Oil Change- Millage or DIC?

[TJNE]

What is the opinion on oil changes, millage or DIC? I drive mostly around town with an occasional trip pulling a 10k lbs 5th wheel. Yearly millage about 8-9k.

[Kennedy]

The DIC is just a glorified mileage counter/nag.

I'd have to check current calibration, but they were set at 10k last I knew.

[More Power]

I use Mobil Delvac 1 synthetic, and change the oil/filter at 7500 miles or 12 months, whichever comes first. The oil still "looks" great at 7500. I usually need to add a quart at about the 5K mark.

Ultimately, having the oil analyzed is just about the only real way to know for sure what the condition of the oil is. Besides reporting the levels of soot, wear metals, fuel, and coolant, the analysis also looks at the viscosity at 100 degrees C, which is an indicator for how well the VI improvers are holding up.

Jim

[richp]

Hi,

I wish GM would tell you what those percentages regarding oil and fuel filter life really mean. Nothing in the owner's manual at all.....

[JohnC]

The fuel filter seems to be based on a 15,000 mile interval. As far as I know, the oil change is based on mileage and engine load.

[richp]

Hi John,

That may be the case, but why wouldn't they publish it in the owner's manual, so the average driver would maybe even be able to find out what the display really means??

It's like the owner's manual for my new fifth wheel trailer. It's so generic -- evidently meant for use across all the lines Jayco sells -- that you can't possibly benefit from it in actual use. (Don't ask me why I'm griping about that after our first extended trip with the new rig....)

Have a good one.

[a5150nut]

But if you are here, you are not the average driver. The average driver just wants to know which way to turn the ignition switch, how to tune the radio or reset the clock, and how do the power windows work.

Your need to know goes beyond the manual. Get better books. Info here in the Members Area is great and an RV Repair Manual will work wonders for the 5th wheel. Maybe check RV.net

Don't sweat it - enjoy it!

[richp]

Hi 5150,

I've got all the RV manuals a guy could ever want -- none of them are specific to the systems for a Jayco 313 RKS. Sure, there is generic stuff there (and in the owner's manual) about air conditioners, water heaters and pumps, and other things common to trailers of all types.

What I'd really like is for Jayco to provide a wiring diagram and plumbing schematic that would be useful in doing the stuff I want to do. And some specifics about the other systems.

Examples. The struggle to efficiently run wiring for solar panels. The nagging question about why there are two water lines with valves in them leading to the front of the trailer 12' from any water-related device (maybe pre-plumbed for a washer in the closet?). Learning way after the fact that you have to remove a small screen and washer if you want some of the shore water features to work. Not a single piece of specific information on winterization. (Yes, I had a Jayco 311, but this is an entirely different system. The water heater bypass setup for instance is nowhere like the one on the older Jayco).

A decent owner's manual would go a long way to smoothing out things for an owner who doesn't have the money to drag it to a dealer every time he wants something fixed or changed. That's my main gripe.

[JohnC]

...why wouldn't they publish it in the owner's manual, so the average driver would maybe even be able to find out what the display really means?? ...

What's there to know? When it gets to zero, change it!