Waiting and Done

+Scott took our RV into the shop at 6 am. After going over our list of issue, he said he would see us again about 2 or 2:30. We had expected to be at the factory for 2 days, so we wondered if everything would really be done by then. Shortly before 2, he came out and said he was finished! We looked over all the work and saw that all items except one were taken care of. And they gave us the parts to install the last shelves ourselves. We were delighted with how quickly the work was done and very pleased with how it was done. We hooked up the truck to the 5th wheel and drove to Shipshewana, IN, where we will spend a few days.

While we were waiting for Scott to finish the work, we attended the 10 am factory tour to see how DRV builds 5th wheel trailers. We came away even more impressed with the quality of our Mobile Suites. And it helps to know what is hidden under the floors and inside the walls. Ryan Miller was the day's tour leader.



Here we could see the basic frame for a new trailer. They are just placing the floor, which has already been given a moisture-free barrier on the bottom side.



This is what the aluminum floor structure looks like before the sub-flooring and that black barrier is attached.



Vinyl floor squares are installed which allows individual pieces to be removed and replaced if they are damaged.



The front raised section framework is attached.



In some factories, there is a moving assembly line. At DRV, the individual units are moved by hand on this wheeled base, pushed by one a couple of workers.



Stacks of interior walls are moved from place to place.



Most RVs are built on I-beam chasses like this one. DRV uses I beams only on one less-expensive model.



All other DRV products, including our Mobile Suites, is built using 15" stacked box tube frames. The I-beam fram can support 9 1/2 pounds per square foot; the stacked box frame holds 21 pounds per square foot.



Ryan said that Trailer Life Magazine has reported that driving an RV down the road is like subjecting it to a 6.5 earthquake. In California, where buildings must be constructed to handle such earthquakes, components are assembled with screws and blue, not welding. So DRV uses screws and glue to fasten the studs to the trailer floor.



All the windows are framed with wood, helping to prevent transfer of cold or heat to the metal trailer frame.



The trailer insulation is made of wool, which is formaldehyde-free.



After the walls are up, the insulation is put in place.



Wiring is installed. Can you imagine keeping all this straight?



Next, a long sheet of fiberglass is attached to the exterior. First they put glue on studs, then glue it in place.



The covering is also screwed in place.



Next, the necessary openings for windows, doors and slide-out rooms are cut out. The slide-out rooms are also built in the factory by DRV craftsmen. The same roll of fiberglass is used to cover the slides as was used on the main trailer body.



We saw lots of evidence of the quality control used in the manufacturing. See all these instructions, comments on the fiberglass exterior of an RV. All are problems that must be corrected before the unit moves to the next stage.



We also saw light switches and window curtains being tested and cabinets wiped down with furniture polish, both inside and outside. At the DRV rally last month, we learned that each week a couple of newly-built units are randomly selected for a thorough quality inspection by department heads. That helps them keep ahead of possible poor work habits.

We have subjected our home on wheels to earthquakes and also found some issues with appliances that had been installed. But we continue to be impressed with the quality of construction and we love our home. Our factory experience yesterday just increased our confidence.

Still Waiting

Today we have our long-awaited appointment at the DRV Mobile Suites factory in Howe, IN, to have some repairs done. We spent last night in their parking lot.



The sun wasn't even above the horizon when we had the RV slides in, ready for the tech to take it into the shop at 6 am.



While we waited for today, we visited the Wellfield Botanical Gardens in Elkhart Saturday. The gardens were a delight to see and walk through. Water was a major feature throughout the gardens.



I love Adirondack chairs and they had placed them in several places where you could sit and enjoy the flowers.





We saw several different gazebos.







Numerous different flowers in oranges and yellows were blooming.



And also many in pink and purple.



Sculptures had been placed throughout the gardens.





There are elk sculptures in many places in Elkhart, including three at the gardens.



Wellfield Gardens were established 10 years ago and are built and maintained entirely with donations and volunteer labor. No tax dollars are involved. The gardens are located over the largest operating water wellfield in Elkhart, one of three owned by the city. The gardens are being expanded and we saw some of the construction areas.



