No Codes

Ugh.

It was just one of those kind of days. Of course, I know, in the big scheme of things this is all really nothing. I'm trying to learn. I'm trying to be patient. Really, I am. But.....

So, we were up and dressed and slides in and jacks up before eight this morning. Minutes later we arrived at the local Freightliner service facility. We stepped inside and explained our situation: Two issues, both under warranty. Our request was simple: Take care of them both, please.

With that we were off. We had breakfast at IHOP. Then, stopped by Home Depot and Sutherland's for a couple of things. A couple hours after we dropped off the moose, we cruised by the parking lot. The moose hadn't moved.

Ugh.

Today's forecast temperature in Grand Junction was in the high 80s. Transporting two crated cats in the back of our Jeep, this number mattered to us....a lot. We kept the AC blazing. And, everywhere we stopped (Kohl's, Bed Bath and Beyond and wherever the hell else) we parked in the shade. We even went back to our RV park and signed up for another night. There, we visited with the cheerful workcampers. We were gone for hours. Freightliner had our number, but we received nary a call.

Just after 1PM we decided to locate the local KOA, which turned out to be nearly 10 miles away from the Freightliner place. It was fine, but far away. With the temperature rising we decided to make a pass by the service center. The good news was the moose was in a bay. The bad news was they hadn't found all the problems.

The leaky wheel bearing was a piece of cake. It would be a two or three hour job and the Freightliner place was all over it. In fact, one staffer said they've seen a lot of this: New motorhomes with leaky wheel bearings. Seems the chassis manufacturer aren't tightening every bolt the way they should. (If you have a late model Freightliner chassis, you might want to think about having your wheel bearings checked. Just sayin'!)

The low coolant sensor was another issue. Freightliner couldn't pick up any codes from the engine, because we had started it since there was a problem. (Well, that's how it is when you shut down on the side of the road. You just want to turn the key and get moving. Imagine that!) So, with no codes, there was no problem to diagnose. So, there was no solution to offer. They tested the coolant probes, which checked out fine. They ran a pressure check on the coolant system and that checked out OK, too. So, what to do?

Time to call Freightliner Custom Chassis!

Paul did just that. And, although FCC has two, count 'em two, previous reports of this intermittent problem, there was seemingly nothing that could be done. And, if we wanted to have the engine reprogrammed to not shut us down when we have the stupid not really low low coolant warning, it would be on our dime and likely void our factory warranty.

ARGHHHHHHH!!!!

By now, our tempers were running really short and our kitties were getting really hot. (Absolutely no pets are allowed in this Freightliner service facility waiting area!) So, we trotted back to our RV park and set up camp in the "rec room", and we use that term very loosely. It was cool and out of the sun. So, we really can't complain. We sat there for another couple of hours before Paul headed back to the service center to see what was up.

Allegedly, the service center had heard from FCC. And, allegedly, there was nothing they could do about it.

Of course, Paul gave them a piece of his mind. Reminding FCC of the liability of a motorhome shutting down on the side of the highway....all because of some stupid engine program that says "shut down" when the coolant level is absolutely fine. But, no luck. There was nothing that could be done.

With our leaky wheel fixed, we decided to call it a day. We got our hot kitties, tired bodies, moose and squirrel back to our spot for another night.

So, we're half fixed. Kinda. Sorta.

Tomorrow, we're headed to Torrey. We're leaving early to avoid some bad ass winds that are heading this way. And, oh yeah, the Colorado River is expected to crest soon near I-70 at the Colorado-Utah state line! And, everything is going to be fine. But, if we get an engine shutdown, I'm dialing Freightliner. And, it won't be pretty.

More later, hopefully, from Torrey.