Friday, June 19, 2026
Every family road trip needs a little excitement, right?
Friday’s adventure came courtesy of our trusty 2016 Duramax as we made our way through the mountains of New Mexico and Colorado on our journey to Utah.
As we climbed higher into the mountains, JB noticed something on his Banks iDash monitor that most people would never see. The truck was trying to perform a regeneration cycle—a process diesel trucks use to clean soot out of the emissions system—but it just couldn’t seem to finish the job.
JB’s description was that the truck was “coughing.”
It would start a regeneration, stop, start again, stop again, and never quite complete the cycle. The constant climbs, descents, and changing driving conditions were preventing the truck from finishing what it needed to do.
Eventually, the truck illuminated the check engine light and displayed a code that was essentially saying, “I’m trying to regenerate, but I can’t get it done.”
Fortunately, this wasn’t our first rodeo.
On a family trip to California back in 2021, a similar situation occurred. The difference then was that we had no idea what was happening. The truck eventually reduced its power and entered “limp mode,” leaving us with an unexpected visit to a dealership.
This time was different.
Thanks to the Banks monitor, JB could see exactly what was happening in real time. Rather than waiting for the truck to force the issue, we pulled into a rest area, unhooked the camper, and made a plan.
That’s where great travel friends come in.
The Babers graciously stayed behind and kept an eye on both campers while we took the truck out for a drive. With the trailer disconnected, the truck finally had the steady driving conditions it needed. About 80 miles later, the regeneration completed successfully, the soot load dropped, the check engine light stayed off, and all was well again.
Problem solved.
Interestingly, Scott’s newer Duramax never experienced the same issue. His truck has GM’s newer L5P diesel engine, which features a more advanced emissions system and generally handles regeneration cycles better than JB’s older LML engine. A newer generation of technology definitely has its advantages.
In the end, nothing was broken. The truck simply needed the right conditions to finish its housekeeping duties.
And honestly, every great road trip deserves at least one story to tell.
We’re thankful for modern technology, good travel partners, and a truck that gave us plenty of warning before things became a bigger problem.
