Winter storage - Oil Change in fall or spring?

BartonT wrote:
About to store my Motorhome for the winter months. Do people recommend changing the oil in the fall before storing or in the spring. (I use synthetic oil if that makes a difference.

well obviously if its due before storing is preferred method but how many miles have you gone since last change?thats the important part

I like to get my annual oil change in the fall after our spring and summer travel is over. Motor home usually sits for winter holidays,oct/Nov until feb when we start using it again. After the oil change I top off the fuel tank, put a biocide in it, and park it. I think is better to sit with fresh oil rather than "used" which contains whatever contaminates it may contain.

imgoin4it wrote:
I like to get my annual oil change in the fall after our spring and summer travel is over. Motor home usually sits for winter holidays,oct/Nov until feb when we start using it again. After the oil change I top off the fuel tank, put a biocide in it, and park it. I think is better to sit with fresh oil rather than "used" which contains whatever contaminates it may contain.

makes perfect sense as long as you have gone a reasonable amount of miles.My ISL is good for up to 20K miles I only go 3500 per year so I do it very 3rd year.

I would change the oil by miles not time. Unless of course you only drive a mile to the grocery once a week.

If you really do not trust the miles then send a sample in to be tested.
http://www.blackstone-labs.com/

For the minimal expense involved I always changed by oil prior to storing the RV for the Winter even if I had not traveled the distance suggested by the manufacturer. I full time now so I just change the oil once a year or 10,000 miles (older engine) no matter the season as it never stays parked very long.

Beside convenience, what would be a good reason to change the oil before or after storing?

Is there any contaminant in the old oil that would damage or stick too the oil pan if you leave it in for a few month without running the engine?

Or does the new oil gets "old" and would not lubricate as good? I was reading on a truck post that synthetic oil looses some of it's property sittin in the container...

While we too only get about 3-4000 miles a year, IAW Cummins they say every 10000 or 1 year on the ISL motor for oil change, so al long as it's still under warranty I do it EVERY year, and on the recommendation of the local diesel service I use for services we change it each SPRING once I pull it out of winter storage.

We Cant Wait wrote:
While we too only get about 3-4000 miles a year, IAW Cummins they say every 10000 or 1 year on the ISL motor for oil change, so al long as it's still under warranty I do it EVERY year, and on the recommendation of the local diesel service I use for services we change it each SPRING once I pull it out of winter storage.

I wonder what is the reasonto change oil every year if you do not make the number of miles?

A year, easy to remember? Based on fact? Is the oil made to last one year?

We Cant Wait wrote:
While we too only get about 3-4000 miles a year, IAW Cummins they say every 10000 or 1 year on the ISL motor for oil change, so al long as it's still under warranty I do it EVERY year, and on the recommendation of the local diesel service I use for services we change it each SPRING once I pull it out of winter storage.

really well every ISL book I seen says 20000 miles and if it was so so important to change it once a year verses on mileage why would anyone let it sit all winter with dirty oil.? I think your getting bad informations(regarding fall verses spring) even when I was under warrenty I used the mileage measure.Had a couple cummins warrenty issues and they did not seem to care about the yearly bs they print in the manual. Never even asked about oil changes

ISL9 Maintenance Intervals
Maintenance Item Miles/Kilometers Hours Months
Oil and Filter* 20,000 mi

Kidoo wrote:

We Cant Wait wrote:
While we too only get about 3-4000 miles a year, IAW Cummins they say every 10000 or 1 year on the ISL motor for oil change, so al long as it's still under warranty I do it EVERY year, and on the recommendation of the local diesel service I use for services we change it each SPRING once I pull it out of winter storage.

I wonder what is the reasonto change oil every year if you do not make the number of miles?

A year, easy to remember? Based on fact? Is the oil made to last one year?

there is no reason.Every engine manufacturer out there uses the same clause as a CTASS clause no matter the mileage