Tow Vehicle Brokedown In Longmont Colorado

[gfortelney]

Currently stuck in Longmont CO since Saturday. My 2008 Chevy 3500HD went into limp mode with a P0087 code 10 miles out of Estes Park heading to Denver. Vehicle was towed to Longmont CO, and 5th wheel was towed to a parking loot of a hotel where we have a room. There was not RV spot within miles to put my 5th in a camping spot. I changed fuel filter several times, even replaced the fuel filter housing with a new one from GM before we left out of Estes Park. A lot of people recommended Knotts Auto Tech for repairs in Longmont, right now that's where the vehicle is, waiting until Tuesday morning. Not a rental car to be had anywhere since the holiday weekend, so the wife and I are just sitting in the hotel room. Any recommendations are appreciated.

[98silvz71]

I know this is a little late but my parents 09 has been doing the same thing. Found John Kennedy's article about it. We run his twin pump setup and the problems have been way less frequent and the truck seems to run better (smoother and quieter) in the lower rpms than before.

Here is the link. Clicky

[73guna]

Did you ever get your truck fixed?

[JIMNLIN]

I have a nephew that was on vacation back in the Smokies. His van broke down on the way home with wife and 2 kids. He rented a 28" uhaul van with a tow dolly...hooked it all up and pulled it back to OK. The cab ride was a tight fit but he drove all nite while the kids slept.

[Grit_dog]

Pretty much zero reason to use starting fluid on a modern diesel in warm or temp arête weather.
Now, too cold to start, bad glow plugs, 20 below and can't plug in etc, needing a kick in the dead of winter is a differnet story.
Yes gas engines I've used carb cleaner to get them to light off if carb is empty or primer broke etc. been known to give a shot of brake cleaner as well....
In small gas engines though it is also easy to give a squirt or splash of gasoline.

[Bedlam]

In my smalll gasolline engines, I use carburetor cleaner if they don’t kick over on their own. It is less volatile than starter fluid, but I don’t know if it is safe on diesels.

[mkirsch]

gfortelney wrote:

Marcela wrote:
Starting fluid is a good way to ruin an engine, cracks pistons and rings, especially on a diesel with high compression. You thought gasoline was hard on a diesel engine.......

I have the engine spinning before i sprayed just a little starting fluid to hopefully reduce the risk.

The starting fluid you get today has very little ether in it (due to cost of raw ether and EPA), and as such isn't as potent as years past. It doesn't have that same piston-shattering "kick" that real ether has.

[Navyvette]

You can also use the Turo app to rent someone else’s car or truck. I do this sometimes. None of the fees rental places charge and the insurance is covered by the app.

[Bionic_Man]

If you can't rent a car, there is always Uber/Lyft. Often that is less expensive than renting a car anyway.

Good luck with your repair.

[Grit_dog]

Sounds like it's sucking air before the filter somewhere, PRV, injector that is returning too much fuel or maybe the injection pump is bad. How many miles? CP3s are pretty Relaible.
Diesel Day Dreams, up in that area, is a good honest shop. Wade Boyd is the owner. I've known him for a while.
You need a shop that can do diagnostics like return rates and command pressures. Any diesel shop can.

[BobsYourUncle]

gfortelney wrote:


We tried the fairgrounds, they would not allow us to stay since our tow vehicle was a repair place until Tuesday. The lady said they need the vehicle there in case they need it moved. I explained our situation and she flat out would not allow our RV to stay. Worst case scenario maybe I can find an RV storage to put it in. I have someone back in Oklahoma who could drive up here with a car hauler to take my tow vehicle back home if they cannot repair here. I could then make a trip back up here at a later time to get the fifth wheel. This is me and my wife's first time pulling a 5th wheel out of our home state of Oklahoma, I feel like it may be our last.

Such a shame that some CG owners and staff have a dismal don't care about you attitude:

3 1/2 weeks ago when major engine failure had us towed off a mountain pass into a small town, we spent the first night at the towing yard lot.

On foot, we walked past a nice little CG we happened to walk by on our way back from finding a breakfast place. We walked through the CG, first person we saw was the owner doing some maintenance work. He asked if he could help us. I explained the situation to him. RV at tow yard, nothing to move it with, need a place to stay. He said they were booked, but come with me to the office and I will see if I can juggle something. He juggled and said yes we can put you in a spot over here, pointing out the window. We gratefully accepted, and I said I will have to get a towtruck to pull it over here. He said no, don't do that, let me see what I can do, wait here. 10 minutes later he came back and said "Dale" over there will move it for you, or I will with my old Ford truck. Dale with his nice new Cummins Ram truck was kind enough to do it, we went over, picked up the TT and he put it approx where we wanted it, got out and said the truck is there, use it as you need to position your rig, and walked back over to his 5ver nearby.

