Maybe a silly oil change question

Paul Shuler · May 7, 2015

We are taking my son to his job out in Fort Collins CO and plan on making a wide loop and doing some sightseeing in the mountains. I will be towing his car on my trailer. Now for my silly question. I have an 08 duramax. The oil change indicator says that my oil is at 55%. Am I better off to change the oil early and do the trip that is going to be around 2,500 miles and do it on fresh clean oil. Or just make the trip and change the fluids when I get home and the life of the oil will be pretty much used up. Not trying to be cheap here. Just was out mowing tonight and got to wondering about it.

D beatty · May 7, 2015

Do what will make you feel comfortable. If it is going to bother you change it.

retired farmer · May 8, 2015

Wouldn't worry about it. I change my oil between thirteen and twenty five thousand miles. Always dump in one quart of Marvel Mystery oil when I change it. Haven't had any engine problems since about nineteen seventy two.

NCWayne · May 8, 2015

The engine will never know the difference. With the cost of oil and filters get all the life out of it you can before you change them.

Bob · May 8, 2015

Are you aware there is no actual monitoring of oil condition?

The powertrain management 'puter simply plugs miles driven, fuel burned, and whatever else into an algorithm, and comes up with an estimation of oil life remaining.

Dell (WA) · May 8, 2015

Paul.......change yer oil NOW so you won't worry about it later. Also LEAVE yer trailer with yer son and pick'em-up later. Haulin' an empty trailer thru the mountains ain't fun. ........Durango Dell

Paul Shuler · May 8, 2015

Yeh I hear you. Unfortunately the trailer and car will be with me on all the mountain part. The plan was to drop the boy off then go sightseeing. He found out our plans and he wants to do all the sightseeing with us. Sooooooo his car gets to ride along with us.

ASEguy · May 8, 2015

I almost always change oil before a trip especially if hauling.

MarkB_MI · May 8, 2015

About halfway up Poudre Canyon you'll wish you'd dropped the car and trailer off in the Choice City.

With 45 percent of your oil life left, there's a good chance you can finish the trip before it's time for an oil change. And if you don't like running past the recommended oil change mileage, you can probably get a Dexos oil change at any GM dealer out in Colorado for about what it would cost you to do yourself using Mobil One.

gene bender · May 8, 2015

Do yourself a big favor go to FT.COLLINS leave the car and trailer there then go to the mtns. First of all its spring and sudden weather can pop-up too easy and you dont want to be pulling a loaded trailer behind a pick-up truck. I lived ther and bought tractors so you dont just pull one while sight seeing.

NoNewParts · May 8, 2015

big trip....engine will be working hard..
change the oil before you leave.
Bumper to bumper routine maintenance is always good before a trip. I do it a day or so early, so I can give one more 'leak' check
before I head out.

Paul Shuler · May 8, 2015

Hi, MarkB, I had not heard of Poudre canyon so I googled it. Wow that is awesome. My sons work is not to far from there. He will be at Ben Delator ranch up by Red feather lake. We will be coming in down south by Pueblo, Checking out Royal gorge then heading up I think it's 9 toward Breckenridge then up around Estes then to Ft Collins.

Sprint 6 · May 8, 2015

Actually, GM does not even figure in miles in the equation. It figures total crank revolutions, drive cycles, and warm up cycles. Miles and
time are not even considered. GM "oil life system" is a crock they cooked up make cost of ownership look lower than Honda and Toyota.
All it does is sludge engines, they currently have engine warranty problems on the 3.6 and Ecotec lines due to the OLM.

Sprint 6 · May 8, 2015

You are comparing apples to oranges. Mobile 1 is full synthetic, Dexos is not. Dexos is just an oil spec name cooked up by GM, it does not denote a synthetic oil. Ask a dealer for full synthetic and it will be significantly higher than Dexos.

MarkB_MI · May 8, 2015

I camped at Ben Delatour several summers as a Boy Scout. I'm sure your son will have an enjoyable summer there.

Don't miss Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park.

MarkB_MI · May 8, 2015

>You are comparing apples to oranges. Mobile 1 is full synthetic, Dexos is not. Dexos is just an oil spec name cooked up by GM, it does not denote a synthetic oil. Ask a dealer for full synthetic and it will be significantly higher than Dexos.

