So we were on our first trip with our 2930RL. It was to be a short 180ish mile one-way trip to do some driver training with our new truck and new RV. Uneventful trip down to the campground. Made it to driver training the following day. Lovely day, with no rain. Do a pre-inspection walk around on the rig, and all is good. About an hour later, we notice a sidewall injury to a tire. So, we have a lesson in changing the tire. Find out the spare is not the same tire, not a great surprise. The real surprise is we can't find a replacement tire a multiple tire stores. The best would be 2-3 days to order in. <sigh> Ok, we'll drive home on it and find one at home. Plan to replace the spare with a tire we can drive on without worry.
The next day we do some road driving, hills, curves, and the usual driver training stuff. My wife Maddy, does the 3h run without a hitch. Then on my turn, going up a curvy 2 lane road with a narrow shoulder when the truck, a new Ram 3500 with 944 miles on it displays some error messages about cruise control, which was not on, adaptive high beams which were not on, and something else. RPMs then shoot up, and power is lost. Literally, coast to the side of the road. Full stop, flashers on, shift into park. Very loud ker-klunk. Passed by a full logging truck. Turn off the truck, and restart. Shift into drive with another loud ker-klunk. So much for the hope it was an electronic glitch. Put it into 4-wheel drive and limp about a mile to a tiny grocery store, "Lake Mayfield Grocery" in Mossyrock, WA. They were kind enough to let us spend the night until we could arrange towing. They also bought us some Mexican food so we would have dinner that night. They were so very kind!
We were able to get our truck towed about 5h after the event but not the RV. Towing company send a flatbed with a very nice driver, who got the truck on the flatbed tow vehicle. It fit if you don't count the 2' or so of our truck hanging over the back end. Their plan was to then attach our RV to the back of the tow vehicle and tow us the 180 miles to home. There was no way to connect the RV brakes to the tow vehicle so it would be towing dead weight. As this was unsafe, we opted to spend the night with the RV and find a tow home the next day. A friend was able to come and get us with his tow vehicle and take us home.
A week later, we still don't know what is going on with the truck. The dealer has been unable to have a technician evaluate it due to work already in the shop. Should be looked at next week which is better than the 3/9/23 date that initially said they could look at it.
Lessons learned:
We do have an epic story to tell. Thanks for reading.
Bob
The next day we do some road driving, hills, curves, and the usual driver training stuff. My wife Maddy, does the 3h run without a hitch. Then on my turn, going up a curvy 2 lane road with a narrow shoulder when the truck, a new Ram 3500 with 944 miles on it displays some error messages about cruise control, which was not on, adaptive high beams which were not on, and something else. RPMs then shoot up, and power is lost. Literally, coast to the side of the road. Full stop, flashers on, shift into park. Very loud ker-klunk. Passed by a full logging truck. Turn off the truck, and restart. Shift into drive with another loud ker-klunk. So much for the hope it was an electronic glitch. Put it into 4-wheel drive and limp about a mile to a tiny grocery store, "Lake Mayfield Grocery" in Mossyrock, WA. They were kind enough to let us spend the night until we could arrange towing. They also bought us some Mexican food so we would have dinner that night. They were so very kind!
We were able to get our truck towed about 5h after the event but not the RV. Towing company send a flatbed with a very nice driver, who got the truck on the flatbed tow vehicle. It fit if you don't count the 2' or so of our truck hanging over the back end. Their plan was to then attach our RV to the back of the tow vehicle and tow us the 180 miles to home. There was no way to connect the RV brakes to the tow vehicle so it would be towing dead weight. As this was unsafe, we opted to spend the night with the RV and find a tow home the next day. A friend was able to come and get us with his tow vehicle and take us home.
A week later, we still don't know what is going on with the truck. The dealer has been unable to have a technician evaluate it due to work already in the shop. Should be looked at next week which is better than the 3/9/23 date that initially said they could look at it.
Lessons learned:
- Have a spare you can run on.
- Always have your tire change tools & jack with you.
- Change your lug nuts to solid ones, not the jacketed ones that can deform when trying to remove them.
- Bring extra food and have fresh water in your tank.
- Don't count on a tow company being able to safely tow your tow vehicle and your RV.
- We really like our 2930.
We do have an epic story to tell. Thanks for reading.
Bob