The CG host was absolutely over the top helpful beyond anything I have ever experienced. He also said I may have to move you around to make my bookings work, but lets worry about that later. Well, he did have to move us and he did so very willingly with his very old worn Ford and with a big smile. No big deal, just hook on and move it.

We stayed there 2 weeks on account of his schedule juggling and willingness to help us.

I can't say enough good about the Lamplighter Campground in Revelstoke BC. Best experience I've ever had with a CG anywhere.

Such a shame that so many other CG owners really don't care about what puts food on their table...

[gfortelney]

Busskipper wrote:

gfortelney wrote:
Currently stuck in Longmont CO since Saturday. My 2008 Chevy 3500HD went into limp mode with a P0087 code 10 miles out of Estes Park heading to Denver. Vehicle was towed to Longmont CO, and 5th wheel was towed to a parking loot of a hotel where we have a room. There was not RV spot within miles to put my 5th in a camping spot. I changed fuel filter several times, even replaced the fuel filter housing with a new one from GM before we left out of Estes Park. A lot of people recommended Knotts Auto Tech for repairs in Longmont, right now that's where the vehicle is, waiting until Tuesday morning. Not a rental car to be had anywhere since the holiday weekend, so the wife and I are just sitting in the hotel room. Any recommendations are appreciated.

MAP

For future reference on a Camp site - the Fairgrounds unless they have an Event.

Just a thought,

We tried the fairgrounds, they would not allow us to stay since our tow vehicle was a repair place until Tuesday. The lady said they need the vehicle there in case they need it moved. I explained our situation and she flat out would not allow our RV to stay. Worst case scenario maybe I can find an RV storage to put it in. I have someone back in Oklahoma who could drive up here with a car hauler to take my tow vehicle back home if they cannot repair here. I could then make a trip back up here at a later time to get the fifth wheel. This is me and my wife's first time pulling a 5th wheel out of our home state of Oklahoma, I feel like it may be our last.

[ktmrfs]

ScottG wrote:

gfortelney wrote:

Marcela wrote:
Starting fluid is a good way to ruin an engine, cracks pistons and rings, especially on a diesel with high compression. You thought gasoline was hard on a diesel engine.......

I have the engine spinning before i sprayed just a little starting fluid to hopefully reduce the risk.

I still would not do it. Very, very dangerous with modern diesel engine.

starting fluid and glow plugs do NOT mix well!! There is a reason GM and others have a warning about using starting fluid on glow plug or grid heater diesels. Glow plugs can cause the starting fluid to ignite in the intake manifold.

But it is somewhat common for starting diesels w/o glow plugs or heater grid.

A friend has a Safari MH with a cummin's diesel. In that configuration there are NO glow plugs or grid heater. Just a big can of starting fluid to start the engine when cold. a shot of starting fluid is injected into the manifold.

[ScottG]

gfortelney wrote:

Marcela wrote:
Starting fluid is a good way to ruin an engine, cracks pistons and rings, especially on a diesel with high compression. You thought gasoline was hard on a diesel engine.......

I have the engine spinning before i sprayed just a little starting fluid to hopefully reduce the risk.

I still would not do it. Very, very dangerous with modern diesel engine.

[Busskipper]

gfortelney wrote:
Currently stuck in Longmont CO since Saturday. My 2008 Chevy 3500HD went into limp mode with a P0087 code 10 miles out of Estes Park heading to Denver. Vehicle was towed to Longmont CO, and 5th wheel was towed to a parking loot of a hotel where we have a room. There was not RV spot within miles to put my 5th in a camping spot. I changed fuel filter several times, even replaced the fuel filter housing with a new one from GM before we left out of Estes Park. A lot of people recommended Knotts Auto Tech for repairs in Longmont, right now that's where the vehicle is, waiting until Tuesday morning. Not a rental car to be had anywhere since the holiday weekend, so the wife and I are just sitting in the hotel room. Any recommendations are appreciated.

MAP

For future reference on a Camp site - the Fairgrounds unless they have an Event.

Just a thought,