We departed Houston (Magnolia) Texas on Friday, April 5th and pointed our rig north toward Elkhart, Indiana. We made the approx. 1,160 mile trip in 5 driving days. That trip was a little bit more ambitious than we normally attempt. We like to go about 100-200 miles a day, this trip had us moving over 250 miles per day, with one leg going over 300 miles. We were on a mission to have major work accomplished on our trailer axles and a few small adjustments on our truck Romeo. Upon arrival, we noticed right away the vibrancy of Elkhart and the surrounding area. The good folks in and around Elkhart really make things happen. The level of manufacturing in that area was truly astounding to us. Much of the business is specifically manufacture of Recreational Vehicles of all types, plus much of the supporting businesses and systems also have their manufacturing operations in this same area. Elkhart, Indiana certainly looked like RV Headquarters USA to us!
Our first stop was over to the Utility Bodywerks facility for a few small adjustments to Romeo the Ram 5500. The good folks at UBW had us in and out in the morning of our visit, accomplished everything we requested and then sent us back on our way after charging us nothing. What a good day it was for us when we selected Utility Bodywerks of Elkhart, Indiana to fabricate and install our custom hauler bed on our new truck. Our stay in Elkhart was planned for one month and our only other appointment was at MorRyde for two days to rework our MorRyde IS Axle systems. During our wait time we decided to visit a few of the RV manufacturing facilities. Our first stop was at Thor MotorCoach.
No cameras were permitted inside of the facility, but we snapped a few pictures outside while we waited for the tour to commence. The Class A chassis were lined up waiting to go onto the assembly line.
In the 30 minutes we waited for the tour to start a couple of MorRyde tractors brought in a couple of chassis each. It turns out MorRyde does a lot more than IS suspension systems. They fabricate and install the steel floor joists onto the Ford, Freightliner, Mercedes and other chassis.
A few days later, Gari parks Romeo in front of Grand Design. On thing in common at all of the factories we visited was that the workforce appeared to be 50% or more Amish folks. Very hard working and talented people.
We had a little time for a selfie out by the sign in front. Again no cameras were permitted on the tour, but we can say that the Grand Design facility was the most organized and seemed to have the best quality controls in place. One other thing that was notable at Grand Design, the CFO came out and greeted the tour group. We took one last tour at the Newmar factory, but didn't get a single picture over there.
We managed to snap one picture when we came out from the manufacturing floor at Grand Design. The materials yard was as organized as the assembly line.
Fast forward a few days to our visit to the MorRyde shop. Steve pops in on the work bay to check on progress. It looks like the brake rotors are off, but we still see the spindles on the coach.
Now we see the replacement spindle assemblies appear for later installation.
Below is a new torque arm bracket. We had not anticipated replacing these 6 parts, but it was discovered upon disassembly that the bushing material had crushed allowing lateral movement of the torque arm resulting in lateral movement of the axle spindle and causing serious tire wear. At $450 per tire, we want the minimum tire wear, so we elected to replace these brackets as part of the axle/brake/suspension overhaul.
Gari stops by to inspect the installed hub assemblies. and I think she is smiling. It won't be long now until we are on the road again.
Our next stop will be Mount Airy, North Carolina for one month. From
there we will visit our good pals Jim and Michelle and son Keith up in
the mountains at Vilas, NC. From there we will head to the Eastern
Shore of Maryland and Virginia to visit mom and a few home town friends.
That will be a quick trip so limited visiting this time.
