Disabled Veteran's Truck Needs Urgent Repair

UPDATE: We made some arrangements and have been able to move ourselves and our home-on-wheels up to Idaho. However, our truck is still in Arizona, and we’re still embattled with Fidelity! We DO NOT want to use the money we’re raising through this fundraiser - instead, we prefer that Fidelity honors their contract, which we purchased in good faith, when we bought the truck. This fundraiser is ONLY a last resort that we may need to lean on so that we don’t lose our home. Thank you!

We're a family of four, currently moving across the country. Aside from a few household goods, everything we own is packed into a travel trailer as we try to move from Florida to Idaho. Luke is a combat wounded 100% disabled Army veteran. After offloading everything in February, we hit the road in an effort to embrace a more minimalistic lifestyle while waiting for our next home to be built, hoping to develop a better relationship with each other and our kids while trying to find ourselves out on the open road.

We were driving our 2014 Ram 1500 Ecodiesel — which I bought with an extended powertrain warranty from Fidelity — when the engine failed suddenly in the Arizona desert. Lost all oil pressure. No warning.

We’re now stranded. We’ve been stuck for nearly a month, paying storage fees for our move, missing appointments — and the dealership quoted us $20,000 for a new engine. Fidelity denied the claim. They say the denial is because:

• My utility rack “looks commercial” — it’s for kayaks and camping gear.

• A sticker on my stock air filter “implies tuning.” It’s not tuned.

• The oil filter collapsed — which they’re using to blame me, despite me changing the oil 2,000 miles prior, with documentation to prove it. There are also failsafes that clearly malfunctioned in such an event. Anyone can look up oil filter collapse; it’s a common failure and auto manufacturers implement failsafes in engine oiling systems to prevent oil filter failures from depriving the engine of oil.

Any further investigation requires tear down and inspection, which the dealer happily accrues exorbitant labor fees which we are responsible for if Fidelity denies further requests or appeals.

We’ve filed complaints, contacted lawyers, reached out to Fidelity’s team, and more — but we’re out of time. Our housing is at risk. My truck — my home right now — is undriveable.

They've basically backed us into a corner, saying if we pay more money for more testing, then MAYBE we will discover something that will lead to them covering the cost of repairs. As it stands, we need a new engine dropped into the truck, or just a new vehicle, but we unfortunately still owe on the one that is currently inoperable. It's been 5 weeks. We've tried to get help through every avenue we can think of (ouside of standing on the corner with a cardboard sign)...the selling dealership, the BBB, an attorney, WWP, etc...it's been to no avail. Summer is coming here in Arizona and our plans, and preparations, certainly weren't to be living in a travel trailer in the Arizona summer. We have exhausted all resources, and this is our embarrassing last attempt. Because we are in process of purchasing a new home, we cannot take the credit hit by financing a new vehicle.

Even if you can’t help monetarily, please help me hold Fidelity Warranty Services accountable. Share this. Tag them. Let them know the community sees what they’re doing.

If they won’t do the right thing, I may need to ask for help covering repairs. $1 from 20,000 people — and I’ll send every cent back if Fidelity steps up.

We understand that everyone is struggling, and we do not take that for granted. Thank you for any assistance.