changing your own oil - is it worth it?

[Effy]

Since I have owned a MH I have a local dealership do the oil changes. On the Ford v-10 I have them do full synthetic and I get it done @7500 miles. The price is reasonable I think but I do have to drive it in, drive it home etc which can be a bit of a hassle. I have always done the gen set myself since it only takes 1.5 qts. I was wondering, by the time I buy the oil, filter, crawl under and over the engine to change it then figure out some way to dispose of the old oil, is it worth it? I think by the time I buy materials and my own labor I am not certain it’s even worth trying to save what would be about $20-30.00. I am not ill equipped but I am not a shop with a lift either. I don’t do my own truck either. Already figured out that the price I get to get that done with a free rotation in 15 minutes is way more cost effective to have them do it. I do however do my own tractor, simply because the hassle of dragging it somewhere would cost more. Anyway, what’s your thought on doing your own MH?

[MotorPro]

Having been in the engine business for many years I can tell you pro oil changes have been 1 of our biggest money makers. Drain plugs and filters left loose to vehicles sent down the road with no oil ever put in. I would never let anyone other than me change my oil.

[rgatijnet1]

Changing the oil is not rocket science. The places that can change your oil do not put their best mechanics on this mundane task. The job is usually delegated to the new guy or whoever is the low man on the totem pole. There is a reason why some places will change your oil for a low price. It is because they have a "mechanic" that will work for minimum wage, and worth every penny. :B

[Jarlaxle]

Biggyniner wrote:

LongWeekends wrote:
We take ours in to get it done. IMHO, it is a no brainer. If I was retired with nothing to do...I might consider it. Nah, probably not! I hear a lot of people saying they don't trust anyone to do it right. I don't get that?? What shops are they going to? I am older than some. Much younger than others but I have been owning and driving vehicles for 30 years. Everything from old VW's to brand new cars. Not once have I had an oil change done wrong....in fact, I don't even know a friend that has had one done wrong. I do hear countless "stories" of it however. And I am sure I will get flooded with those stories after I post this. 🙂

By the time I make a trip to buy the supplies, do the work, dispose of the oil, clean up my mess, it is MUCH easier to have it done. Plus it gives me an excuse to drive the RV.

I had a friend get his drain plug put back on with an impact socket, cross threaded it and ruined his oil pan... That's just one.. if its easy maintenance I like to do it myself.. I am also close to turning 30 so I'm pretty nimble and still have a lot of energy 😉

I watched the oil-monkey "fill" my old F-350 with oil...five quarts of bulk 5W-30. He then was about to start it, at which point I ran into the shop yelling, "NO, STOP! THERE'S NO OIL IN IT!" Why did I do that? Because my diesel F-350 needed TEN quarts of 15W-40 oil! (It only said "TURBO DIESEL" on both fenders...)

When my wife first got her Festiva, some gorilla (definitely at a quick-lube) had CRANKED the filter down with a wrench. We wound up having to cut it apart and use a hammer & punch to get the threaded plate off!

[Jarlaxle]

I do my own service...takes about an hour to change the oil and grease everything.

[bigred1cav]

Walmart $50 includes filter and lube

[wny_pat1]

I like knowing what goes in the crankcase!!! And when its bulk, the only guy who knows for sure it the guy who delivered it! So I either change it my self, or if I happen to be lazy then it needs done, I buy my own oil and take it to the shop with me. They don't carry what I use, and having spent a lot of time in oil labs, I'm fussy about what goes in my engine.

[H345]

.

I let the professionals do it with my supervision - I have chart with all of the lube points & torque
values . I have a spare set of filters on board if needed . I change oil & filters annually , and change
the filters at the mid point ( filters are the weak point of the oil system ) and top off the oil .

Never had any problems - I service the gen set and the trans filters .

.

[Daboo]

I'd rather do it myself...as someone said,,,I know it is done right when I do it...also it keeps me active...

[Biggyniner]

OhhWell wrote:

mowermech wrote:
"By the time I make a trip to buy the supplies, do the work, dispose of the oil, clean up my mess, it is MUCH easier to have it done. Plus it gives me an excuse to drive the RV."

Let's see...
Drive 5 miles to town, get the oil and filter, drive 5 miles home.
change the oil on the motorhome, clean up afterwards, and wash myself.
Drive 5 miles to town, dispose of the used oil, and drive 5 miles home.
OR
Drive the RV 5 miles to town, drink free coffee and read magazines while the oil is being changed, then drive the RV 5 miles home.
OR, I could walk across the street to Godfather's Pizza and enjoy their lunch buffet, if I time it right!

ONE 10 mile round trip, instead of TWO!

Yessir, that's a "no brainer" all right!

Hmmm, take the slide in, make sure everything is stored tight for the trip, unplug, bring up the levelers, take the wood planks out from where the levelers were, drive the 5 miles (which is about a gallon of gas each way city driving with hills) to a place I somewhat trust, wait for them to finish, endure the up sale tactics, pay MORE than it would cost me in supplies drive back home, back the beast into the PITA pad on the side of the house with about 8" clearance on each side if I want to deploy the slide, put the wood back under, plug it in, level it out, get underneath anyway to take a looksee

OR

I can grab oil and a filter on my way home on a Friday, change the oil and filter in about 20 min on my own schedule, drink a beer while the pan completely drains, grease the zergs and take the used oil to the parts store whenever I feel like it or I have filled both of my oil collection pans.

