So Close, But Yet So Far! Our Thousand Mile RV Journey Starts Badly!

Hi Chad, All you did was run out of fuel. Its the sme thing when you change you fuel filter. Simple fix Do Not Try and Start! Just cycle your fuel pump 6 six times. No foot on brake, Push to start listen for the fuel pump to cycle six times when it is done cycling your fuel rail pressure is good and should start. This condition is no different that when you change your fuel filter. Hope this helps. Maybe see ya on the road. P.S. Ret. USCG Later Dave

I’m 4:44 in so far and when you tried to crank it after putting fuel in it, I literally got out of my seat to stop you LOL! Don’t EVER fire it up after running out of fuel. Press the start button a few times and let the fuel cycle through the truck - same process as replacing fuel filters. I really hope you don’t have a CP4 injection pump in that truck!

Someone else may have said this…but we carry a 5 gallon can of diesel fuel in the bed of our truck. You never know when you might need it, whether you estimated wrong or just find yourself in the middle of nowhere…or helping someone else. Every once in awhile, I empty it into the truck and fill it up again to get fresh fuel. It’s also a nice piece of mind to know I have an extra 50 miles (more or less) available in case I need it.

I treat 99 miles like zero when I’m towing!

Just a tip Chad...just about all of our later built vehicles have two fuel pumps. One is a low pressure pump that moves the fuel to the high pressure fuel pump. There are many designs but the basics are the same so the last thing you want to do is to run it out of fuel because the fuel acts as a LUBRICANT & a COOLANT for the pumps. When you run out of fuel, the fuel pumps and lines are then full of air so when you fill the tank back up, all of that air has to get out of the system which is a cluster and the only pump to do that is the low pressure or "lift pump". There's no need to run the starter on the engine when this happens, simply turn on only the ignition or run and cycle off then on then off about 4 to 5 times to get the air out of the system. Once that is performed, the engine should start up. Others have mentioned this as well. Too bad there's no section in the book about this. Note, its not a good practice to run the tank down that low often...those lift pumps depend on the fuel to keep them cool and lubricated so when you are down to a few gallons, the pump is not submerged in fuel as much and begins to heat up thus reducing the life of the pump. So, when the tank is about 1/4 full, its best to fill up then vs. later. The same goes with the high pressure pump which is very expensive in parts and labor to replace. Its not worth it...fill up sooner vs. later and change the fuel filters more often than the book says as well as the engine and transmission and transfer case fluids. Lube is cheap...repairs are not. Don't forget the axle lube as well. Lucky for you this happened where it did vs. a couple of miles away.

After watching the out of fuel episode, and owing a F450 and being a master auto mechanic with Ford certification; you need to be aware that u have a Bosch cp 4.2 injector pump on your 6.7L diesel. It is extremely vulnerable to catastrophic failure which you have set in motion by running the truck out of fuel/lubrication. You will at some point experience continued damage to your high pressure injection pump, which will leave you stranded and cost over 8 grand to repair. To stop this from happening (and it will happen and leave u stranded), I recommend a DCR replacement injection pump kit from S and S diesel motor sport part # 6.7F-DCR. It costs us about 2000.00. I put one on my F450 and have no worries as it can sustain running dry or contaminated fuel. Also recommend changing your cold side turbine tube. The cold side turbine on your vehicle has extensive history of blowing apart and leaving plastic fragments all over the engine. Replacement for for turbine cold and hot side can be purchased from sinister diesel for about 750.00. If you are in or around the Texas Hill country near Blanco Tx stop by, and I can show this to ya and how to install. Questions call me 210 8436808, Mark.

You know by now, there’s a trick to priming the fuel pump by turning the ignition on(do not crank the engine) Read that little book in your glovebox🙂

Just cycle the fuel pump a few times like when you change a fuel filter and you’d be fine.

Our First upgrade was a 50 gal auxiliary tank. We always fill up after the day of traveling, and we are unhooked from the 5th wheel. We can do 700 miles pulling fifth wheel, 1600 mile with just the truck.

If that ever happens again leave foot off brake and cycle then push your button do that a few times before putting foot on break. It will reprime your fuel lines with out cranking the engine.

My dad years ago coached me to fill at a 1/4 tank. I haven’t ran out since but spent hours on the side of the road for different reasons. Enjoy your videos.

Chad, your truck like most diesel trucks has 2 fuel pumps. The lift pump in the fuel tank delivers fuel through the fuel filters then to the CP3 engine driven high pressure fuel pump which boosts the pressure well into the thousands of psi for the high pressure fuel injection system. One risk of running out of fuel is the possibility of burning out the lift pump. It relys on fuel in the tank to keep it cool. When you're outside the truck and near the fuel tank, have someone turn the ignition key to the on position and listen for the hum of the lift pump. It should run for a couple seconds and then stop.

Disaster might not be diverted. That CP 4 fuel pump was spinning dry quite a bit. I'd be very concerned about that. Did you see the Keep your Daydream video last week. CP 4 is a major ford concern.

This is the reason my wife won’t let me go below 1/8 tank. I put in a 60gl Titan fuel tank because it never failed that the fuel stations always had low clearance and my momentum 351ms won’t fit. Lol. Safe travels.

Same thing happened to me on a test drive of a brand-new truck! Back in January 2020, I test drove a 2019 F-350 Platinum DRW located at Greenway Ford in Orlando, Florida. The truck showed 20 miles until empty but stalled on a busy highway, Colonial Drive, directly across from the dealership. It was embarrassing because I was directing traffic around the disabled truck until someone from the dealership came to pick me up. The crazy thing is that I ended up getting a great deal, and I bought the truck! I now tell everyone I bought a brand-new truck that broke down on the test drive. My friends and family thought I lost my mind. I learned a valuable lesson from that experience, and as soon as the low fuel indicator comes on, I immediately fill up.

FYI. If u put on ur 4 ways when in fuel island area, others will know not to pull in behind u n wait. (From a 35+ yrs cross country truck driver.) I feel for Tera every time she speaks about food. I’ve got Alfa Gal Syndrome that came with a host of food/perservitive allergies. U both do a super job w ur videos n sharing w us! Love u guys! Including the”child” that is always with u.

Did this ONCE in my Ram. Now, 100 miles to empty is the lowest I go. Have a Motorhome now with 150 gallon tank, and never go below 60-75 gallons still in the tank. Been watching you for years, and appreciate everything you do.

Alas, it happens to the best of us. I ran a diesel FUEL truck out of gas on my first day of work! Of course, I couldn't pump fuel from the 1100 gallon tank since I needed to engine running for the tank pump to work. And I did it on I5 in Seattle during rush hour. One thing about diesels is you definitely don't want to run the fuel dry otherwise the fuel filters can add to the fun. You guys make running out of fuel fun(ny). Who else would do it 100 yards from the fuel pump!!! Love watching you guys.

Hope you didn't damage the cp4 pump they do not like to be dry or contaminated. I learned the hard way 😮

Wow, I am so impressed that these truck stops will really step up and help all the refuelers in line! Chad, I would stop at these locations in the future! Such good service!!!!