I didn't mean to imply that Dexos oil from the GM dealer is equivalent to Mobil One. Only that it's an economical alternative if you're on the road.

Texasmark1 · May 8, 2015

+1............

farmerwithmutt · May 8, 2015

I always figured it was cheaper to change oil then engines

David G · May 8, 2015

Rent a fenced space, drop the trailer, pick it up on way back.

I agree, it is still early in the season and a lot can happen quickly in the mountains.

John M · May 8, 2015

So how many miles are on the last oil change? On my 08, 5000 miles was right at 25% - 30%, which is when I changed it anyways. 2500 miles though, I believe I change it, or plan on getting it down along the way.

Goose · May 8, 2015

I agree with everyone else, ditch the trailer somewhere before you hit the mountains.

I've never pulled a trailer in the mountains in Colorado, but I've driven them extensively, both with gassers and diesels, and there's no way I'd try pulling a trailer, loaded or empty, up some of those grades if there was any way I could get out of it.

I even took a GMC conversion van with a 6.2 diesel to the top of Pike's Peak once. And one trick I learned about driving a diesel in the mountains, is keep your rpm up, even if you have to hold the trans in a lower gear with the shifter. If you're crawling up a grade and let your rpm drop to a point where the engine is lugging, you're done for.

I had to chuckle once. I was crawling up the grade coming east out of Laramie, Wyoming driving an Olds 88 with a 5.7 diesel, which, contrary to popular opinion, really wasn't a bad little diesel once GM got the bugs out of it. Anyway, I held it in 2nd gear with the shifter and was rolling about 40 mph passing 18 wheelers, campers, etc. and having a high old time. I happened to glance in the mirror and that little 5.7 was throwing out a cloud of black smoke that would have matched any 18 wheeler out there.

Anyway, my two cents. Good luck and have a good trip.

ss55 · May 8, 2015

If you are pulling a loaded trailer through mountains, I think you would want everything to be in top condition: cooling; brakes; engine; transmission fluid; tires; lights; trailer brakes; trailer tires; etc. If you are moving some of your son's household things as well as his car, a loaded trailer could easily double the strain on your truck.

Can you reroute the trip to loop through your son's town and drop off the trailer and offload as much as possible for the mountain portion? Another alternative is to unload his car when you get to the mountains, and have him drive his car through the mountain portion of the trip to take some of the load off your truck.

dcarp · May 8, 2015

Plus 2 on ditch the trailer. Pulling it up might be ok but the trip back down will be lots of fun with the trailer & car pushing you. Good chance you'll end up in one of the run/off areas, if you are lucky. Go to Ft. Collins drop the trailer & car then sightsee. The extra day you'll lose is not worth your life.

Tubacase47 · May 8, 2015

Trail Ridge Road won't be open for another 6-8 weeks.

MarkB_MI · May 8, 2015

> Trail Ridge Road won't be open for another 6-8 weeks.

It is scheduled to reopen in exactly two weeks, according the the RMNP website.

gab · May 8, 2015

That's what I was wondering, last time we were through the park was on June 20th, day after daughter's birthday, could still see the marks in some snow banks caused by plows or blowers.

gab · May 8, 2015

Been to Rocky MTN National st. pk. 4 times, a must see, however the last thing on earth I'd try is pullin a trailer with a car on over it. The Royal Gorge is cool too and a lot of stuff in between. You need to turn that trip around and get rid of the car and trailer first. Also depending on when your going, you ought to check the park website to see if the roads open, might still be snow up there now.

Tom in CO · May 8, 2015

Paul I live about an hour south of ft.Collins and today I 70 west of Denver was closed due to bad roads (snow storm). Weather forecast says it will snow in Denver on Sunday, It has been raining for the last week and all the rivers and small creeks are swollen. If your coming up from the south on I 25 go to Royal gorge in Canyon City, then hit garden of the gods in Colorado springs, also try to get up pikes peak, you can drive, hike or take the cog railway up it. Trail ridge is still closed in RMNP and should be open by Memorial day. I would advise you do drop the trailer before you go through the park. Lots of steep areas and several switch backs. I would change the oil before you go, it is cheep compared to a overhaul.
Tom

Maybe a silly oil change question

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