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Minnesota51 · 09-14-2018, 01:27 PM

We drive about 61 miles an hour for about 4 hours a day. Pretty easy. No stop and go. Engine idles along at about 2000 RPM maybe 1900. This is not severe conditions because it's not dusty out and we're not stopping and going and we are up to temperature.

Ford says 7500 miles on the V10 for an oil change. We're about 800 past due amount and about 2500 miles from home.

We don't tow a car. We would have to have it changed while we wait in the waiting room somewhere.

I am inclined to just wait. I always have it changed at Ford service centers and get all Motorcraft stuff. I don't know if I would trust an oil change place.

What do you do when you are in the middle of a trip and it's time for an oil change? Have you had good luck with people who will change it in a park and put in the type of oil and type of filter you want?

Domo · 09-14-2018, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minnesota51

We drive about 61 miles an hour for about 4 hours a day. Pretty easy. No stop and go. Engine idles along at about 2000 RPM maybe 1900. This is not severe conditions because it's not dusty out and we're not stopping and going and we are up to temperature.

Ford says 7500 miles on the V10 for an oil change. We're about 800 past due amount and about 2500 miles from home.

We don't tow a car. We would have to have it changed while we wait in the waiting room somewhere.

I am inclined to just wait. I always have it changed at Ford service centers and get all Motorcraft stuff. I don't know if I would trust an oil change place.

What do you do when you are in the middle of a trip and it's time for an oil change? Have you had good luck with people who will change it in a park and put in the type of oil and type of filter you want?

I'd hate to have my engine develop any problems related to bad lubrication because I wanted to wait.

First question - aren't there Ford shops everywhere that you can pull into and spend an afternoon?

Better yet, simply buy your own filters and oil. Have the service fellow do the labor, cleanup and disposal of the waste. If you can, have an oil change valve installed so you never have to worry about some idiot cross-threading the drain plug or not changing the crush washer, etc.. Such as -->>This one.<<--

Meanwhile, watch what he does. Stick a camera under and take a picture of what he's doing and tell him, "My brother won't believe that I can get such good service without going to Ford! Let me send him a few pictures." You'd be surprised how attentive the fellow would get knowing he's going to be famous! Get him talking about what he's doing and what kind of problems he knows to stay away from and what he does to prevent them...

What do I do? Well, I've got a Diesel Pusher and we're full timing - so, if miles or times requires a change and I'm not someplace that allows me to do the change, I make an appointment and DW and I sit in the MH in the parking lot until they want the rig in the Freightliner shop, then we get out, drink coffee in their front office and swap jokes with the truckers... Nope we don't go to RV dealers to get service - we prefer being able to drive away...

Have said that, there are some truck stops that are extremely similar to Jiffy-Lube - you pull into line, drive into the bay, they drain, change filters and lube and you drive out the other side...

Minnesota51 · 09-14-2018, 02:26 PM

It's funny but my Honda Odyssey goes longer than 7500 miles on it's oil. It's a computerized notification system.

I suspect you can probably go 10 or 15 thousand miles between changes, purring down the road gently in an RV at road temperature.

Minnesota51 · 09-14-2018, 02:28 PM

I should add, we don't want to spend an afternoon at a Ford shop on our trip if we teally don't have to. We have a dog with us and he's a little unruly. And we've been there before- having to sit in the waiting area all day while our RV has something done. It's no fun.

Minnesota51 · 09-14-2018, 02:33 PM

I read an interesting article about a guy that worked in oil analysis with diesel engines and he said their studies show that engine oil itself actually lasts about 70,000 miles, what you really need to change is the filter at the recommended intervals. You could just change the filter and not the oil and probably be okay, he said, but it's pretty messy so they just have you change the oil too since it's easy.

momdoc · 09-14-2018, 03:41 PM

Maybe you can find a Ford dealer that has a courtesy car that you can use while in the shop. We have done it this way in the past when our sprinter needed service and we were on the road.

V3600 · 09-14-2018, 03:52 PM

If you go past the 7500 mile limit your motor will die.

Just kidding. Most likely you're using a synthetic oil, which can go a long ways between changes. I would wait on the oil change until I got home.

BTW changing the oil is not rocket science, any competent idiot can do it.

Dutch Star Don · 09-14-2018, 04:01 PM

Just leave it alone until you get home. You're not going to do any damage.

jks · 09-14-2018, 04:05 PM

If you are not going to change the oil, then at check the oi level.

vito.a · 09-14-2018, 04:11 PM

Some thoughts:
Most oil studies in the past 10 years involve synthetic oil. Are you using synthetic? If yes, skip the rest of my comments.
A gas engine in a class A motorhome works much harder than a gas engine in a car or even a light truck.
IF this engine was still under warranty, missing an oil change would be grounds for suspension of the warranty.
How long do you plan on keeping this motorhome?

I like to change my own engine oil. It costs less and I know it's done correctly. I agree, it's difficult on the road. Maybe stop at a Walmart and purchase the oil and filter. Then call ahead and make an appointment to have it changed. There must be a Ford dealer along the way. Make it at a location where you can inexpensively rent a car and take your family and dog to a local attraction for the day.

Best of luck!

dexters · 09-14-2018, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minnesota51

We drive about 61 miles an hour for about 4 hours a day. Pretty easy. No stop and go. Engine idles along at about 2000 RPM maybe 1900. This is not severe conditions because it's not dusty out and we're not stopping and going and we are up to temperature.

Options:
Change it yourself - I do it because I like to get under the truck to check for leaks and other things I may see.

Buy oil and filter at a auto supply store and then have Walmart or similar do it for you - they may charge you $10.

You're probably OK waiting also.

ScoobyDoo · 09-14-2018, 04:40 PM

You are over due now!
Stop at a parts store. Buy oil and filter, filter wrench, roll of rags and a funnel. Ask for the box a case comes in. Line the box with a trash bag, and use that for a drain pan. Put the used oil back in the jugs, most auto parts stores will recycle the oil. Or you can take the oil to Speedco, or a truck stop.
I once found a oil change place, and a laundromat. I washed clothes while DW got the oil changed.
People amaze me. Some will only run 80% of load ratings, others willing to run 135% of oil change ratings

vsheetz · 09-14-2018, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by V3600

If you go past the 7500 mile limit your motor will die.

Just kidding. Most likely you're using a synthetic oil, which can go a long ways between changes. I would wait on the oil change until I got home.

BTW changing the oil is not rocket science, any competent idiot can do it.

Ditto.

Arch Hoagland · 09-14-2018, 05:01 PM

Diesel electric engines on railroad locomotives never change oil. They have extremelly large filters that are changed with a small crane but they don't drain the oil unless they rebuild the engine.

However they do burn a lot of oil and add new oil on a regular basis.

As for me....I'm a 3,000 mile guy and do all the changes of my oil and transmission fluids and filters myself.