Calamity Part 2

On Tuesday August 6, after a fitful night's sleep we awoke to a new dawn and began the task of determining our next course of action.  I spent all morning on the internet researching DPF issues and diesel after-treatment systems in general.  I found an article posted online by another RVer with a similar coach who had a near identical experience.  You can read about his experience HERE.  I continued to research articles on forced or parked regen and DPF failures.  I was able to learn a lot about how the very complex exhaust after-treatment systems on modern diesel engines work, but I was no closer to determining an immediate solution.

It still looked like our options are limited: 1) call a mobile technician and hope he can bring about a resolution, 2) seek a tow to a qualified diesel shop or 3) drive to a qualified diesel shop.  I talked with Jesse, the owner of the campground, who was very helpful.  Jesse owns a diesel truck and does most of the work on his truck himself, so he has a fair knowledge. Unfortunately he could offer no advice on our specific problem, but he did say he would not trust any of the mechanics in Kremmling for such an issue.  The nearest qualified shop would be Cummins Rocky Mountain in Henderson CO, just northeast of Denver, 113 miles away.

Shortly after lunch Dorcas located Peak To Peak Truck Repair in Silverthorne CO, on I-70 about 40 miles back the way we came.  They say they can perform the parked regen and can have a guy up here in an hour or so.  Jesse was not familiar with them, but they have pretty good online ratings, so we have them come up.  Ethan arrives and plugs into our diagnostic port and sees the same fault codes that I had seen earlier, indicating a high differential pressure across the DPF.  He initiates the parked regen using his Cummins software and all appears to be going well, as the engine RPMs and the exhaust temperature rise.  Then, about 4 minutes into the procedure, the forced regen stops.  CRAP!  What does that mean?  Ethan starts the procedure again, with the same results.  Third times a charm, right?  Not this time.  The forced regen usually takes about an hour to complete and the exhaust temperature reaches 800 degrees plus.  Neither of those things happened. Not even close.  So what does that mean? It could mean the DPF is so fouled it will need to be removed and cleaned externally or it may need to be replaced.  Or it could mean something else entirely. Ethan has no clue.  He gives up and leaves, $510 richer.  As Ethan is leaving he poses this riddle: Question: "What does RV really stand for?" Answer: "Ruined Vacation".  Smart ass.

Strike one.  Ethan did accomplish one thing.  Our red "Stop Engine" light is now a yellow "Check Engine" light.  That means we might be able to drive the coach, but for how far?  And what if the stop engine light reappears when we are in a cellular dead zone or other inconvenient or unsafe place to break down? That would not be good.

OK.  I guess we're taking the coach to Cummins in Denver. I talk to a Cummins corporate representative again, and he strongly advises against driving the coach.  He offers to make an appointment at Cummins in Henderson, and does make that appointment for 10:00 on Wednesday the next morning.  To get an appointment that quickly was encouraging.

Jesse says there is a towing company in Kremmling,  East and West Towing LLC, who he trusts and that is relatively inexpensive.  We give them a call and ask for a quote to tow us to Cummins in Henderson.  YIKES!  I didn't know what to expect for the cost, but their quote  seemed awfully high.  After talking with them some more I learn they want to tow the coach from the rear.  Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp, the manufacturer of our chassis, strongly recommends towing from the front and specifically by lifting with the front wheels.  I relay this information back to East and West Towing and ask why they can't tow from the front, but they never respond to the question. I'm losing faith in East and West Towing and beginning to question their willingness and ability to safely tow our coach.

In the meantime we contact Brinks Heavy Towing out of Denver.  They specialize in heavy towing and are familiar with the requirements of our coach. They are willing to do it the right way and can do it this evening.  They have very good online ratings and provide us a quote that is significantly less than East and West Towing.  The MajicBus is going for a ride!

The tow truck from Brinks arrives about 6:30 PM.  The driver, Jesus, cruises into the campground and quickly realizes there is not enough room there to hook us up.  So we drive the coach out onto a side street and Jesus begins doing his thing.

By the time we are on the hook and ready to go, it is dark.  We are going to follow the driver in our car back to the Cummins repair facility north of Denver, 113 miles away.  I ask Jesus  how fast he would drive and he responded "about 45 mph".  He lied.  He actually drove between 35 and 40 mph for most of the way.  I followed a bit behind the truck with my flashers on, and it was the longest and most tedious drive I can remember.  But I'm not complaining; I'm glad he drove safely. There was a backup at the Eisenhower Tunnel that lasted about an hour.  Finally, as we began to approach Denver, and Jesus took off like a horse headed for the barn.  I could barely keep up.

We arrived at the Cummins service facility about midnight.  I had been told there were three parking spots for RVs each with 50A electric, but when we arrived all three sites were occupied.  So Jesus dropped us off at the check-in gate in one of several staging lanes.  By 1:00 AM Wednesday morning we managed to go bed, and even managed to sleep a bit.  It had been a long day.

On Wednesday August 7 we wake up dazed and confused, and not at well-rested, in the parking lot at Cummins Rocky Mountain in Henderson CO.  I stumble into the building to find the service counter to check in.  When I check in I found that my appointment was not for actual service, but simply for a diagnostic scan.  This means they would only scan the ECM for codes and faults and would not be able to do any actual service, at least not this day.  So eventually Breland comes out to the coach and connects his code reader device and reveals the same code indicating a fouled DPF.  Breland apologizes for the mix-up.  He said the Cummins corporate representative on the call line I spoke to yesterday made the wrong type of appointment.  He said that happens all the time, and that I should have called the service facility directly.  How was I to know that???  The soonest they can get us into the shop to run a full set of diagnostic tests is Friday.  CRAP!  The only good news is that they do have a DPF in stock, if it actually does need to be replaced.

OK, we have an appointment set for Friday for a full diagnostics procedure, hopefully repairs too, depending on the outcome of the diagnostic tests. Meanwhile we are sitting in the parking lot roasting as the temperature approaches the mid 90s.  A spot has now opened up in the RV spaces with power, but we can't move because our driveshaft is in a storage bay (removing the driveshaft is a requirement when you tow a diesel motorhome from the front).  Breland says he can get a technician out shortly to reinstall the driveshaft, and thankfully, before noon we are parked with 50A power and can run both air conditioners at full blast.  Hurrah!!!

All in all this is not an unpleasant place to be laid up. We have 50A power, we could safely extend at least two of our slide outs and Ginger had a nice grassy place to romp.

We also had an on-site prairie dog town.  In the grassy area beside the coach and in a scrub field on the other side of the parking lot there were more than a dozen mounds where the prairie dogs would rise up and chirp at Ginger.  She got very excited and chased after them at first, however, it didn't take her long to realize it was a lost cause and eventually gave up trying to catch them. 

We even had a prairie dog mound right at the base of one of our power pedestals.  Ginger could watch the prairie dogs from the comfort of her home.

So we sit and wait until Friday.  Hopefully repairs can be made then, and we will be on our way.  I'm an optimist.  Silly me.