1st Trip Breaks Truck – we Best the Crest & Break the Truck

1st Trip Breaks the Truck – We Best the Crest & Break the Truck

First trip breaks the truck in an attempt to best the Crest in our new pickup.

In reality, we weren’t even thinking about besting anything. It was one of those things where you start up a road you haven’t been up for a while, then start wondering what it’s like just past where you went last time.

We were heading up a local logging road toward a place on a mountain known as “the Crest.”  The road offers spectacular views of Howe Sound and the surrounding mountains at many points along the way.  The slope, if you can call it a slope, is almost vertical below the road in many stretches, and very, very steep the whole way.  

The road has been “decommissioned,” the sign tells you at the bottom.  It recommends four-by-four traffic only.  What decommissioned means in a nutshell is that they have put ditches, called “cross-ditches” across the road all the way up to drain the water that comes down during the spring melt and rainy season. This lets the water run off to the side, rather than letting it run down the length of the road, washing out the whole thing.  The road isn’t maintained, but it has had a few such measures taken so that it can be put to work fairly quickly whenever it is needed.

We were driving a brand new 2021 GMC Elevation with a 3.0L 6 cylinder Duramax Diesel.  Right off the bat, I have to say that little diesel has impressed me.  I worked on a lot of diesels in my lifetime, and they were always big, loud, and dirty.  But this new generation is different.  It is none of those, but it has a ton of power.  Let me simply say I am amazed.  Furthermore, it uses very little fuel to get that power.  We’re averaging about 10 litres per 100 kilometres around town.  That works out to almost 24 miles to the US gallon, which is astonishing for a full-size four-wheel-drive pickup!

It doesn’t have low range, but unless you were carrying a really heavy load up a really steep hill, I don’t think you’d ever use it.  With its 10 speed transmission that includes L1 to L6, and all-terrain and traction-control systems, this thing is a pretty 4×4.  It goes up a loose, steep slope really well, and comes down with almost no braking.  It will quite literally stop in L2 and L3 even on a really steep downhill grade with NO brakes when you take your foot off the accelerator, when the traction control is turned on.

So you’re probably asking, how is it that you said “first trip breaks the truck?”

We were going up very gently.  I’m not the type to go wild. I use a four-wheel-drive vehicle to get somewhere I don’t have the time or energy to walk to.  I really hate breaking anything, especially a brand new truck.  I watch the road closely, and go really easy on it.

But no matter how careful you are, there is always that possibility, always that one place, where the first trip breaks the truck.  It just happened to be that we were the ones unlucky enough to find it.  That place was on the road up the Crest.

We were almost to the top, where the road levels out.  We went through a cross-ditch, and discovered it was deeper than it looked.  So on the next, and final one, I decided to angle into it, rather than hit it head on.  That lets you present the shortest possible wheel-base, as you almost drive down to the bottom on one side and up the other on all four tires.

What I didn’t see, didn’t even suspect, was that this one wasn’t like the others and didn’t follow the rules.  It’s common for cross-ditches to erode on the low side as the water exits, but this one had eroded on the high side, where the water entered.  I discovered this too late, as the rear wheel on the driver’s side dropped into the hole, hooking the bumper on our brand new truck on the top of the cross-ditch berm.  This bent and twisted the bumper on the one end, giving it characteristics that were not a part of the engineer’s design idea.  Worse, it made it so that the tail-gate would no longer open on its own and settle down flat the way it is designed to do.  It is a sick feeling when that happens!

Fortunately, we are insured and have not had any claims for many years.  But you can be assured that next time we come to a cross-ditch we will be looking at it before going in, unless we can clearly see the bottom from the cab.

As far as the 2021 GMC Elevation goes, I give it high marks.  It performed very well, with excellent control and stability, even with highway tires on it. For the price, I don’t think you could go wrong.  Just make sure “1st Trip Breaks the Truck” isn’t your sad story.  But no matter what, enjoy the view.

We “bested the Crest,” if that’s what you call getting to the top.  But in a way, the Crest bested us.  

Update

Well, we go the bumper replaced at our local GMC dealership.  They always do excellent work, and they treat us like royalty.

The insurance adjuster had to look at it first, but he was very quick to approve the claim and all we had to do was pay the deductible.  The new bumper restored the truck to its factory look.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have as great an experience on our trip to northern BC.  We went over a bump on Highway 16 just west of Houston, BC, and the engine light came on.  The dash displayed a notice telling us we had only a few hundred kilometers before the truck’s speed would be limited.

Did the trip break the truck this time?  No, but it certainly exposed a problem! Really, when the first trip breaks the truck, it’s pretty bad if it happens on a paved highway!

Kudos to GM in Terrace

First of all, kudos to GM in Terrace, BC.  They made room for us on their busy schedule the next day, and diagnosed the problem.  It was a sensor in the DEF tank, which is not a serviceable part, so the entire tank had to be replaced under warranty.

That meant they had to order a tank from Vancouver, so we had to spend five days all told in the area from the day we broke down until we were back on the road.

GM supplied us with a very similar new truck, rather than just any vehicle as stipulated by our warranty, so we were able to put out huge cooler in the back and properly tie it in with the great tie rings these trucks come with, and all our luggage, snacks, computers and camera gear fit safe and sound in the back seat.

The parts finally came, and our truck was fixed.  It has run great ever since.  Apparently sensors are a common problem in new diesel pickups across all brands.

A Very Bad Experience

Sadly, what started out as a very good experience with GM in Terrace turned into a very bad experience.  In fact, we have never been treated as badly as we were by some of their staff.  And considering the fact that I was in business for years, and my wife worked in the grocery industry, that is saying something!

We were lied to, insulted, and treated like criminals. They attempted to make us feel like we were beholden to them, even though we have both top-of-the-line insurance AND a top-of-the-line warranty, including extended warranty.  In other words, we were and are covered for pretty much anything.

We were accused of damaging their truck, an outright fallacy – it was in EXACTLY the same condition as when we picked it up, except for perhaps some mud from a few community roads in the Hazelton area, including the highway above Kispiox.  They charged us for cleaning the wheels out (we had already taken it through a car wash) and for a wheel alignment!  

Then after basically calling both my wife and I liars, the service manager had the gall to ask me if the credit card number we gave him was any good!  To top it off, he called us “down-and-outers,” and that after we arrived in a brand new diesel 4×4!  

Properly Repaired

I have no complaints about the repairs.  I have years of experience in the mechanical repair industry, and have a lot of suspicions about what all went on, but in the end, the repair was made and it was done properly.  We have not had any further problems.

It’s too bad some of them treat their customers so poorly.  We do not plan to darken their doorstep again.

If and when the trip breaks the truck on another occasion, even if we are right in Terrace, we’ll probably have it towed to Smithers – if it’s even a GM.

And if we buy another new 4×4 any time soon, we don’t plan to immediately go anywhere where the first trip breaks the truck!