Long trip tow vehicle maintenance

Usually, the dealer is telling me what I already know. I can see the tires are worn, the wiper streak, the shocks are worn. I also know the mileage and the recommended maintenance schedule.

For what they charge an hour, I expect them to advise me on something I may have overlooked. That does not mean I am going to schedule the repair. Believe me I also have no problem questioning an issue if it does not feel right.

My last three trucks a Ranger, Dakota and an F-150 all had over 200,000 miles on them when I gave them to my son-in-law or grandsons.

I will say that the newer vehicles are far more complicated and expensive to maintain. That is why I own an e-boost F-150 rather than a diesel powered behemoth. Of course I am not pulling a fiver either.

On my last two long trips I had my truck serviced in Colorado Springs, Moab, Brookville IN, Belfast ME and Manchester TN. Not one dealer tried to upsell me anything.

Heavy Metal Doctor wrote:

This is why any shop can do an oil change for free or less than the cost of even Napa oil / filters -- 2 things: volume discount on supplies and the supplies are the cheapest you can get

They'll cheerfully do the oil changes at or below cost for a few other reasons too: it only takes them about 10-15 minutes AND it gives them a chance to crawl over your car as they do their "courtesy inspection". You go in for a cheap oil change because you have a coupon, then they tell you, that you need a new serpentine belt, windshield wipers, coolant flush, trans flush, brakes are almost worn, your at the mileage where differential fluid needs to be replaced, etc. Oh and you also have a small crack on the sidewall of one of your tires and looks like you need an alignment. All of this is only $2,000 dollars, but we'll give you the oil change for free, discount the labor on the serpentine belt and trans flush, plus we'll toss in a few coupons for $10 off on oil changes. You can also get a 10% discount if you sign up for our store's VISA card.

You can tell I've heard all this before.
I've bought tires at the same place for many years, and I've gotten to know the main man there. Everytime I bring my vehicles in for new tires, he just hands me the list of the things that are "recommended" so I can know what I need to be fixing myself. He even says "I know you do your own work, so here's what you need to looking at doing..."

It's pretty simple on my truck. A 5 gal bucket fits under there without lifting the truck, and I have a Fumoto valve, so no tools are required to drain it.

I too have a Fumoto valve on my diesel truck, and intend on replacing all my vehicle's drain plugs with them. Worth every penny!!!

bpounds wrote:


I don't necessarily trust a shop just because it has an automakers sign out front. I know with Ford at least, the dealership often has a "Quick Lane" business, which is nothing more than another Jiffy Lube type business. You can't even be sure they are using their own brands. They use whatever is cheapest. But I can't speak for all brands or even all Ford dealerships.

Agreed....I assumed, when I got a maintenance package for free when I bought a new vehicle from a dealer, that they would use supplies with their own brand name. Like I said before, I was surprised to see the whole deal was sponsored by an outside company and they used off brand oil / filter. The ticket even had "Brand XXXXX (oil company) service package" kinda wording on it. I thought, "Oh, now I see why they give it away free -- junk oil and no-name filters that's all part of a special deal they get from the oil company." This is why any shop can do an oil change for free or less than the cost of even Napa oil / filters -- 2 things: volume discount on supplies and the supplies are the cheapest you can get......Not saying they all do this, but I definitely discuss what gets used in the work I have done occasionally by and independent shop I have some work done by.

I know this is kind of a tangent, but.....an example of why I don't like others touching my vehicles and how a lot of "maint. programs" are actually not a great idea:
The onsite maint. company I worked for way back when would use 8 dollar rear brake shoes on 3/4 ton trucks / delivery vans for the fleets we serviced. 8 dollars! How much would you trust your employees and the public's safety running around on that. And, they lasted about what you'd expect for 8 bucks -- I did the same delivery vans as often as once week, they failed with such regularity. But it was all on "contract pricing" and the customers kept paying for the same repairs - but it was good deal since a brake job never cost more than XXXX..... So much of that companies work was questionable / shoddy that I had to quit for my own conscience.

I am afraid that my days of crawling under a car to change oil are long gone; likewise for shocks and mufflers.

Like many, I did it when I was younger and poorer. Over time I have established relationships with various service departments in town that I feel I can trust.

I recently took my TV in for servicing after I returned from a trip out west. The dealer’s service department did the work. Six quarts of oil, filter, tire rotation, fluids topped off and numerous other checks; came too, with their handy dandy coupon, $37.00.

I suppose I could have done it cheaper but I was in and out in about an hour and a half. They have the expertise and the tools. I do a quick double check of course; some old habits are hard to break.

Drbolasky wrote:
True enough. However, on our last extended voyage in 2009 I packed my own oil, filter & container for the used oil for a change I knew I'd need to maintain the warranty. We found ourselves in Las Vegas when the change needed to happen - I was astounded to find the local dealer did the oil & filter change for me for less than I paid for my own stuff. Go figure.

