Our Diesel Truck Ownership Misadventures

Upon our return to Camano Island from the cruise on August 15th, we had the pleasure of enjoying the weekend with Jeff and Becky Hilen, Karen's cousins who came up from Gig Harbor, Washington. They had made plans to stay at the beach house for the week and have some of their kids and grandkids come to the island for a visit. We shared some great meals with Karen's extended family while enjoying the beautiful August weather.

On Thursday, August 18 I drove Karen to the Lynwood Lightrail station so she could get to Seattle/Tacoma (SEATAC) airport. She was heading to California to attend her 50th High School Class Reunion over the weekend. I planned on staying back on Camano Island until Monday, August 25th until she returned. I would move the RV solo back to North Bend just east of Seattle in the afternoon. After dropping off the rig I drove to SEATAC to pick her up. While enroute to the airport the truck started indicating new engine warnings. Karen arrived early so I picked her up and we drove back to North Bend, stopping for a lovely Italian dinner before rejoining our trailer.

On Tuesday, August 26, we cautiously drove back to the Tri-Cities area to the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Hood Park facility on the Snake River outside Pasco, Washington to drop off the RV. From there we drove back to Meyers Auto Tech in Kennewick to drop off the truck for the planned phase 2 of the service we scheduled and also investigate the return of the engine warning lights. The guys at Meyer's had arranged one of their loaner cars for us to use this time around. They had the truck scheduled for work first thing Wednesday morning, so we headed back to camp.

The planned truck service included changing fluids in the front and rear differential, the transfer case and a brake flush, What wasn't expected and discovered was the coolant reservoir seeping out under pressure through the over flow. The shop recommended replacing the reservoir and reservoir cap which we authorized. But the big ticket item involved the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF). They recommended removing DPF filter to inspect for clogging. The technician removed the DPF filter to inspect and after inspection noticed the DPF filter is breaking down and is faulty. They recommended replacing the DPF filter assembly.

The DPF filter assembly is a $5ooo part not including labor, but the bigger issue was it would take 5 days to get the part. Yikes! With only three days available in the area and no where to stay during the Labor Day weekend, we were both pretty overwhelmed and at a loss on how to deal with this dilemma.

It is times like this, when circumstances are out of our control, we can only turn to our Heavenly Father for His provision. After praying for wisdom about what to do the night before, on Thursday we decided to head to Meyer's shop and discuss our options with Cody and Ray. After Ray made a number of phone calls, he was able to locate a replacement DPF assembly in a town two hours away but it would be a few days after the Labor Day holiday for them to deliver it. To expedite the repair we offered to do the driving to pick up the part. This was highly unconventional but the shop agreed to the idea and called in the payment using their account. So Karen and I spent 4 hours that Thursday as their parts delivery service driving up and back. With the part in their shop by late afternoon we had a chance to get the truck repaired by Friday afternoon before we had to checkout of our campsite at Hood Park.

Friday morning, August 29 was the beginning of the Labor Day weekend and we had a reservation at another U.S. Army Corps of Engineers park about 30 minutes east of Hood Park on the Snake River but we needed our truck to move the RV. I called the shop about 10:30 AM and got the word the truck was ready, so we drove their courtesy car back to the shop, paid the huge bill and picked up the truck. The miracles included locating the part we needed in a nearby city and Meyers shop being able to install the part in 2 hours rather than the expected 8 hours. We were so blessed to be able to get our truck back and check out of the RV park by 1:30pm, thanks to God's provision!

We concluded our time in the area on Saturday, August 30 and departed for Idaho. Our route would take us through the mountains and we eventually arrived at the Cracker Barrel restaurant in Nampa, Unfortunately, en route the check engine light returned along with the low coolant light back on. After three days and thousands of dollars in repairs, we still didn't have a reliable truck. Now, 272 miles away from the mechanic we had to deal with these new issues. Fortunately I had a gallon of radiator coolant in reserve to help keep the level topped off.

You all can imagine the level of frustration and frankly anger associated with our situation. But we both realized quickly that these feelings would not solve our problem. I called Meyers and told them the problem wasn't resolved. They advised me to seek out another shop and keep them in the loop so they can honor their warranty. I would keep an eye on our coolant temperature, oil temperature and pressure so we didn't push the normal ranges while towing the RV.

This would be a stressful journey back to Texas, but we had no where else to go, so we would press on one day at a time.