There is texture and patterns everywhere, from the paved walkways



to the foliage.



We enjoyed our visit. We went there to get some exercise, but we were so busy taking photos, we didn't have time to walk very fast.

Wait and See

Sight see, that is. But first, what are we waiting for? We are in northern Indiana to have some work done on our home. The first stop was Tiara RV in Elkhart. They are a dealer that sells DRV Mobile Suites and we came here so they could replace the valve on our black tank (read sewer). For the past couple of weeks, that valve has been leaking. If you understand RV plumbing, you will know what a mess that can be. If you don't understand, I'm not going to explain. Thursday we took our RV to them and they replaced the valve and the cable that opens and shuts the valve. We are happy to have that repair done.



Beginning Monday, we will spend a couple of days having repairs done at the Mobile Suites factory in Howe. Our one-year warranty will be up in October and we wanted to have these repairs done under warranty. So, we waited on Thursday while they worked on the black tank valve, we wait for the appointment on Monday, and we will wait while the factory does its work. We are parked in the Elkhart RV Campground and enjoying the sights in Amish Country.

Thursday, we visited the deli at Martin's Supermarket here in Elkhart, using their wifi to spend time on the internet. We also had lunch there. Martin's is a local chain and a great store. We love exploring new grocery stores. When we felt we had taken up enough time and space in the deli, we browsed at an RV surplus store and Menards. Wow, that is some store! A lot more than the big box hardware store we thought it was.





This part of Indiana has a large Amish population. The Amish don't have electricity or phones in their homes. They do have phone booths in places. See this one out in a field.



We saw a number of men and women traveling by bicycle. Riding in this kind of traffic doesn't appeal to me.



We visited the nearby community of Shipshewana today. There is plenty of parking, even for big dually trucks like we drive. There are also hitching rails for the horse and buggies many Amish use.



We had a great lunch at The Blue Gate Restaurant. I had Monterey chicken with baked apples and hush puppies. John had meatloaf with a baked potato and green beans. Both meals were delicious and way more than we usually eat at lunchtime.





Shipshewana is a city with lots of beautiful flower baskets and gardens in the downtown area. They provide a real feast for the eyes.











We also checked out Yoder's Meet and Cheese Market. Their products are interesting. We even bought fried pies home for dessert this weekend. I don't intend to try pickled asparagus, either plain for zesty, though.











I'll be sharing more sights from this area in the next few days. Waiting isn't bad when there is all this to explore.

Holiday Weekend

As all full-timer RVers know, it is important to plan ahead for holiday weekends, especially Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day.  These holidays are very popular with recreational RVers and campers, as well as those of us who live on the road.  We made reservations in March for the July 4 weekend.  I knew we would be in Ohio, where we are doing more genealogy research.  We decided on Delaware State Park north of Columbus, a park we had stayed in several years ago.

The park gave us access to the Columbus Public Library, which has a large genealogy and local history section.

They even have rental bicycles out front.  The cost is $6 an hour.  We didn’t take the time to bike around downtown Columbus, though it looked as interesting as Cincinnati.

On the 4th, we needed to do laundry.  We hadn’t been to a laundromat for 10 days, so the supply of clean clothes was about exhausted.  We found one in the nearby town of Delaware.  As we drove down the main street, it was lined with chairs.  Obviously, the town had a parade.  After washing and drying our clothes, we ended up in a line of cars stopped for the parade.

We saw a few parade entries, before making a u-turn and making our way out of town.

Surprisingly, we have heard absolutely no fireworks over the weekend.  We didn’t see any information about local fireworks shows and there wasn’t any here in the state park.  The campground is completely full, but it has been very quiet.

Yesterday, we visited two cemeteries.  On the way, we drove through the town of Mechanicsburg.  Since the local Chevrolet dealer was open, we had the truck serviced.  While the work was being done, we walked around the pretty small town.  There were lots of neat old houses.  Almost every one had a great front porch.

 

One impressive house didn’t have a front porch, but we enjoyed looking at it.

In the downtown area, we saw a small park with this nice gazebo.  The building next door had a pretty mural..

Each of the downtown buildings had interesting fronts and roof lines.