Tow Vehicle CAN NOT BACK UP!!!

[John Geisen]

After months of planning our two month excursion from Florida to Maine we've had a hiccup. Our tow vehicle is a 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 with Cummins diesel and automatic transmission. We've made it from Florida to Pennsylvania.

While backing up the Airstream into a parking space with the attendant giving me signals my Hensley Hitch and the rear of my tow vehicle dropped into culvert caused by a washout. The truck wasn't going anywhere but neither of us were aware. As he kept waving me back I kept giving the engine more gas since I was headed up hill going backwards. Anyway, suddenly I heard some squealing and stopped. When I realized what happened I pulled forward to get out of the culvert and onto level ground. The campground decided I needed a more level space to back into so they gave me another site.

The only problem is now reverse does not work at all while all the forward gears seem fine. Luckily, I made it a KOA that had a pull through. I need to disconnect the Hensley to get the truck repaired but if I can't find a place I will not be able to reconnect because I can't back up.

Sorry for the long winded explanation. So, I'm wounding if anyone else has run into this issue who might have had a creative way of solving the problem? Also, any idea how much damage might have been done to the transmission? Thanks in advance for your thoughts, help, and guidance. -John

[joshjack]

What happens when you put the truck in reverse now?

[mimiandrews]

Have an honest and reputable car mechanic get a good look under the truck. IIRC, there's a shift lever and linkage on the side of the transmission that might have been knocked loose or misaligned by impact with part of the culvert. Several years ago, my 2001 gas engine Dodge 1500 had a transmission problem, and that's one of the first things my mechanic said to check.

I was not lucky, and my problem was deep inside the transmi$$ion, but your story makes it sound like it's worth checking for something external first (or isn't that always the way to do it?).

Best of luck.

[OTRA15]

In a real pinch, the major car rental companies have commercial depts. which have pickups equipped for towing. It is not cheap, and the nearest available vehicle may be a long ways away, but if you need an instant tow vehicle, this may work. There are a few threads here to check out.

General search results: https://www.google.com/search?q=rent...=airforums.com

Recent threads:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f238...le-166124.html
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f238...ty-144309.html
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f252...rv-127183.html

Not sure what the gross weight of your 28' AS is, that may be one of the considerations if you call a rental company.

Good luck!

Peter

[turk123]

That is what your insurance is for. Call them. Your trailer insurance most certainly has coverage if your tow V breaks. It may cover getting your trailer home also.

[tujeeze]

Put your truck in neutral, get a couple of campers to help you push the truck up to the hitch.

[Bill M.]

Pa is probably as good a place to get it fixed as any. Stuff happens, but do you really have a choice as to getting it fixed? I would try to find a campsite that was downhill just in case if I wanted to be free to comparison shop for repairs. Maybe get it to a dealer for a check of the shifting circuts. Could be in the steering column.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Phone around, find out who can fix it and when. You might get lucky. Last time I blew a transmission it was going east out of the Eisenhower Tunnel. I literarily rolled to a dealer in Denver and got it swapped out that afternoon ... on a Saturday no less.

Bob

[AstroBruce]

Might be that the reverse band was loose and the actuator tab fell into the pan. It's not a difficult fix to replace the tab and adjust the reverse band. If the reverse band is too worn to be adjusted, then the trans will have to come out, either for a new band or a rebuild.

Hope this helps.

Bruce

[Wayne&Sam]

Last year my Durango went into limp mode while we were traveling. I wasn't towing at the time. I was one block from a Dodge dealer. I limped over and they said they couldn't take me for a few days but referred me to another dealer 30 miles away. I limped there the next morning and they had me back up and running in a few hours. It was the solenoid pack and was covered under warrantee.

[John Geisen]

Thanks everyone for the quick and thorough replies. As it turned out the KOA where we spent the night learned of our plight and the owner recommended an excellent transmission guy in Honesdale, PA, only 10 miles away. After speaking with him and checking some of his reviews I decided I needed to stay here an get the problem fixed.

As it turned out the reverse band was shot due to an internal malfunction of the device that activates the reverse band. Only, it was permanently stuck "on" and completely destroyed. Even though my transmission had been completely overhauled about 6 months and 2,000 miles ago there were a few parts in there that were not OEM. Also, it had the original torque converter which this guy believed is now improved upon. So, 4 hours and $1300 dollars later, I'm back in action. I begin towing again in the morning so I'll know if it was all worth it in a few hours.

If you ever have a chance to stay at the Honesdale/Poconos KOA, please tell Tim (the owner) how much I appreciated his help. When I told him the same all he said was, "I appreciate you staying with us." How about that! There good people around. -John

[xrvr]

Good deal. Good luck.

[John Geisen]

Originally Posted by avionstream

Good deal. Good luck.

Thanks. Much appreciated.

[Wayne&Sam]

Honesdale is just 50 miles from me, so I'm not like to stay there. But it is good to know that people will help you out.

Like my experience where a busy dealer referred me to another,

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Sounds like a pretty good solution. Glad you got it fixed.

Bob

[Bill M.]

Honesdale KOA. We found it by accident because it was near where we needed a place. Long drive up the hill. I was worried the first time because it seemed out of the way. But not so far, really. Have been there several times since. Like it a lot. It is well located for us when we travel north east. Get an email from them once in a while. Glad you got the transmission fixed and are on your way again.