Time to buy a new semitruck, but not sure what brand

Yea, 50k on a grease job that takes 20 minutes and costs $5 or less in grease is indeed abuse. Plus, the biggest benefit of weekly greasing is getting under the truck to see what else might be a problem.

 

In the late 90’s I worked for Ryder. That had at the time long service intervals(30k). We would bring the trucks in at 15k for a B service. That included a grease job and a thorough look over. A lot can go wrong in 15k miles

 

Rather than ridicule, I think that’s a good suggestion and something I’ll start doing. Currently, when I do get it done, I have them call me so I can be there and they can walk me through the under carriage inspection. I like seeing what they see. They have the trained eye, I don’t.
Again, I think some of you are seizing on the oil drains part. That’s a nice benefit but it’s more about clean oil in the motor at all times. Keeping the oil really clean in a dirty EGR Setup pays big dividends if you’re going to have it awhile.
As an example, Navistar says I can run my oil 70k miles based on my samples. I tell them no because at 50k my TAN has just exceeded the TBN by few tenths of a point. Meaning, any further extension of that interval will become more acidic than the TBN can counter, so I change it. Or, if certain wear metals show up, I know I have a problem and what it most likely is. I’m not just shooting for maximum miles with no regard for engine health.

 

A bypass filtration system is not there to pretty much take the place of the stock filtration system. Its obviously an add on.

Sure, the more filtration you add, then the more contamination can be removed, but why would you push it to extremes of 100k? If these engines were engineered to do 50k to 100k with longevity in mind, they would add an external filtration system to every truck coming off the assembly line. Why dont they? They know it's not a great idea. People would get ignorant and try 200k or lifetime of the truck.

Saving yourself 4 or 5 oil changes a year ($1000 to $2000 +/-) is hardly worth peace of mind.

If $2000 a year kills your bottom line, you've got serious financial issues.

 

I'd love a sink. I can stand out in the rain with a bar of soap, but a sink would be greatly useful.

 

Get a good cordless grease gun and slide under it yourself every 4 to 6 weeks. Those guys at speedco or T/A aren’t as trained as you would think.

 

What's the point? You're already going 2 to 3 times as far as I ever would on an oil change. If oil changes are that big an expense to you, where anywhere in your mind you can actually rationalize going further on an oil change, you need to take a closer look at what you're charging. The risks far outweigh any sort of gain you might get.

 

I can do it myself for 150 bucks, if i use a cat filter, on a Saturday night with a rum and coke in one hand.

 

Yes we're having a difficult time getting over your oil change intervals, you're taking the most expensive part of the truck and playing Russian roulette with it.

 

You're not gonna change his mind. He follows guys that like to sell products and tell him what he wants to hear.


Op don't forget your air tabs and super singles.