On Friday the 27th we were coming back from our week-long camping trip at East Harbor State Park which is on Lake Erie. It was a sunny day and we were enjoying the ride back through the countryside. When we finally got to I-75 at Bowling Green the engine started making a funny (as in peculiar, not haha) noise. Just as we were turning on to on the on-ramp the engine made a very loud hissing sound, 2 seconds later, the engine light came on and the onboard computer reduced the power to about 15% and to keep from hurting the engine components. Luckily for us, there was a rest stop within 200 yards of the on-ramp and we made it there safely.
We started calling for help from Good Sam at 11:55 am, they took all the account information and started calling their vendors for 2 tow trucks, one for the truck and other (the bigger in all respects) the 5th wheel RV. While we were waiting, I called the local Chevy dealer service department and told them about our dire situation and they said that their techs leave at 5 pm sharp, but they are open until 6 pm. We also called Keith and Ryka Shaffer since they have a 5th wheel RV as a backup plan, they were more than gracious and offered to drive up and get us if needed.
Finally, after multiple calls to Good Sam, the tow trucks arrived around 4 pm. It took about 30 minutes to load the truck (the easy part) and reconfigure the towing rig lift for the RV. When we finally got moving it was 4:30 and I called the dealer again advising our circus was coming to town. They laughed and said they would look for a spot for our RV on their property and we were welcome to stay on their property while the truck was being repaired. At 4:55 pm (on a Friday afternoon), we arrived at the Thayer Chevrolet dealer in Bowling Green. They literally were waiting for us at the door! The Service Director, Mr. Brad Schmucker came out to greet us and his first words to us were “how can we make this better for you?”, since he had obviously heard our multi-hour nightmare on I-75. He had his engine techs waiting for us (on O/T I bet).
I gave the tech all the info I had and what I had done using my plug-in diagnostic tool. The error was “Low turbo boost pressure”. The tech quickly found the problem area in the piping and explained the issues. He wasn’t sure if there were other issues and won’t know until he gets the unit apart. So, we will find out Monday, but right now the replacement parts are being overnighted to the dealer.
The Thayer dealership could not have been better to work with! They even gave us a new vehicle to drive back to get us home.
Again, many thanks to Keith and Ryka Shaffer for offering to help us when we really needed it!
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