Community Forums

veraken · 03-16-2020, 05:09 AM

Doing the oil change is 1/2 the job. The other 1/2 is lubrication. Does anyone have a list/chart of all lub points and any helpful hints?

jacwjames · 03-16-2020, 06:36 AM

Here is a lubrication manual for Roadmaster Chassis, it's a scanned copy but still usable. Once you figure out where all the zerks are it doesn't take too long to do it. While doing the lube I also do a good inspection of the chassis and in particular look at the welds on the rear axle as there have been cases of some of the attachments breaking/cracking.

Ray,IN · 03-16-2020, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stutch

All,

Just had my oil changed on my 2015 Dutch Star. Was 9,000 miles since last change.

Been reading that oil needs to be changed before storage for winter due to acidity of oil in oil pan etc... Better safe than sorry. Anyway, was told by the mechanic that this was the case years ago and if you are using Synthetic or Synthetic Blended oil (which is easy enough to use) then there is no need to change the oil but once every 2 years, for us that's about 12k-15K miles, no matter what the calendar says.

Easy enough to change your oil in your car but don't need to spend the cash to do a DP change.

I spent $500 to have the oil changed (know I could have had it done cheaper) but having it done at my convenience was more important.

Questions: Has anyone done their own oil changes? If so, do you drain or suck the oil out? If draining, does anyone know the valve specs to replace the drain plug for a 2015 ISL 9 450HP? Can't catch 20qts at one time!! Also, of you suck out the oil, what do you recommend for a pump?

Thanks
Mike

Have an oil sample tested, then you know its condition.
If you go the DIY route, a 55G plastic drum holds a tiny bit more than 1G per inch of height. I cut one off at 10" so it slides under the MH easily.

pete5016 · 03-17-2020, 07:13 AM

I change my own oil. I bought a catch pan from Home Depot.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Plasgad-...101C/205451550

I also use a small pump to remove the used oil, and also to make it easier to insert the new oil.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-18...P750/300258095

I made a couple of different hoses for the pump to make it easier not to cross contaminate the new oil.

scenic route · 03-17-2020, 12:13 PM

Just changed our Cummins' 400 oil/filter yesterday. I also installed the Fumoto drain valve(nice quality) with the 'N' (nipple)… the short nipple version is worthless(on DW's Honda) - the hose will fall off and oil will splash everywhere. I used the 'ol shop-vac trick on the MH as well, only I had access to the oil fill cap on top of the valve cover through a hatch in the aft bath(makes the refill much easier as well and no oil got sucked into the shop vac). I was skeptical about this method, but it really is a no mess way to swap out the drain plug with the Fumoto with a full pan of oil. The new valve does stick down a little from the oil pan, but the metal exhaust flex pipe will get destroyed before any road hazard can hit the valve.

I also made sure I could get the engine oil filter(LF 9009)loose before I awl punched a hole in the filter for the filter drain. Again, a clean op. I used two oil change containers and a large drip pan...not a drop of oil hit the ground. Geez, 28 quarts this thing takes.

After a long shower and a nap, the satisfaction of a job well done felt pretty good and I even thought I heard a sigh of relief come from my wallet.

veraken · 03-18-2020, 06:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scenic route

I used the 'ol shop-vac trick on the MH as well

What is the "ol shop-vac trick" ?

scenic route · 03-18-2020, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by veraken

What is the "ol shop-vac trick" ?

On our Cummins 400, there's an oil dipstick and an oil fill tube easily accessed from the rear of the coach. When replacing the oil pan drain plug with a Fumoto valve for the first time, some stick the hose of a vacuum over the oil fill tube to create negative pressure so the oil doesn't pour out of the drain hole while making the switch. Sometimes using the oil fill tube, some have reported that it's possible to suck oil out of the tube and into the shop vac, especially if the vac has some good suction.

I have good access to the valve cover oil fill from the aft bath via a small panel over the engine. I do this by myself so I taped the hose end of my shop vac to the valve cover oil fill...this eliminates possibly ruining the vac's filter with oil. I then crawled under the engine and made the swap...with no drips whatsoever. This really works well.