There is no waiting room more comfortable than my house.

Every one's situation is different and you can skew it either way.

Exactly there is really no wrong answer to this.

[OhhWell]

mowermech wrote:
"By the time I make a trip to buy the supplies, do the work, dispose of the oil, clean up my mess, it is MUCH easier to have it done. Plus it gives me an excuse to drive the RV."

Let's see...
Drive 5 miles to town, get the oil and filter, drive 5 miles home.
change the oil on the motorhome, clean up afterwards, and wash myself.
Drive 5 miles to town, dispose of the used oil, and drive 5 miles home.
OR
Drive the RV 5 miles to town, drink free coffee and read magazines while the oil is being changed, then drive the RV 5 miles home.
OR, I could walk across the street to Godfather's Pizza and enjoy their lunch buffet, if I time it right!

ONE 10 mile round trip, instead of TWO!

Yessir, that's a "no brainer" all right!

Hmmm, take the slide in, make sure everything is stored tight for the trip, unplug, bring up the levelers, take the wood planks out from where the levelers were, drive the 5 miles (which is about a gallon of gas each way city driving with hills) to a place I somewhat trust, wait for them to finish, endure the up sale tactics, pay MORE than it would cost me in supplies drive back home, back the beast into the PITA pad on the side of the house with about 8" clearance on each side if I want to deploy the slide, put the wood back under, plug it in, level it out, get underneath anyway to take a looksee

OR

I can grab oil and a filter on my way home on a Friday, change the oil and filter in about 20 min on my own schedule, drink a beer while the pan completely drains, grease the zergs and take the used oil to the parts store whenever I feel like it or I have filled both of my oil collection pans.

There is no waiting room more comfortable than my house.

Every one's situation is different and you can skew it either way.

[Biggyniner]

LongWeekends wrote:
We take ours in to get it done. IMHO, it is a no brainer. If I was retired with nothing to do...I might consider it. Nah, probably not! I hear a lot of people saying they don't trust anyone to do it right. I don't get that?? What shops are they going to? I am older than some. Much younger than others but I have been owning and driving vehicles for 30 years. Everything from old VW's to brand new cars. Not once have I had an oil change done wrong....in fact, I don't even know a friend that has had one done wrong. I do hear countless "stories" of it however. And I am sure I will get flooded with those stories after I post this. 🙂

By the time I make a trip to buy the supplies, do the work, dispose of the oil, clean up my mess, it is MUCH easier to have it done. Plus it gives me an excuse to drive the RV.

I had a friend get his drain plug put back on with an impact socket, cross threaded it and ruined his oil pan... That's just one.. if its easy maintenance I like to do it myself.. I am also close to turning 30 so I'm pretty nimble and still have a lot of energy 😉

[Greyghost]

Prior to yesterday I have changed the oil, filters and lubed my own chassis for every vehicle I have owned since 1958. Based on the comments from Executive (Dennis) I took our new to us DP to Speedco in Casa Grande AZ. They changed the oil (30 qts), all oil and fuel filters, lubed the chassis, torqued the drain plugs and replaced the oil and gaskets in the front wheels. Total time was less than 45 mins and the total cost was $266.13. I am now a believer.

[Effy]

mowermech wrote:
"By the time I make a trip to buy the supplies, do the work, dispose of the oil, clean up my mess, it is MUCH easier to have it done. Plus it gives me an excuse to drive the RV."

Let's see...
Drive 5 miles to town, get the oil and filter, drive 5 miles home.
change the oil on the motorhome, clean up afterwards, and wash myself.
Drive 5 miles to town, dispose of the used oil, and drive 5 miles home.
OR
Drive the RV 5 miles to town, drink free coffee and read magazines while the oil is being changed, then drive the RV 5 miles home.
OR, I could walk across the street to Godfather's Pizza and enjoy their lunch buffet, if I time it right!

ONE 10 mile round trip, instead of TWO!

Yessir, that's a "no brainer" all right!

Even better when your dealership is accross the street from your office. I Know and like the guys there too, So I get to hang out after work, talk rv's and shop with some of the guys, free coffee. yep, It's a pleasurable experience.

Like mowermech said, i could make 2 trips do all the work, crawl under the RV on a gravel drive etc. All in I'd probably save $20.00. I'll tak it in.

[KJINTF]

Looks as if we all look at the issue a bit different

For me - the trip to town is 20 miles one way
It's far easier for me (even at over 60 years old) to do the job properly in my heated 50x60ft shop w/ a 12Klb hoist (no it's not big enough for the RV)

No one else has ever worked on my Cars, Jeeps, RV's, SUV's, Tractors, ATV's, Motorcycles, Lawn tractors/mowers, Small engines, etc..

To each their own