Tiffin Rally - Orlando

Our first RV rally! The Tiffin Allegro Club was holding a rally in Orlando and it seemed a good way to learn more about our coach and meet other RVers with similar coaches. When we found out that a new friend we met last month in Gaffney, SC was attended we elected to sign up and join him. What the heck, it was being held fifteen minutes away at the Central Florida Fairgrounds. I could even keep my dentist appointment!

We have never been to an event like this and the logistics amazed me. Two hundred and sixty coaches were to arrive and needed to be parked in the same day. Volunteers arrived ahead of time, had everything set up, and guided the coaches into position with little trouble. We were in the block designated to arrive between 1:00 and 3:00. Coaches wishing to be parked together had to arrive together, so we coordinated with Jerry to pull up at the fairgrounds at the same time. We both arrived at 12:55 and as it turned out we were very fortunate to get parked in the very last row of the main group of coaches. I say fortunate because we ended up with a very nice lake view instead of looking at neighbors across the way.

 

Getting in was not entirely without issue. Water hookups were scarce, and people were running hoses great distances to get to a faucet. We heeded instructions in the pre-rally packet and filled our water tank before arriving, so it was not an issue for us. Electrical power, however, was crazy. We knew to bring a 50 to 30 amp adapter and an extension cord, but for the group of about eight coaches in our section the outlets were typical household 20 amp outlets! Half of the outlet boxes on the pole were charred black and not functioning. It was a scramble as everyone juggled for a place on the pole with a working outlet. Those that did not have adapters for the three prong household outlet had the additional burden of finding one. Once everyone was settled in that pole looked like something out of a “What Were They Thinking” YouTube video. In the end the power was adequate thanks to cooler weather reducing the draw of multiple air conditioners.

Days were spent in seminars and checking the wares of the vendors that had come. I managed to get a few things like a flagpole holder and LED bulbs to change out the majority of the bulbs in the coach that were not already LEDs. Some of the seminars were just vendor sales pitches, but others provided good information. One of the best was a pet first aid class.

Meals were busy events as you can imagine since there were close to six hundred mouths to feed. The caterer had plenty of food, so no one went hungry even if they arrived a little late.

Barbara was unable to stay the last night since she was leaving at 4:00 AM to travel with her grandniece on a school trip to Washington, DC. Our current golden retriever foster and I were left to spent the last night together and break camp the following morning.

Bella crept out of the bedroom and found her own space

All coaches were required to leave by noon, and I thought that it would be a madhouse as 260 coaches headed to the exit at the same time. Reality was much different. I never noticed more than a half dozen coaches lined up at the exit at any one time.

I was impressed with how well the entire event was handled. I was also pleased to find so many friendly people. Everyone seemed to be enjoying him or herself, particularly the Le Mesa RV sales staff. Each evening at dinner they announced the couples that bought coaches that day. Over the course of the rally nearly twenty coaches were sold!

The Tiffin Motor Home Company provided another nice benefit. Technicians worked long hours every day of the rally providing up to three minor repairs on each coach – FREE! Thank you Tiffin!

Would we attend another such rally? Perhaps, but it would be dependent on the location and ease of access. Driving out of our way to one will most likely not happen. Not that we did not enjoy the rally, or that the rally was not run well, but because we prefer our gatherings to be much smaller in size, or focused on a specific activity of interest such as May’s rally in Moab with the FMCA 4Wheelers.

Bill and Barbara with new friends and solo travelers Jerry and Linda

We would like to thank the Tiffin Allegro Club and Tiffin Motor Homes for putting on a wonderful, well-run event.

Flat Rock, NC

We did finally make it up to Lakewood RV Park in Flat Rock, NC. While it is much dryer, clumps of snow abound. As the snow continues to melt the non-paved areas are soft and puddles are the norm.

Trying to stay warm inside

View from inside. Come on spring!

The temps continued to avoid reaching forty degrees during the day and they retreated into the twenties at night. The sun continued to allude us.

Still, it is a nice park with a high number of nice park models on the higher elevations. The flat lower section is a 100-year flood plain and no semi-permanent structures are in that area. While this park is open all year, only the bathhouse and common room are open and they see limited use. I am sure this is a very popular park in the warmer months, and we intend to return in late June. We hope to get out and see more of this area on that trip since there will be better weather and longer daylight. This park sits just off the Eastern Continental Divide where the elevation is just 2130 feet. Only knowing of the Great Divide, we did not know that other Continental Divides existed, so there will be lots to explore and learn next time.

The day of our departure turned out to be sunny and warm (er). Wouldn’t you know it? We had an uneventful drive down to Hardeeville, and subsequently home.

Still in Gaffney

Well the amount of expected snow did not materialize here in Gaffney, but things are a slushy mess. 

After. Not as bad as predicted.

We took the jeep up the interstate to Flat Rock, NC for Barbara’s first day of class at the dog training session. While she was in class I entertained myself at the laundromat, checked out the condition of the campsite we still hope to get into, and wandered around the very large Camping World in Flat Rock.

Our intended spot at Lakewood RV Park, Flat Rock, NC.

We will give the roads another day to clear in the campground, then drive the coach up Saturday. That will save Barbara the one-hour commute she is doing from here in Gaffney.

