Roller Coaster WY cow hunt

[huntfishcamp]

Had a whirlwind of a trip, my '15 RAM 2500 diesel SCR / DEF system had complete failure when we arrived into WY, ended up hunting out of a loaner Ford Flex! Managed to fill our 4 tags and still get my truck fixed and be home a day early. AND my brother tagged his first elk! Repair Bill was over $6K, thankfully all under warranty. NOT something I wish anyone to go through, super frustrating knowing LIMP mode was only 150 miles away (5mph limp mode when you have system failure). Im not a RAM fan, never was, I bought it for the motor. Not sure I want to keep it now, seems all have their problems though? Anyone have similar experiences with the DEF system?

 

[marksjeep]

Congrats on the success! Vehicles failures in remote locales is an awful feeling. I had the injectors go on my '03 Duramax in Rawlins a few years ago during a pronghorn hunt. We used a buddies truck to hunt, and I managed to get it running again for the drive home. Not fun. Glad you got it squared away and got into the elk.

 

[Cody Lightfoot]

I don't know what your emissions laws are there but those whole systems can be deleted and you'll never have to worry about it again! Your economy and horsepower goes up and won't have to buy exhaust fluid again. Find a diesel performance guy near you that does EFI Live. Congrats on making your trip a success anyway!

 

[Southern Elk]

Congrats on the elk!

I had a 2011 Dodge 3/4 ton. It was pre DEF, but it was nothing but trouble. I switched to a Chevy with the Duramax and haven't looked back.

 

[huntfishcamp]

Would love to do EFI live! Wonder if it affects powertrain or other warranties?

 

[Cody Lightfoot]

It can... depends on your relationship with your dealer. Most are fine with it as long as it's not tuned into a race truck that's been abused, but if you're at the wrong dealer and they don't want to cover something, they can push the issue. I've been a GM dealer tech for over 16 years and have never seen someone void a warranty over a programmer.

 

[5Speedjim]

I feel your pain brother. I bought a new Chevy Colorado 2.8 DuraMax in October. On the way to Wyoming antelope hunting, 3 times the dash said "poor quality exhaust fluid" but the codes cleared themselves. On Thursday 11/8 while on my way to Wyoming for a cow hunt, the same problem came up 5 times. It didn't clear itself so I got off in Sidney,Nebraska and went to the dealer. I got it back on the following Monday so my hunt was was over. The problem was a bad DEF injector. On the way home Tuesday night 11/13 the trouble started again. Went to the dealer Wednesday morning and when I said what I was driving, they looked up and said "sorry to hear that". They said the DEF system is a nightmare. The dealer I got the truck from said he never heard of such a problem when I asked about it before I went back out to wyoming

 

[sbhooper]

Sounds like a typical Dodge to me. That was a great hunt in spite of your problems. Good going.

 

[huntfishcamp]

So we had such a roller coaster of a winter Wyoming elk hunt, I had to sit down and write it all down to keep a record of everything….

So four of us headed to Wy for a December late season cow elk hunt. I left MN on Monday night, Dec 12th, staying at a friends that night in Fargo. Up early Tues morning, we picked up my brother who lives near Fargo, then another friend in Bismarck, ND. Then on to WY for 3.5 days of cow elk hunting in a unit we’ve never hunted before. We arrived at around 6pm that evening, and we were all glad we drove during the daylight hours, being able to see the awesome ND badlands and the breathtaking landscape of Montana and Wyoming. We stayed in a rented house and got up early Wednesday morning to check out the area. Well we found a calf working along a ridge about 100 yards off the road on backside of a hill, but just onto public land, with a another herd of a 100 or so nearby on private land, so I harvested our first elk 10 minutes into legal shooting hours. GPS showing boundaries was a must for us.

Well we went back to the house, had breakfast, then back out to see if we can fill the other 3 tags for this unit. I got a ‘check engine’ light when I started my truck, then a message “DEF needs service, see Dealer”. I have a ’15 RAM CC 2500 diesel, and didn't know a lot about the DEF system other than make sure the tank never goes empty. Well we looked at the manual, and it said the truck will go into ‘limp mode’ after 150 miles after this warning. Seriously? We had just enough mileage until LIMP mode to get to a dealer. A couple miles down the road we were stopped by a warden who wanted to check us out. Showed him where I shot the elk, my tags, showed him the proof of sex, (we deboned the meat on the spot) ect and all was in order and we were back on the road in 10 minutes.

