Thinking of switching oil in my tow vehicle

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etex211

Joined
Jun 29, 2005
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Location
Sulphur Springs, Texas
My truck is a 1996 Chevy Silverado C3500 crew cab dually with the Vortec 454. The only thing we use this truck for is pulling our fifth wheel camper, which is 12-13,000 pounds. For the past several years, I've been running 20w50, and most recently 15w40 oil in this truck, all conventional.

I thinking about switching the truck to 10w30 full synthetic.

The truck has about 155,000 miles and is mechanically sound. For the most recent oil change interval (about 2500 miles), it used one or two quarts of oil.

Does anybody see a problem with me making that switch?

Thanks.
 
At 155k all on dino...I would stick with what you have been using. I would probably stick with the 15w40. But if you are bent on a 10w30 then I would try Rotella T5 10w30 syn blend.
 
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Hello, Tex -- welcome to the forum!

Couple of questions:

You're using two quarts/2,500 miles with 15w-40?
Do you have an actual oil pressure gauge?
 
Just the electrical oil pressure gauge on the instrument cluster. It always shows 80 at startup and perhaps 60 while in use.

The two quarts is a guess. I check the oil before every trip, and top it off. Sometimes it's only a pint. I haven't really kept track of how much I've added in the past year. I just know that I've done it a time or two.

The truck sees 2-3000 miles per year, and I'm changing the oil once per year. Very few of the miles are in cold weather. It is used mostly during the spring, summer, and fall.
 
Originally Posted By: Stewart Fan
I see zero sense in switching to an expensive synthetic oil if you use 1-2 qts in 2500 miles.


Then you never towed a heavy fifth wheel in a headwind with a pickup truck.
 
Originally Posted By: Oil Changer
Originally Posted By: Stewart Fan
I see zero sense in switching to an expensive synthetic oil if you use 1-2 qts in 2500 miles.


Then you never towed a heavy fifth wheel in a headwind with a pickup truck.


wut?
 
I was hoping to free up the engine a bit and maybe see a gas mileage improvement. With this camper, my gas mileage is 5.5 miles per gallon. Getting it to even 6 would help.

If I go to synthetic, it won't be an expensive one. It would be some kind of private label stuff, perhaps one of the store brands.

My oil change right now is 20-25 bucks for the year. With the synthetic, it might be 30-35.

I am also taking other measures to improve the fuel mileage. The tires on it currently are two sizes larger than original. I am returning to the proper size tire. This will effectively lower the gear ratio and make the engine's job easier. My hope is that this will allow the truck to do it's job better in high gear (.75:1 overdrive) and not downshift into third gear (1:1) so much.

What I really need to pull this camper is a diesel, but I can't justify the expense of changing trucks for only a couple thousand miles per year. Even at $3+ per gallon, gas is much cheaper than car payments.

One other thing I've been looking at is getting the truck's computer reprogrammed. The guy that does that tells me he can pick up 25-30 HP and 40-50 ft/pounds, but I am reluctant to pull the trigger on that. I suspect those gains are at 4-5000 RPM's which really does me no good. I need for it to work at 2500 RPM's.

My best answer for all of this maybe simply to slow down from 65 MPH to 55-60 MPH. That will definitely improve the fuel mileage. I've only taken two short trips with this camper, and I'm still playing around with different speeds to find out what the truck likes best.
 
Originally Posted By: Oil Changer
Originally Posted By: Stewart Fan
I see zero sense in switching to an expensive synthetic oil if you use 1-2 qts in 2500 miles.


Then you never towed a heavy fifth wheel in a headwind with a pickup truck.



Yes, because 10W30 is going to make a difference power wise compared to 15W40 in a 454 dually, in Texas.
lol.gif



To the OP, I concur that switching to a more expensive synthetic for your use and consumption makes no sense. Keep doing what you're doing.
 
Diesels are great but what you have is fine. You will never see much better fuel economy with what you have and what you are using the truck for.

Cruising at 2500 RPM is too low; that diesel territory. Leave the tires that you have on, slow down and drive in third. Don't be in a hurry, be safe and enjoy it for the reason you own it...holiday.

All you can do to help is a mild intake and exhaust upgrade and make sure your cooling system is tip-top.

Originally Posted By: etex211
I was hoping to free up the engine a bit and maybe see a gas mileage improvement. With this camper, my gas mileage is 5.5 miles per gallon. Getting it to even 6 would help.

If I go to synthetic, it won't be an expensive one. It would be some kind of private label stuff, perhaps one of the store brands.

My oil change right now is 20-25 bucks for the year. With the synthetic, it might be 30-35.

I am also taking other measures to improve the fuel mileage. The tires on it currently are two sizes larger than original. I am returning to the proper size tire. This will effectively lower the gear ratio and make the engine's job easier. My hope is that this will allow the truck to do it's job better in high gear (.75:1 overdrive) and not downshift into third gear (1:1) so much.

