Posts featuring the coach.
We are heading into the Disney World bubble next week, and for that reason and since the blog posts are fast catching up to real-time due to staying in one place for multiple weeks recently, I’ve decided to take a week off from the blog.
So, no new Sinclair Trails blog posts next week. The next post will be on the 17th.
In the meantime, enjoy some cat pics.
Tweak Thursday: we added body wash / shampoo / conditioner dispensers on the wall of our shower:
We stayed at Ozark / Fort Rucker KOA Journey in Ozark, Alabama. (Campground Reviews listing.)
A one-night stop on the way south. KOA Journeys are usually an easy choice when we don’t want to untoad.
Dates:
Weather:
Noise:
Site:
Utilities:
Internet (in usage priority order):
Amenities:
Our review on Campground Reviews:
Convenient stop
We stayed one night on our way from Red Bay to Florida. This was a very convenient in-and-out place to stay. The friendly and helpful staff guided us to our spot and made sure we were good to go. There was a bit of road and train noise, but not too bad. Our site was a long enough pull-through that we didn’t need to disconnect our tow vehicle or fuss with positioning. The only downside is if you’re headed south when you leave, you have to wait a while for a decent break in the traffic as there isn’t a merge lane across the divided highway. We camped at Ozark / Fort Rucker KOA Journey in a Motorhome.
Campground map:
An interactive map:
Our site:
Other sites:
A nice little pond area:
A decent one-night stop.
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 288 miles from Red Bay, Alabama to Ozark, Alabama.
We drove our coach 288 miles, about five hours of driving, from Red Bay to Ozark, Alabama. (With lots of Paladin pics.)
Here’s a map showing our route, heading south:
An interactive map:
A video of Paladin getting pushed by the slide-out coming in while we were preparing the leave; he didn’t care:
Goodbye Red Bay Acres:
SR-19:
I-22 East:
Lunch stop:
Back on I-22 East, with Paladin on the dash:
“Break the drive if sleepy”:
Rest area:
Paladin on the dash again:
“End higher fines”… sounds like a protest sign:
Fuel stop:
Some women admiring Paladin at the fuel stop:
US-231 South:
KOA:
Guided to our site:
In December 2023 the big window awning on the passenger side of our coach broke; it slammed open when extending it, and wouldn’t retract anymore. We got it repaired when in Red Bay, Alabama (home of Tiffin) in March 2024; see this previous post about that issue and repair.
Unfortunately, that repair didn’t last; after a few months it started making clunking noises when extending, and wouldn’t automatically retract. We could still use it, as I could push it back up and it’d stay retracted, but it wasn’t ideal.
So we made an appointment for when we were back in Red Bay in December with the Girard Awning Service Center next to Red Bay Acres (where we were staying), and got them to install a replacement.
Since the old awning was from a different manufacturer, they needed to do a few adjustments. They filled the holes from the old awning mounting with rivets, and painted them, after the old awning was removed (look closely just below the black slide topper rail):
Here’s the new window awning installed:
Painted rivets from the old awning arm mount; not an entirely tidy paint job, but only visible in certain light:
The left side is a bit tidier:
They added an extra cord bracket (used to hold the awning open); they asked if we wanted to remove the old one, but we said it’s fine to leave it; we could use it to have a shallower angle. The lower one is the new one:
The new awning open:
Definitely a nicer product. We did consider replacing the two on the driver side too, so they’d match. But they are still functional, and it wouldn’t be cheap, so we decided to leave them as-is.
A silent 360° timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 184 miles from Lena, Mississippi to Red Bay, Alabama, including a portion of the Natchez Trace Parkway. Drag to look around anywhere while playing the video.
We stayed at Red Bay Acres RV Resort in Red Bay, Alabama. (Campground Reviews listing.)
Our fourth stay here, and third in 2024.
Dates:
Weather:
Noise:
Site:
Utilities:
Internet (in usage priority order):
Amenities:
Our review on Campground Reviews:
Still the best place to stay in Red Bay
We’ve stayed here several times while getting our coach serviced in the Red Bay area, and it’s still the only place I would choose to stay. The lake in the middle is pleasant and we love having the on-site cafe. It is a little disappointing that they seem to be cutting back on the menu there (pretty much only sandwiches now, when you used to get wings and other hot items). I also wish the concrete pads were a bit wider, as it rained nearly every day, and the infamous Red Bay mud was inescapable when hooking/unhooking for our service appointments. December is a bit of a mixed bag as the town closes the week before Christmas through the New Year. Having the campground to ourselves was nice, but services were harder to schedule. We camped at Red Bay Acres RV Resort in a Motorhome.
Tip for Other Campers: After several trips to Red Bay the big question is, why did it take me so long to discover the majesty of Big Star’s bakery? I’m still dreaming of their chocolate chip cookies….
Campground map:
An interactive map:
Our site:
On a frosty morning, you can see the framing of the coach:
A thunderstorm rolling through:
Red Bay Yacht Club:
Pond:
Other sites, mostly empty throughout our stay:
The week before Christmas was a good time to visit, other than being rather cold. We don’t have any current plans to go back to Red Bay, but it seems inevitable that we will in due course, and will stay here again when we do.
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 184 miles from Lena, Mississippi to Red Bay, Alabama.
We drove our coach 184 miles, about three hours of driving, from Lena, Mississippi to Red Bay, Alabama.
Here’s a map showing our route (kinda), heading north:
That wasn’t actually our route, as we decided to take the Natchez Trace Parkway, which the RV routing didn’t like, but I examined closely and determined it’d be fine for us. Here’s an interactive map of the actual route:
A branch and lots of leaves by our truck:
A narrow road from the campground:
A sharp turn from the park road; not too hard for our coach:
Another Allegro Bus passing us:
A drizzly drive:
Entering Natchez Trace Parkway:
Lunch stop at the Jeff Busby area:
Loose dogs roaming around:
Leaving Natchez Trace Parkway for I-22 East:
MS-25:
Turned into MS-76 (a newer and much nicer highway):
Welcome to Sweet Home Alabama:
Arriving at our destination, Red Bay Acres:
Mostly empty RV park:
Oooh, a Zephyr (top of the line Tiffin motorhome):
Our site:
