Great truck shop in Cumming, GA

[vanwill52]

On Jun 3 2020, I had to be towed from an RV park in Dillard, GA to a repair shop I trusted in Cumming, GA.  The shop was MTR Fleet Services.  That is approximately 94 miles.

I wanted to be towed to this particular shop because I suspected (later confirmed) I had an ECM problem and a shop without Cummins INSITE software would only be guessing at what the problem was.  My friend Paul Whittle had recommended MTR, and Jason personally.  Paul had taken his coach to Jason on a few previous occasions and spoke highly of him—competent service, fairly priced, and prompt attention.  Paul and I do almost all our own work, but there are times when it’s nice to have a heavy-truck shop do a job that is either physically too large, or beyond your expertise.

Jason could not get to my unscheduled job right away.  It is a very busy shop, and I had no appointment.  But he moved my coach to a safe location and powered it with an extension cord.  He was very vigilant about checking that the coach was always plugged in.  I still had food in the fridge from the trip.

Jason, with INSITE, quickly diagnosed a nearly-dead ECM.  New ECM’s, to my knowledge, are no longer available and Cummins can only provide you a “remanufactured” ECM.  Those of you familiar at the board level with electronic devices know that “remanufactured” means USED and repainted…MAYBE tested in some way or another.  And for older engines like mine, they usually do not have an ECM in stock, and must get it from a distribution center somewhere.

When the replacement ECM arrived, it could not be loaded with all the “vehicle specific” parameters.  They are normally downloaded from the existing ECM.  But my ECM had suffered a catastrophic failure and INSITE reported “All ECM data lost”.  Jason’s expertise and experience showed itself.  He used the engine serial number to find the dealer in Coburg, OR that sold the engine to Monaco.  Those dealers are required to keep data like the parameters for a very long time.  The dealer emailed the parameter list.  For some reason, the parameter list would not load properly, and Jason personally DROVE the ECM to the Cummins dealer about 30 miles away.  The dealer had great difficulty but finally got the parameters loaded.

Once a replacement ECM was installed, the coach started instantly.  Jason and I both thought we were about at the finish line.  However, another problem arose.  A long-standing fault code that I’d had for years popped up.  It was Cummins Fault Code 434, indicating power supply problems at the ECM, either while running or when being shut down.  Chasing down the reason for that fault code would consume another two weeks.  During that time, Jason always advised me of the situation each time he had more news.  HE called ME.  I did not have to call him.  We both pondered the possible reasons for the fault code and discussed it at length.  I was pleasantly surprised that he was at least open to the possibility that the customer might have some technical expertise, and also might be familiar with any peculiar anomalies of the coach.

During the time it took to find the problem, I became very impressed with the methodical cause-and-effect, if this—then that, diagnostic thought process Jason had.  We bounced ideas off one another chasing an elusive intermittent problem.  Jason finally found what we still think was the problem.  I say “think” because the only way you know you’ve solved an intermittent problem is when you have not had it for a very long time.  I’ll need a lot of road miles to be totally convinced the problem is solved.  I’ll explain the apparent problem in another thread…

Because this post is not so much about solving a problem as it is pointing out a truly exceptional shop and shop owner.  From Day One, Jason made me feel I was a very valued customer, even though most shops would rather not work on motor homes.  His habit of calling me to give me “updates” is something I have never experienced anywhere.  Usually one calls and hopes to get to talk to someone knowledgeable about your repair.

And when it was obvious that the cost of this repair would be far in excess of what either of us thought, I could see Jason go into “economy” mode.  He tried (and succeeded) in keeping the cost of everything to a bare minimum.  Knowing the ACTUAL time Jason and his shop had in the job, I don’t see how he made any money on this job.  But he was always adamant that it be done right and with a quality of repair he could accept.  He had a philosophy that is undoubtedly true, “If you do a job, no matter how large the bill, if the truck comes back even once because the repair failed, you’ve lost all you could ever hope to make on the job.”

And on top of it all, Jason and I became friends.  I’m looking forward to share dinner with him at his house the next time I’m near his shop…possibly going with him to church.  This young man and his wife are both great human beings of character and deep faith.  Were it not for the 300 miles to his shop, no one but him would ever work on my coach again.

MTR Motor Fleet Services
2520 Jake Drive
Cumming, GA 30028
678-947-9088
Home
Jason Martin, Owner

[K9 Exec]

Van, 

That is awesome to hear! I am fortunate enough to have been trained by some of the brightest and finest in the industry, and do most of my own repairs. I have friends that work on Cat, Cummins, Detroit, Allison and so on with 18 bay shops and know what they are doing. I am concerned when I venture out of the area, and get stuck on the side of the road, that I am fortunate enough to run into an ethical shop with  a Jason. 🙂 

I had a tow west of Dallas five years ago,  or so, 60 miles to a Dallas shop was $720. A week In the shop, 2 injectors later was $6,000.00.

I was taken to the cleaners for sure, but that wasn’t the end of it. I made it 300 miles to Lubbock and had those injectors fail. A new 6 pack and I was rolling at an out of pocket cost of $6,100.00. Never had another issues. I always say if you have 1 injector fail, you will most likely going to replacing more in the near future, so while you are at the shop- have them al replaced and warranted. 
 

If you are able to, I would try to review his shop on Google and any applicable sites as well. An honest review is worth its weight in gold, he will be forever grateful. 

I wish you success on your repair and many thousands of miles trouble free!

Take care,

Nic

[Dennis H]

rvservicereviews.com     Leave a positive review. Lots of RVrs use that for recommendations.....Dennis