What I really need to pull this camper is a diesel, but I can't justify the expense of changing trucks for only a couple thousand miles per year. Even at $3+ per gallon, gas is much cheaper than car payments.

One other thing I've been looking at is getting the truck's computer reprogrammed. The guy that does that tells me he can pick up 25-30 HP and 40-50 ft/pounds, but I am reluctant to pull the trigger on that. I suspect those gains are at 4-5000 RPM's which really does me no good. I need for it to work at 2500 RPM's.

My best answer for all of this maybe simply to slow down from 65 MPH to 55-60 MPH. That will definitely improve the fuel mileage. I've only taken two short trips with this camper, and I'm still playing around with different speeds to find out what the truck likes best.
 
Originally Posted By: etex211
If I go to synthetic, it won't be an expensive one. It would be some kind of private label stuff, perhaps one of the store brands.


Ok. If that's the case, then I see no reason to deviate from what you're already doing as any fuel economy difference with your usage is going to be inconsequential, at best. Mobil Delvac 1300 15w-40 goes for $12/gallon at Walmart, and will provide excellent protection and good return on investment with your drain intervals. Have you considered getting an analysis done? With that said, I'd be much more concerned about the other vehicle sub-systems (cooling, transmission, diffs, braking, etc) and ensuring they're up to par than scrutinizing engine oil.

As for power, there are many things that can be done, with the only limitation being your bank account. As for the basics, an intake, paired with headers & exhaust will get you about 70 HP & 90 LB-FT, along with a 20% economy improvement.

As for tires, the Bridgestone Duravis R500 HD and Michelin XPS Rib would both be excellent choices for heaving towing.
 
Originally Posted By: RISUPERCREWMAN
Just update & buy a Diesel!



I wish it was that easy. My wife works for a Dodge dealer. She's got her eyes open for a clean 5.9 Cummins trade-in, but those are hard to come by. Most of those trucks have been rode pretty hard.

A new or late model used diesel is absolutely out of the question. If I was doing 20,000 miles per year, I could justify it, but I'm only doing 2000 miles per year.

If we could get gas down to a buck fifty per gallon again, I wouldn't care about the gas mileage, but I guess those days are gone forever.
 
I would add a '99-'02 7.3 Powerstroke Ford or a Duramax to that list as well. Unless you're going to a HM syn, you'll likely burn MORE oil with a syn than you do now. The above poster who said Delvac 1300 was spot on, when XOM runs promos on it, it can be bought for $8-9 gallon easy. Remember BB Chevys seem to burn a fair amount of oil anyway, I wouldn't be too concerned.
 
Isn't this a port fuel injected roller cam Mark VI Big Block (AKA Vortec 7400) and isn't the factory specification 5w-30?

I think the first step would be to get a true and accurate baseline with the recommended grade of oil and and go from there.

If you have access to Walmart quality synthetics are roughly $5.00 in 5qt jugs so figure 2 jugs M1 (or comparable) is 50.00 and a tough guard or similar is 6.00 so you get a change and 3 qts make up oil for 56.00... It has been about 10 years since I was in Sulphur Springs and I don't recall there being a Walmart then but the world has moved on perhaps there is now.

That may or may not make sense depending on the real consumption and if you could stretch the change from 1 year...
 
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Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
I would add a '99-'02 7.3 Powerstroke Ford or a Duramax to that list as well.



I'm a Chevy guy, so the Duramax is definitely on my list of things to watch out for.

I wouldn't touch any of the newer Powerstrokes, but the 7.3 is something I would consider if it's in the right truck for the right price.

Since my wife's dealership is Dodge, she sees more of those than anything else.

A friend of mine has the perfect truck. It's an '07 Dodge 5.9 with only 25,000 miles. He wants $25,000 for it, which is a very fair price for that truck. I just can't spend that.
 
Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
Isn't this a port fuel injected roller cam Mark VI Big Block (AKA Vortec 7400) and isn't the factory specification 5w-30?

I think the first step would be to get a true and accurate baseline with the recommended grade of oil and and go from there.

If you have access to Walmart quality synthetics are roughly $5.00 in 5qt jugs so figure 2 jugs M1 (or comparable) is 50.00 and a tough guard or similar is 6.00 so you get a change and 3 qts make up oil for 56.00... It has been about 10 years since I was in Sulfur Springs and I don't recall there being a Walmart then but the world has moved on perhaps there is now.

That may or may not make sense depending on the real consumption and if you could stretch the change from 1 year...



Yes, it is the vortec 7400 with a hydraulic roller.

The factory spec on the oil is 5w30 or 10w30, depending on climate.

When I bought the truck in 2000, it had about 85,000 miles. I used 10w30 in it for a while, and then switched to the 20w50 several years ago, just because of the number of miles on the truck. I went from 20w50 to 15w40 on last year's oil change.

Yes, we've got Walmart here, but I almost never go there. I've been getting all of my oil at Atwood's lately.
 
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