Big Bertha has a Fuelling Issue in Alaska
May/June 2026:
We were making our way down the Kenai peninsula from Anchorage and pulled in to what looked like a nice campsite for the night when Big Bertha’s dashboard suddenly displayed an error code (1-03779-01). Strange, Dave thought. This needed investigation and so we pulled into our camp spot and turned the engine off. Big mistake. It would not restart! Dave spent the next two days fault finding with the help of José from Mexico, Matt from MAN Exeter and Jared from TM Trucking in South Africa. Dave eventually managed to start the engine (with the help of starter spray) and we limped 200km back to a Diesel Workshop in Anchorage. Further diagnostic tests revealed there was a fuel ‘leak by’ from the injectors and/or feed pipe connections. This meant the fuel pump could not build the necessary fuel pressure to start the engine (the ECU requires a minimum fuel pressure at the fuel rail). Although there were options to test the injectors, it was decided to have a fresh set shipped in from the UK along with new feed pipes and a set of sensors/actuators/relief valves. Alaska labour rates are horrendous (£186/hr) and it wasn’t worth spending time to diagnose further – just replace everything. We still have no idea of the exact cause of the problem – but suspect bad fuel.
Foley and his team at Diamond Truck Service looked after us very well, allowing us to stay in their yard over the weekends and public holidays (Francine wonders why we always seem to break down over a long holiday weekend?!). We were there 14 days in total.
This is a list of the work we did for our future reference:
- Replaced all six injectors
- Replaced all six feed pipes
- Replaced Bosch MProp fuel pump regulator
- Replaced fuel rail fuel pressure sensor
- Replaced fuel rail pressure relief valve
- Replaced main fuel filter
- Changed engine oil
- Replaced tank number two connector (leaking)
- Replaced fuel in both tanks.
Oh nooooo … so glad you got it fixed and can continue on your glorious journey.
All done how, Patricia, and we are on our way again.
Hi. We saw you parked in jasper today. We are motorhome owners from the UK. I am very impressed that you have travelled so far from home.
Hi Roger, thanks for the message. Isn’t Jasper lovely? Just a shame about the smoke in the air. We’ve been travelling in Big Bertha fulltime for eight years now and this has allowed us the opportunity to visit some wonderful places. We’ve just come down from Tuktoyaktuk having reached the Arctic Ocean. You see our past route under Route on our website. Have you hired a motorhome over here? David and Francine
Hope you were able to see some of the beautiful Kenai peninsula while waiting for repairs. As for always breaking down on a 3-day holiday weekend, we’ve noticed the same phenomenon. We live in a rural area and are on well water, sharing a well, which we manage, with 8 other houses. Probably 90% of the mechanical or weather-related issues that have stopped our well in the last 38 years have happened on a 3-day weekend!
Hi Kathy, we did explore the Kenai (blog to come) but we had to cut short the time we had allocated. A big shame.
What a nightmare!
So glad BB is all better now 🙏
Outrageous labour costs!! Good grief!
Hopefully back on track now, looking forward to seeing more of your amazing journey ❤️
Hi Pauline – Yes BB has been well behaved since. But it was a hefty bill!!
Glad you finally solved the problem. Can’t believe it’s been 8 years since you started your journey. How time flies.
Hi Dave, we saw you parked across the street from us and wondered how would a huge truck like that go so far. Your travels look amazing!!!
Hi Ewan!
We do get around – we’ve lived in our truck for eight years so far. Glad you like our website. Was it Lakeview Drive you saw us?
David and Francine
Yeah
Yes
Nothing stops you Dave!
BB has been everywhere in your eight years!!