Vehicle Servicing Whilst Full Timing

We will soon be moving on from our very comfortable RV / Golf Park at Willow Lakes, Near Titusville and got to thinking about the future servicing of our RV and toad during our full timing travels.

Now I would imagine that most if not ALL servicing requirements for the RV must be carried out at a authorised dealer?

But what about the toad, in this day and age most services on a modern vehicle consist of an air and oil filter change which I'm sure most members can easily do, but is it worth the effort and where would you dispose of the old oil?

When answering please remember that we are only visitors in the US, ack home in the UK I would change both the filters and oil in my car and dispose of the old oil at a proper place designated for such use.

Thanks Mick & Pat

Mick,

Simple answer first - you can dispose of the old oil at many auto parts places such as Kragen or Napa Auto Parts. I'm not sure which auto parts stores exist in Florida, but maybe Jim or Gary will see this and respond. There are numerous QickLube, JiffyLube, etc places that will change oil and filter if you don't wish to get dirty. However, I have some horror stories with some of these places. Many car dealerships also offer quick service for a reasonable price.

On the coach if, by "servicing" you really do mean the chassis, stuff, there's no need to go to an RV dealer. Which chassis/engine do you have?

Not sure of what kind of chassis you have but Speedco has been highly recommended on several RV lists for Diesel and I'm sure for gas powered RVs as well.

Just a thought. 

Tom,

Our Fleetwood Discovery has a Cat C7 engine and the chassis is Freightliner XC. Now added to my signature details.

I believe there are Freightliner service centers that do maintenance on RVs.  Hopefully some of the members that have experience with these will give some details.  Also some of the Flying J/s have oil changing services.

We have had almost all our routine chassis maintenance done at Freightliner Oasis service centers, mostly in Phoenix.  There are Oasis centers all over the country.  The Oasis centers are specifically for motorhomes and have at least electric hookups for customers to use while awaiting service.  FL isn't the cheapest place for maintenance, but they have all the parts available and know the chassis.

The Freightliner Custom Chassis web site has a list of the Oasis Service centers.

Hi Mick

We had each of our services (for same C7) done at Freightliner centres - and Im 110% certain we were ripped off or fobbed-off at all 3.

The one thing I would recommend is to book - WELL IN ADVANCE (like 4-6 months) - into their Factory at Gaffney South Carolina. Perhaps try and get it done just before shipping back to UK.

I believe a lot of people are highly recommending the place.

For normal servicing, loads of campgrounds have adverts for mobile RV mechanics who will do the work at your site (and you get to watch what they're doing).

Good Luck
Paul

While the cost of service is high at the Freightliner Service Centers they do have the expertise and parts and parts available to perform quality work.  That should be worth something.

where would you dispose of the old oil?

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Used oil can be disposed of at any Walmart store in the oil change area.  They will usually point you to a holding tank where you can dump your oil, but sometimes they prefer to do it for you.  No charge for the service, so I usually buy my oil from Walmart or Sam's Club.

Were you planning to have service done on your coach before leaving Titusville, because Eagle's Pride at The Great Outdoors can handle all RV service, especially warranty service.

http://www.eaglespride.com/

Generally speaking, any place that sells oil will also have a proper method of disposing of it (many states mandate that). Certainly auto parts stores, Walmarts with auto centers, etc. do so. In Florida, I know that Auto Zone, Advance Auto, and NAPA stores will handle used oil. And contacting the local waste management agency in whatever area you are in will usually get you an answer - our county Waste Disposal dept accepts used oil at their main facility and several outlying transfer stations.

You do not need "authorized" service for anything except warranty repairs, so you can get routine maintenance done at a variety of places. Cummins Coach Care centers and Freightliner Oasis RV centers are popular choices, but it not the only ones by any means. Caterpiller has service centers across the country as well and many major truck stops will do maintenance and repairs. There is nothing very unique about a Freightliner RV chassis and both parts and service are available wherever trucks are serviced. Whether they will keep your beautiful coach clean may be another issue, though, and that's why many RVers chose only RV-friendly services like Oasis and Coach Care shops.

By the way, NAPA auto parts stores carry parts for your Fl chassis too - they have parts for the air system, brakes, filters, etc. or can get them overnight. Onan generator stuff too. Cummins Service centers are another good source for parts, filters, fluids, etc..

Getting the  car services if easy enough and they need it so seldom these days that it is not a chore or an big expense to pay to have it done. Nearly every town has an oil change place. We usually save up the maintenance and try to schedule it all in a week or so in some place we know about and have confidence in.  The Freightliner factory service in Gaffney, SC is one such - and their labor rates are reasonable too.

We have our Freightliner chassis serviced at FL Oasis Service Centers as we travel. We do plan an annual stop at the FL factory at Gaffney SC as we head to Florida each November. AS well as places to spend the night Oasis SC's have almost always had whatever RV chassis parts we have required for minor repairs and they are required to have service techs attend the Gaffney RV Custom Chassis maintenance course.

If you have a chance I also would highly recommend attending "Camp Freightliner", a two day maintenance course for owners held at the Gaffney Service Center. It is a convenient way to spend two days while your coach is being serviced. Our travels usually mean we have an M2 service done there one year and the M3 the second.

Incidentally the discounts Gaffney gives Freightliner Custom Chassis RV Owners Club Members more than pays for the club dues each year. The Freightliner Owners Club is a great source of information on your chassis as well.

You mentioned that you would do oil changes yourself if at home.  One stumbling block to doing it yourself here is that most RV parks prohibit such things, so finding a place to do it might be challenging.  When you check into a campground, read the brochure they provide which usually lists their rules.  Many prohibit washing of vehicles, changing oil, and the like.  But they also have local advertisers and show their locations on a map, so you might find RV repair places listed therein.

ArdraF

Very few campgrounds we have been in allow doing oil changes.

Steve said:

Were you planning to have service done on your coach before leaving Titusville, because Eagle's Pride at The Great Outdoors can handle all RV service, especially warranty service.

http://www.eaglespride.com/

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Steve, We visited Eagles Pride yesterday after watching the shuttle launch to order a LP Extend a Flow kit to enable us to connect an external barbecue to the RV's LP system, there is a guy on our site at Willow Lakes who may be able to fit it.

We are driving down to Key West this weekend to have a look see and hope to get the LP device sorted on our return either on our site or at Eagle's Pride on Friday.

Thanks to all members who have taken the trouble to write in.

The Extend-A-Flow kit is easy to install - anybody with a couple of wrenches ought to be able to do it.