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?

[BrianinMichigan]

427435 wrote:

Flanz wrote:

RDG wrote:
$36.00 at my Ford dealer. Not worth my time to do it myself.

Does it also include greasing the 12 zerks on the rig? I have 12 on my 2000 F53 chassis.

-paul

12???

I've got 13--------------9 on the front and 4 on the drive-shaft if I remember correctly.

I think I counted 22 on my GM + the driveshaft.

[mowermech]

"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!

[Daveinet]

John&Joey wrote:
Last thing I would do is spray the metal parts with ATF, my way of doing a poor mans rustproofing job. I never felt like the garage would take as much time as I did. I wanted to feel confident when I was outside of my home area that everything was in top shape prior to leaving.

I thought that was why you not supposed to repair broken seals. I made the mistake of installing a new trans and now my front end is starting to rust. 😞

[LongWeekends]

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.

[falconbrother]

When I can no longer service my own rig I'll move to an SUV and a TT or a truck and a 5'er. That way I can get my servicing done at one of those fly by night chain places anywhere on the road. Heck, I might do that pretty soon anyway.

[Biggyniner]

I believe this is totally a preference thing... Some people say it's messy, well if you take your time and know what you are doing it shouldn't be THAT messy. Others say they are too old/tired/lazy to do it themselves, which is fine too.

I like to do it myself because I know its done right, however, if I mess up I can't go blaming anyone other than myself 😉

[GHOST1750]

I let the professionals do my business fleet, my personal cars and my motor home. Never any complaints. At my age (I'll never admit to getting old, just tireder :W) I don't want to crawl under anything anymore. I have my motor home done at a big rig lube place.

I envy you guys who still do it and enjoy it.

[Rwake901]

I will be one that will be doing my own work until I can’t. Good Quote Bill



X2 🙂

[WILDEBILL308]

There are two kinds of people those that are “car” people and those who feel all they need to know is how to start and drive it. I actually met a younger man who told me he didn’t know how to check his oil and have to because he changed his oil every 15000 miles like the dealer told him. There are those in-between that know but want some one else to do the work. That’s ok at least they are getting done.
I use to be one of those who thought 5 quarts was a lot of oil now I have a diesel pusher and the first time I pulled the drain plug I was getting nerves as the level of the oil in the pan kept getting higher. Just as it was about to overflow and I was getting ready to try to stick the drain plug back in it quit. I now have a bigger pan. 16 qt is a lot of nasty used diesel oil. I have never drained oil from a gas engine that looked that bad. The soot makes it look really bad. The oil lab report said it was still good.
The diesel is actually one of the easiest to change the oil on. There is enough room to slide under the back with out raising it on the jacks.
I will be one that will be doing my own work until I can’t.
Bill

[donandmax]

I take my cars in and have them done. I do the moho myself because it takes too long to drive to my mechanic, But I will admit, it can be a messy job and many folks dont like spilling oil all over the place. If I had a closer place I would have it done. The Ford dealer in this town wont take moho's plus he hates em..Cant say I blame him...

[SRT]

I just make an appointment with my son. He comes over and changes the oil (Fumoto valve), oil filter, and grease. I supply the oil, oil filter, grease gun and coffee. Works for me.

[John_Joey]

I don't do any of the cars, but I do the MH myself. I had a F53 460 that I liked to feed Rotella 15w40 with zinc, and a high performance K&N oil filter. While under there I knew where every zerk was and that it was greased correctly. It also gave me time to review how things were looking, belts good, hoses not soft, pads still thick, exhaust looking good as are the hangers, electrical connections looking good and not corroded, shocks not leaking, etc...

Last thing I would do is spray the metal parts with ATF, my way of doing a poor mans rustproofing job. I never felt like the garage would take as much time as I did. I wanted to feel confident when I was outside of my home area that everything was in top shape prior to leaving.

[Rwake901]

I have a 2014 Thor ACE. I do my own, everything is very easy to get to. I use all Motorcraft oil and filter, buy it from WalMart. Probably around $35.00 to do it myself. Like someone else said "I know its done right".

[427435]

Flanz wrote:

RDG wrote:
$36.00 at my Ford dealer. Not worth my time to do it myself.

Does it also include greasing the 12 zerks on the rig? I have 12 on my 2000 F53 chassis.

-paul

12???

I've got 13--------------9 on the front and 4 on the drive-shaft if I remember correctly.

[wa8yxm]

I pay a bit more than 32 dollars where I get the Intruder lubed, but they use DuraBlend not pure regular oil, (This ups the cost) and they do hit all the zerks with the possible exception of 2 (Jacks)

Plus they dispose of the oil, and clean up, all for like sixty bucks.

Truly not worth it for me to do it myself,

If I bring my own full synthetic, they charge less.