Our Tiffin Service Center Experience

When purchasing an RV, there is a big debate on whether to buy new or to buy used. After much research and discussion, we eventually decided to custom order a Tiffin Motorhome in February 2018. Some of the custom features we chose were deducting the front TV and replacing it with cabinets, adding solar panel prep with an upgrade to a heavier gauge wire, adding a fireplace, residential refrigerator, washer/dryer and choosing amber glazed cabinets. We picked up Destiny (our motorhome) on June 6, 2018 from Shorewood RV in Anoka, Minnesota (now LazyDays) and here we are 10 months later!

There are many RV horror stories out there where it was determined that the RV manufacturer used low-quality materials and inferior workmanship in their building process. Fortunately, Destiny didn’t have anything major happen to her in the first year. We encountered just a few things that were frustrating, but could wait to get them repaired in Red Bay, Alabama. Red Bay is where all Tiffin Motorhomes are built. Our motorhome came with a limited warranty of 1 year from the date of purchase or 12,000 miles, whichever occurs first. We also have a 10-year unitized construction and 5-year sidewall delamination limited warranty. So, after spending the winter in Arizona, we thought we could slowly make our way over to Red Bay.

Pulling into the Tiffin Service Center

We pulled into the Tiffin Service Center on Tuesday, April 16. If you have warranty work, you can camp at the Allegro Campground (located at this location) for free with full hookups (electric/water/sewer). Otherwise, the campground is $25/night for owners with Tiffin motorhomes that are 2-10 years old. The Tiffin Service Center is first-come, first-served, which means you wait to get your service work completed. After filling out paperwork, we were told either Norris or Jason would come by the next morning to review the items needing attention. Jason came by at 7:30am and was very thorough as he went through each of our items. He even showed us a few tips on a few items in the RV. We were given the current wait time which was 1 1/2 weeks before getting into a service bay. 

Things we did while waiting

While waiting for service, it was a perfect time to meet other Tiffin owners in the campground! Tiffin motorhomes are everywhere you look! The manufacturing plant in Red Bay and the painting plant in Belmont, Mississippi have tours Monday-Friday. We learned they focus on quality right from the beginning. On the weekend, we toured the legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield and Helen Keller’s home in Tuscumbia. Since it was Easter, we were invited to attend Easter service at a local Baptist Church. We had fun in the Tiffin Allegro Club where Mark and I purchased matching fleece jackets. The camp store became a daily stop to check out all the Tiffin motorhome parts.

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Because the Allegro Campground is outside the service bays, we experienced the rhythm of how the Tiffin Service Center works. When you are assigned a service bay, you move your RV to your service bay beginning at 7am. Since there are 53 service bays, 40+ RVs close up their RVs in the campground and move to their service bay for the day. RVs also come from other campgrounds that are located throughout Red Bay. It really looked like an RV parade every morning and again at 3pm when the RVs returned after the service bays were closed. It got to be pretty comical!

Our turn is up!

Our turn to get into a service bay came just eight days after our arrival (a couple of days sooner than we expected). We were assigned to Bay 33 and our technicians were Shane and Michael. We call them the “dream team” because they had the best customer service we have ever experienced! Here are some of the major items they addressed:

• Switched the black/grey tank sensor displays and handles – they were wired/installed backwards
• One of the bedroom slides wouldn’t sync up – it needed a new slide-out controller
• Bathroom door didn’t latch correctly – they had to furr out the door jam
• Driver fan didn’t work – initial failure, replaced fan
• Replaced all window screen gaskets – they were letting in insects when they were open
• Replaced the screen door window – there was a gap in the acrylic near the door handle
• Repositioned the front solar/night shades – work correctly now
• Caulking was needed on roof gutters and dryer vent
• Adjusted bay doors and rear engine door so they are flush
• Repaired woodwork trim/panels that were loose

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Customer service at its best!

We were in Bay 33 for 2 1/2 days. Shane and Michael anticipated what we needed each day and throughly explained what they did. They provided insights on maintaining our RV. Their workmanship was outstanding! To save us from having to go to the woodworking bay, they worked with Zack (woodworking) to get our items completed quicker. The same thing happened with our electronic issues, i.e., HDMI 2 cable to main TV didn’t work. It turned out the HDMI 2 cable came loose from the conversion box behind the mid-section TV. They fixed it quickly and even tied up the control box so it wouldn’t happen again.

One morning, we put a post-it note on the table that said “table squeaks”. We had forgotten to share this with them, but when we came back from the customer lounge, they said they tightened the screws that were under the table! It was such an easy fix! We also had a few hours in the mechanical bay where Sandy and Kyle adjusted the ride height adjusters and added additional undercoating on the chassis. It was fun to see Destiny raised up on the hoist!

We even met with Bob Tiffin!

Before we left Red Bay, we thought it would be fun to see if we could visit with Bob Tiffin, president of Tiffin Motorhomes. We wanted to share our customer experience with him. We drove to the Tiffin manufacturing plant and asked security if it would be possible to see Bob. The security officer said he was in! We signed in and put on neon yellow vests. I’m sure this was to alert everyone we were visitors! When it was our turn, we were escorted to Bob’s office and we just started talking to him as if we were friends! He shared with us how he worked with his dad at Tiffin Supply Company. He convinced his dad to start making motorhomes back in 1972. Mark shared he also grew up with his dad in the business too. There was a instant bond with them both being “hardware brats”!

We shared our story of how we chose the motorhome and what adventures we had already been on. We spent time recognizing all the employees we came into contact with and the excellent customer service we had received. When Bob found out we had installed solar/lithium, he wanted all the details on how it worked. All in all, we spent 45 minutes with Bob! When we were leaving, the next customers going to see him were carrying a cabinet door. We thought that was odd, but found out later that there is a tradition to bring a cabinet door from your RV and Bob will sign it with “Happy Trails”. Well, if we would have known, we could have done that too. I guess that will have to wait for another time!

We would buy a Tiffin all over again!

Because of this experience, we are very happy we purchased a Tiffin Motorhome and we experienced it first hand they stand behind their product! Thank you to all the employees at Tiffin Motorhomes for believing in what you do! You have helped us be able to see North America in our full-time RV lifestyle! If we had to do it all over again, we would definitely choose Tiffin Motorhomes.

Find Joy in the Journey – Heidi and Mark – Loving the RV life