Quick question about oil changes
I have 2015 Winnie on E350 chassis. We live in southern California and only use our RV 2-3 times a year. We drive a total of less than 500 miles a year. Question is: is it ok to replace oil every 3...
Forum Discussion
You'll find a lot of opinions here, not sure how much scientific fact.
With that said, I'll throw out my opinions. I agree with the statements above that no engine and drive train should sit idle for more than a month, especially if no long term storage preparations and return to service procedures are followed. Can you "get away" with changing the oil ever 3-4 years? Probably. I've known people who never changed their oil, but I wouldn't recommend it.
Personally, I always changed the oil at least once per year when we had the motor home. More often when we put lots of miles on it. With synthetic oil on my daily driver, I go pretty much by mileage and expect to get 7-10K miles out of it but I would still change it at least once per year if I was driving less. I've seen other sites that indicate you can go 2 or more years between changes on low mileage vehicles, but for me once a year seems like a reasonable balance.
The only way to really know when the oil truly needs to be changed is to have a sample tested. Not really worth the effort and expense to me. It would cost more than changing the oil myself and be more hassle. I'm not sure how much condensation plays into modern engines, but there are many factors like acid content and additives breaking down. Maybe condensation, maybe combustion by products, maybe other factors, but oil sitting in your engine especially after being run even a few miles is not the same as oil sealed in a factory container.
These links have some information about what happens as oil gets older and why you might want to consider interval based changes instead of just mileage:
https://www.waynesgarage.com/tips/more-tip/much-about-oil
https://www.waynesgarage.com/tips/more-tip/oil-change-intervals
With that said, I'll throw out my opinions. I agree with the statements above that no engine and drive train should sit idle for more than a month, especially if no long term storage preparations and return to service procedures are followed. Can you "get away" with changing the oil ever 3-4 years? Probably. I've known people who never changed their oil, but I wouldn't recommend it.
Personally, I always changed the oil at least once per year when we had the motor home. More often when we put lots of miles on it. With synthetic oil on my daily driver, I go pretty much by mileage and expect to get 7-10K miles out of it but I would still change it at least once per year if I was driving less. I've seen other sites that indicate you can go 2 or more years between changes on low mileage vehicles, but for me once a year seems like a reasonable balance.
The only way to really know when the oil truly needs to be changed is to have a sample tested. Not really worth the effort and expense to me. It would cost more than changing the oil myself and be more hassle. I'm not sure how much condensation plays into modern engines, but there are many factors like acid content and additives breaking down. Maybe condensation, maybe combustion by products, maybe other factors, but oil sitting in your engine especially after being run even a few miles is not the same as oil sealed in a factory container.
These links have some information about what happens as oil gets older and why you might want to consider interval based changes instead of just mileage:
https://www.waynesgarage.com/tips/more-tip/much-about-oil
https://www.waynesgarage.com/tips/more-tip/oil-change-intervals
