Kevin Shows Restraint

The technician arrived at 8AM and reviewed each item on the list. He quickly determined that the Express Bay (EB) would handle most of the critical issues. A few like the battery replacement would be deferred to the Mechanical bays if not covered in the EB. He estimated a Monday or Tuesday for the Smitanic turn in the EB. This was awesome news! Kevin and Theresa were comfortable with the time frame. Now all they could do is explore the area while they waited their turn for the EB.

One of the must-see local attractions, was a tour of the Tiffin manufacturing plant. This started at 9:30am. Kevin and Theresa were one of the first to arrive at the visitor center to check in for the tour. “please sign in and be sure to get your safety glasses” said the host, and in the same breath, “where y'all from?” Kevin immediately was tagged as a trouble maker remarking that he was a Winnebago owner. “Just kidding we have a 2006 Allegro Bus, can we get a discount on a new model?” They had seen his type before and were ready.

After 20 or so people gathered, a short film was shown with a greeting from the Tiffin family, a father and 3 sons, who still own and manage the company.

Next the group walked in to the woodworking shop where there were mounds of real cherry, oak and other hardwoods with very impressive sanders to mold all the interior cabinets and décor of each of the models of the Allegro line of RVs. Next was the assembly line where all those pre-constructed components were applied and affixed to the base chassis. First the plumbing, engine, electric, then walls, appliances, furniture and lastly the walls and slide outs.

Theresa and Kevin were amazed at the details. Each RV model was spec built. All of it's pieces down to the wiring was identified with the model. Work assigned to an individual was labeled with their name. Tiffin rolls out 12 completed units per day, so each station had 12 bins for the daily product quota. Theresa just could not imaging the analytics and detail that went in to planning each unit and all the components. It was also impressive how much handwork by humans that went into each step. Sanding, calking, wiring, polishing... all by hand. And quality was at every step, even on the more completed coaches, notes were left on the door about what punch list items needed to be addressed before the RV left the building. Very impressive! Good thing all these RVs were spoken for, otherwise Kevin would be negotiating for a trade in ;)

It was amazing that the tour took 20 some-odd visitors into and around the manufacturing areas in the mist of where folks were working. Occasionally the workers would look up and give a nod or a wave, but most were very engaged in their assigned task.

The tour guide did reveal that Tiffin employs 1500 and that the hours are from 6AM until 2:30 with a simultaneous 40 min lunch. She also noted that sometimes overtime is required to meet the 12 bin quota. See all the pictures here 

The only disappointment was there was no Tiffin family member spotting... may be next time.

Back to the campground to do some laundry, catch up on the blog and Mr. Opinion podcasts and cook dinner. And settle in for a long weekend of waiting.