Temperatures remain in the thirties during the day and mid-twenties at night. The service bay seems to be staying in the low forties with the rear furnace ducting some warm air its way. I have also rigged a 60-watt lamp in the bay that is powered through a thermostatic switch that activates at, or about, thirty-two degrees.

Lamp in service bay. Lowest bay temp at night so far is 42*.

Thermostatic switch in unheated bay controls power to lamp.

Since the furnace vent is right next to Barbara’s side of the bed it is disrupting her sleep. If the temperature looks like it will avoid the twenties tonight I will leave that furnace off. The forward furnace should keep things from getting uncomfortable inside. It looks like we have burned half of our supply of propane already.

We certainly need to get back south where we can at least use the electric heat pumps.

Gaffney, SC and Freightliner Custom Chassis

I have been remiss. We have been on the road for five days and I have not spoken up.

We spent my seventieth birthday on the road to Hardeeville, SC which was our intermediate stop enroute to our annual maintenance service with Freightliner in Gaffney, SC. Barbara has a dog training session near Asheville, NC this week so we combined the two events to create our first out of state trip in the new-to-us motorhome.

The trip was uneventful, though we had anticipated traffic in Daytona Beach due to it being race week. It turned out to be a non-issue and we made it to Hardeeville in good time. The Hardeeville RV Park is a no-frills campground. There are no amenities. It is close to downtown Savannah, though, and close enough to I-95 to be a good stopover point.

Sunday morning the adventure began. As we tried to depart the campground it was evident that the engine had de-rated and the “Check Engine” light was on. For those unfamiliar with modern diesel engines, de-rating means that the engine is protecting itself from damage by restricting the power available. The computer does this when certain parameters are exceeded, but unfortunately the driver does not always get a clue to what is happening by looking at the gauges. Such was the case here. We limped back to our campsite and pondered. We pondered some more. All the while the engine was idling, but would not accept throttle input. The coolant temperature gauge was reading low and it seemed to be taking considerable time warming up, so I thought perhaps the thermostat had failed open not allowing the engine to reach operating temperature. Eventually the engine got over what ever was troubling it and off we went not knowing what had happened, but thinking it might be the thermostat. We added that to our list of things for Freightliner to look at and marched onward.

Just short of our destination we left the highway at a truck stop and topped off the fuel in preparation for having the coach weighed. As we re-entered the interstate the engine de-rated again and would not allow more than idle RPM. There was a lot of traffic, but we managed to get to the narrow shoulder and stop. There was not a check engine light or any other indication of what the problem might be. After a few moments we had power again and I limped to the next exit, which thankfully, was where we were to get off anyway.

The great folks at Freightliner managed to get everything done that we came for, but they could not duplicate the power issues we encountered. The diagnostic computer did find codes that indicated that the Throttle Position Sensor had been having issues since before we bought the coach, so we ordered a new throttle assembly in the hope that the problem will be solved. If the problem was a clogged fuel filter, that would have been cured by the replacement which was done as part of the annual. Time will tell, but I am going to be a bit nervous until we have some miles on the coach. We had to wait a day for the part to be shipped, but it is now installed and we are ready to go. Which brings us to the weather.

Gaffney is lower pin. Flat Rock is the upper.

The local area is now under a winter storm warning and eight to ten inches of snow is expected tonight. We originally were going to Flat Rock, NC for the dog training class, but it is in the mountains nearly fifteen hundred feet higher than here. We have elected to forgo the fun of 6-7% grades in ice and snow, and will keep the coach here in the Freightliner lot and commute the hour to the classes. If the roads clear enough over the next few days we will move up the mountain and hope that the weekend weather will be nice enough to not create a problem for coming back down the mountain for our return to Hardeeville Monday. Meanwhile, we are tucked in here with the slides drawn in to prevent snow/ice damaging the slide seals or canvas covers.

20 years in Florida. Never thought I would buy one of these again.

The before shot. Ready as we will ever be.

Seffner, FL

Well, it is not the Virgin Islands, but it is home. At least for a day or two. I am here at Lazydays for service to complete the few things we found wrong during the first thirty days of ownership. 

I have an appointment in the morning, so they provide a nice overnight camping space the night before. It is walking distance to a Cracker Barrel restaurant, so I hoofed on over for pot roast. Is life good, or what. 

Now a little TV by the fire, then off to bed. 

St Thomas, USVI

We were fortunate to get wonderful weather to sail back to Roadtown this morning to turn the Martha R back over to the charter company. 

Once back in port we cleaned the boat and went over the problems we had with the charter company. While we had a lot of fun this week, we also had a lot of mechanical problems that detracted from our enjoyment. None of it was life threatening, of course, but it was consistent enough to undermine our confidence in this charter company for future bookings. The people were all great, but you normally only see them on the first and last day. The boat on the other hand is with you every day and needs to work properly. 

We caught the Fast Ferry back to St Thomas where we will spend the night prior to heading home via Miami. 

Norman's Island, BVI

It was another windless day, so we motored directly to Norman's Island from Cane Garden Bay. Lunch at Willy T's was very good. It always surprises me that such excellent fare comes from a rusted derelict boat like the Willy T. Anyone coming to the BVI should make the attempt to visit. You can only get to it by boat.