I don't necessarily trust a shop just because it has an automakers sign out front. I know with Ford at least, the dealership often has a "Quick Lane" business, which is nothing more than another Jiffy Lube type business. You can't even be sure they are using their own brands. They use whatever is cheapest. But I can't speak for all brands or even all Ford dealerships.

proxim2020 wrote:

I perform all of my maintenance on my vehicles, but I would never even think of performing an oil change in a campground. Even if the rules didn't strictly prohibiting it. In my driveway with fairly large catch pan sitting on top of an even larger drip pan, I've still have had some pretty bad unexpected disasters. It only takes one gust of wind and your oil is spraying everywhere. I once had a car that immediately sprayed out 2.5 qts of oil because of a bad seal on a new filter (no more STP filters after that day!). At the first rain in a campground, that stuff's running into some water table or some nearby lake or stream. If it's really necessary to change your oil, do it in the parking lot of the store where you buy the oil from. They're probably more adequately equipped to contain a accidental spill than you would be in a campground.

It's pretty simple on my truck. A 5 gal bucket fits under there without lifting the truck, and I have a Fumoto valve, so no tools are required to drain it. I actually use those kitty litter buckets, which are about 4 gallons and are disposable. The perfect size for most diesel pickups. Just drop the whole bucket off at any lube shop nearby. You would have to screw it up pretty bad to make a mess, but you could knock over a bucket. Things can and do happen. I think the riskiest part is driving with the bucket to the drop-off place. I would tape that lid down well if going far. Never had to actually change it away from home, so this is all speculation. But if you think about hot-shot drivers for example, they have to deal with this every week or two if they are racking up the miles. The few that I've known have all insisted on doing their own maintenance, for financial reasons as well as trust in a job done right.

Like some others, I much prefer to do my own oil changes. I have never screwed them up and have never over tightened and stripped my own drain plug, can't say the same for those few times it was done by someone else for me.

I've always been able to go at least 5,000 miles between changes based on oil analysis. That was with my wagon, it was fairly easy to time the changes to not happen on a trip, even longer ones. This year was the first year we had the Suburban. It is stored in winter and I plan to change it once per year. We'll not put much more than 5k miles on it per year and I will change it just prior to storage, like last year.

bpounds wrote:
Nobody changes the oil on my truck but me. I have changed it a little early when I was going to be traveling, and I have also changed it a little late when I got home. Not late enough to be a worry. All it takes is a bucket and a box of oil, so I would do it in a campground if necessary. There are usually rules against that, but it would be drained so fast, cleanly, and discreetly, no one would ever know what happened.

I perform all of my maintenance on my vehicles, but I would never even think of performing an oil change in a campground. Even if the rules didn't strictly prohibiting it. In my driveway with fairly large catch pan sitting on top of an even larger drip pan, I've still have had some pretty bad unexpected disasters. It only takes one gust of wind and your oil is spraying everywhere. I once had a car that immediately sprayed out 2.5 qts of oil because of a bad seal on a new filter (no more STP filters after that day!). At the first rain in a campground, that stuff's running into some water table or some nearby lake or stream. If it's really necessary to change your oil, do it in the parking lot of the store where you buy the oil from. They're probably more adequately equipped to contain a accidental spill than you would be in a campground.

majorgator wrote:
Dealerships are OK, but you have to schedule that work. Sorry, but in the time it takes me to make the appointment, I'd be half way done with the task by doing it myself.

True enough. However, on our last extended voyage in 2009 I packed my own oil, filter & container for the used oil for a change I knew I'd need to maintain the warranty. We found ourselves in Las Vegas when the change needed to happen - I was astounded to find the local dealer did the oil & filter change for me for less than I paid for my own stuff. Go figure.

majorgator wrote:

bpounds wrote:
Nobody changes the oil on my truck but me. I have changed it a little early when I was going to be traveling, and I have also changed it a little late when I got home. Not late enough to be a worry. All it takes is a bucket and a box of oil, so I would do it in a campground if necessary. There are usually rules against that, but it would be drained so fast, cleanly, and discreetly, no one would ever know what happened.

Same here!!
You'll never know if its done right unless you do it yourself. And you can use the oil/filter of your choice, not whatever the shop got in a bulk purchase. Dealerships are OK, but you have to schedule that work. Sorry, but in the time it takes me to make the appointment, I'd be half way done with the task by doing it myself.

Of course, I find it to be therapeutic to work on vehicles. That's just me...

I was wondering if this idea would pop up.
While I would not call therapeutic, I would say that doing it 100% myself is mostly for my peace of mind. I don't really like other people putting a wrench to my vehicles unless I know / trust them...too many years working on stuff for a living and witnessed too many mechanical horror stories.
I got 3 years free oil changes / maint. check with my last 2 new vehicles - I did it one time and decided that the time / hassle was not worth it, especially when I read the ticket and found they used oil I would not trust and a filter that was not even labeled as decent aftermarket parts supplier. No thanks....

So, yeah, I don't think it will matter for this trip we're planning, but I think I'd be tempted bring along the supplies and a sealed drain container and do a stealth oil change somewhere along the trip....besides, one of my early jobs was for an on-site maintenance company - I learned how to work so as not make a mess, and on the rare occasions needed, contain any possible mess so as to be completely undetectable after we where gone.