NO SERIOUS ISSUES WITH THE COACH, GREAT FACTORY TOUR, & WE’LL HAVE THE BIG WHEELS ROLLING IN THE MORNING

OUR AFTERNOON FACTORY TOUR

Winds picked up in the night setting Kelly’s bedroom slide awning to a flappin.  It went on all night disrupting her sleep.  Mine as well but being out in the living room it wasn’t as annoying.  A steady cold wind blowing as I took Pheebe out around 6.  Could see stars again & that was encouraging to know we might have sunny skies to start another day on the windswept Canadian Prairies.

THE RIG HEADS INTO THE SHOP THIS MORNING ABOUT 10:30

We had received an email awhile back from a blog reader living in Winkler & this morning we met Jake & Anne Wiebe at McDonald’s for a quick coffee.  Nice folks who have a 40’ Dutch Star diesel pusher.  Jake’s been reading our blog for a couple years now.  Had us a nice chat before we had to scurry back across the road to Triple E.  Soon as we got arrived they were ready for the rig so we quickly hauled in the slides & disconnected water & electric.  A fellow came out & drove it around the building into the shop.  Rig was inside for 2.5 hours.  We waited in the waiting room while Pheebs waited in the Jeep.  We slipped out to take her for a couple walks. 

JAKE & ANNE….I’M THE GRUBBY LOOKING GUY IN THE MIDDLE

Rig was driven back out of the shop & parked back in the customer service spot about 1 o’clock.  Nothing serious.  No problems found with the fresh water tank fiasco.  They filled the tank & re-calibrated it.  Furnace problem turned out to be a pinched wire.  A few other systems were checked out, questions answered, & we were shown a few things on the rig.  Total bill was $92 & we are good to go.  But not too far.  Had a factory tour at 2 p.m. so we decided to spend one more night in Winkler with water & electric before heading out in the morning.

HANGING OUT IN TRIPLE E’S CUSTOMER SERVICE WAITING ROOM…KELLY’S ON THE COMPUTER IN THE CORNER

Our 1 hour factory tour began at 2 o’clock & went to 4:30.  Only 1 other couple on the tour besides us & that made it especially nice.  A fellow by the name of Mark Ratzlaff conducted the tour & did an excellent job.  Answered all our questions & took extra time to explain everything.  I have too many photos of the factory tour so will space them out over the next couple days.  For the finished product of what we were seeing under construction today click on this link….LEISURE TRAVEL VANS.   Had some auto focus problems with my camera today so you will notice some photos will appear a bit fuzzy

A VAN BEING PREPPED FOR THE PAINT SHOP

 

AND THE STRIPES ARE PAINTED ON NOT PASTED ON

First thing noticeable was how clean everything was & the second thing we noticed was the attention paid to quality & detail & that we think comes from the many Mennonite folks & women working in the plant.  I think around 250 employees. 

A VAN ROOF TAKES SHAPE

LEISURE WAY DOES ALL THEIR OWN SEAT UPHOLSTERING…EACH VAN MODEL HAS IT’S OWN SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED HOLDING TANKS

We were told so much information on this tour today that I’m lucky if I can remember half of one per cent of it.  All Leisure Travel vans being built at the moment are customer orders with delivery dates backlogged to next summer.  Eighty per cent of their units go to the States with the other twenty per cent being sold in Canada.  Quality is evident everywhere as we were shown how wood joints went together, fiberglass molds were built, wood & metal framing etc. etc..  Never saw one sliver of particle or pressboard in the whole place.  Metal parts are laser cut for accuracy.  Mercedes Benz chassis with 6 cyl diesel engines have about the best gas mileage in the industry.  And the decorative stripes on the outside are painted on & not stuck on like most RV’s.

LOOKING DOWN ON THE SHOP FLOOR

 

MARK POINTS OUT HOW THEY ALTER & STRENGTHEN THE MERCEDES FRAME

We were told an Italian woodworking designer has been brought in from Italy & Triple E Leisure Travels Vans are excited about some new ideas & revolutionary designs builds coming up.  After what we saw at the plant this afternoon would we ever consider buying one of their Leisure Travel Vans??  Darn right we would but it’s not likely we will.  First, we could not afford a new one & second it just simply comes down to space for us.  As readers know we did try to live in the smaller space of a couple Class C’s & it just didn’t work for us.  But, that’s just us.  Guess we’re just space hogs.

FRAMEWORK FOR THE FLOOR

 

THE FULLY UNDERCOATED BOTTOM SIDE OF THE VAN WHICH FITS ONTO THE CHASSIS FRAME

We will dump our gray & black water tanks in the morning over at the community Park, hook up the Jeep & hit the road.  Westward-Ho.  Next stop Brandon Manitoba to meet probably our longest blog follower.  Seven years these folks have been reading my posts & Don has often sent us suggestions & helpful solutions & ideas to different RVing problems we have had

THIS FELLOW IS SPRAYING FIBERGLASS INTO A MOLD

  

DON’T THINK I WOULD CARE TO WORK IN THE FIBERGLASS SHOP…TOO SMELLY

LEISURE WAY MAKES ALL THEIR OWN FIBERGLASS MOLDS…VERY LITTLE IS SOURCED OUT IN THE BUILDING OF THESE VANS & THAT WAY QUALITY CONTROL IS EASIER TO CONTROL

REAR VAN CAPS CAN BE SEEN STACKED ON A CART HERE

And Ivan sent us this little ditty about the Corner Gas movie coming up.  And ‘no’ the main set didn’t burn down.  It was just one of the small buildings in the town of Roleau Saskatchewan that was occasionally used for a few location shoots.

GROANER’S CORNER:(( I took four tires to a friend’s garage sale and was asking $30 apiece. I needed to leave for a few minutes, so I asked him to watch them for me.
"Sure," he said, "but if someone offers less, how low are you willing to go?"  "Try for more, but I will accept $15," I said, and left.  When I returned, my tires were gone. "How much did you get for them?" I asked excitedly.  "Fifteen dollars each."  "Who bought them?"  "I did!"