Well we got the single chime, “DEF limp mode in 150 miles’ warning and was in disbelief that the truck was actually going to shut down soon, due to an EMISSIONS issue. I was furious, but had to get it looked at. We made it to town without going into limp mode, and they pulled the code “P208C -Reductant pump control circuit low”. Well After an hour of waiting, the service manager comes out and says “I hope you boys like Wyomimg". Some module was on back order for months, also a sensor, ect, they had no loaners, and the only car rental place around had no trucks for us four. Things are NOT looking good for us, and for this hunt.

Well, they pulled my truck out of the shop, parked it in the lot, and basically said “good luck boys”. With about pretty much zero miles left until the dreaded “DEF limp Mode” we couldn't even make Billings, and even then, not much help as they didn't have the parts either. The dealer actually started taking bolts off and broke a few ‘due to that MN rust”. I didn't authorize any dismantling…but what can you do now. Now its really not good. Well, I told the service manager I was calling Chrysler corporate to see what they can do out of desperation. I called Chrysler corporate, gave a bit of a stink on the phone about our situation, and was handed off to upper level managers about 3 times, they eventually offered “up to $45 towards a rental, for 2 days, and an apology about the bad situation we were in”. I was still on the phone with them, trying to comprehend my situation, then a miracle happened. The Service manager came outside, waving his arms to have me hang up. “Get off the phone with corporate, we don't need them involved in this” he shouted. I was like, what on earth are you talking about? Well, all of sudden, parts were located in Casper, some parts could be robbed off a new truck on the lot, and my truck will be ready by tomorrow evening. What? I couldn't believe it. To boot, they gave us an AWD Ford Flex, free of charge, until my truck was fixed. Wow. What a roller coaster.

So we loaded up what gear we had with, drove back to our pad and had a nice dinner, grinning ear to ear about our new hope. We got up early the next morning, headed out for a FS road we were not sure if we could drive on due to snow cover with the loaner Flex, and harvested the last 3 cows minutes into legal shooting hours, on public land a few hundred yards off that road. We never had a chance to actually get out and ‘hunt’ but this was a meat hunt and we’ll take what we can legally get, and happy to have filled all 4 tags for that unit.

We got back to the house, fortunately I had a trailer hitch platform that worked great for hauling our meat back to camp and keeping it out of our loaner rig. We ended up driving around checking out some new areas for next time, and I called the Service manager. Truck is ready, come get it! So back to the dealer, swapped vehicles, tipped the tech for staying late to work on it, and 2 hrs back to the house.

I still had an extra tag for an adjoining unit, and we had 2 days left, so the plan was to check it out and see if we cant get that last elk. Well I got up early brushed off 12” of snow, unplugged my truck, fired it up, and BAM, check engine light. You have got to be KIDDING me. NO messages like before, but we can’t chance it. Hunts over, we packed up, checked out, then Back to the dealer.

They had no openings to see my truck. Its Friday, and the service gal said everything is booked, no appointments till Monday, and their Chrysler tech could not make it in due to the snowstorm (they said worst in 9 years, we made to the dealer, thru the mountains in a Ford Flex!) Well, when talking to her, she said “if our 2 O’clock appointment doesn't show up, we’ll give you a call”. I said, “who is your 2 O’clock Appointment”? She said my name. I almost fainted. I made that appmnt 2 days ago, but forgot to cancel when I got my truck back. Things are looking UP! We joked about how this whole deal was like a ratcheting roller coaster slowly going back up the slope…tick tick tick tick tick…..


So they gave us a ’16 2500 to go have lunch while they checked out my truck again. Got a phone call that they reflashed the module and all was good. We gulped down our sandwhiches, a few high fives, then grabbed my truck and headed North to the MT line, snowstorm going full bore. We had an uneventful trip home, got the meat all cleaned up and divided up, Life is good again!

 

[Sytes]

Glad to see your WY hunt concluded with filled tags. Sounds like one heck of an experience! I like the gas hemi dodge... Been a real trooper and I've heard very little negative about the diesel however I find truck preference is like political preference. Articles can be found to support whatever a person wants to find that support their preference.

I am a dodge 2006-2007 fan. Don't know/care much for any of these tin can pick up toys they have out now.

 

[jvanderlinde]

If I were you I would be doing a EGR delete on the truck.

 

[jrod]

Crazy times had by all! That's a drag but you were rewarded with filled tags and that takes some of the pain away.
I live in California and smog junk is on everything now a days. Unfortunately this is what I have come up with;
Ford diesels 03.5 and older
Duramax and Cummins 07 and older.
I wouldn't buy anything newer
In 08 and newer GM and Dodge have true emissions junk just like a car and the ford motors after the 7.3 have sucked
I just bought a 2002 GMC duramax and so far so good. My first diesel so time will tell.
Cheers