put it together.

The plates for the screw-on legs went on easily.

We raised the piece that went along the back of the unit which gave us a lip on top and access on the bottom shelf for speaker cords.

It fit nicely under the window.

One thing Adam and Melissa are into is crossfit.  Their group was holding a fundraiser competition and we went to see some of the action.  It was motivating to see all these world class athletes pushing themselves and in such good shape.

They were hoping to raise $5000 to rescue a person out of slavery.  The effort is led by International Justice Mission.  I had no idea slavery is so prevalent around the world.  I've heard of sex trafficking and that kind of slavery.  This goes further and through the efforts of the 20+ competitors and 100? attendees (plus who knows what else went into this event), they were able to raise over $20,000.  Good for them.  They are making a difference.

Back in Virginia Beach, we've spent quite a few afternoons and evenings on the back deck at Kelly and Jon's place.  Brooks has a nice play area and Jon does his magic with his Big Green Egg.  He really knows how to cook on that thing!

A few times while here, I've been able to get together with some men at coffee shops and get in some 1 on 1 time.  This is one of Jon's favorite places in Virginia Beach.  Three Ships Coffee Bar and Roastery is unique and I can see why he likes it.

Then more time with Brooks.  In the few weeks we've been here we've seen Brooks develop.  His little mind is going 1000 miles an hour.  Here he is waiting for Grandma and Grandpa to show up.  He has learned how to move his step stool around and bring it over to places to get things... at 14 months this has to be way ahead of schedule?

Then for Mother's Day, Pam wanted a Radio Flyer Wagon to take Brooks on walks around the neighborhood.  He likes it pretty well so far...

Yesterday we got in on some picture taking after church.  He was ok with it for about 20 seconds, then he got busy and needed to go check something out...

It was a beautiful day yesterday so they came over to the campground and Brooks got to check out the beach.  

It's been a busy time, but we have thoroughly enjoyed it here!  And we have another week to go.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!