Andre wants to know if he should change the oil early on our brand new Ram Cummins diesel — it’s an intense debate.
There is quite a debate out there among truck folk about whether or not you should change the oil early. I mean, diesel pickup trucks ain’t cheap. Nowadays, people are easily dropping over $60,000 on a work truck. With that kind of investment, it makes sense to me that some owners are premature to service their rigs.
Obviously, it all depends on the truck’s work-cycle. Under-worked, daily commuter heavy-duty trucks are not uncommon. There are trucks that are often underused, and rarely display their full potential. Then there are heavy-duty trucks that are constantly towing and/or hauling. They are pushed hard, in some cases – harder than they were built for. These over-worked trucks belong in their own category.
Andre went to Blackstone Labs to test the current oil in our 2022 Ram 2500 Cummins, just to see how the engine is doing after about 8,000 miles of use. Although we have loaded and towed with the Ram, sometimes with heavy items, we’ve never even approached its overall capabilities. Overall, we’re nearly in the “under-worked” category.
The results from Blackstone Labs was very positive, and they seemed to echo what both the automaker and experts have said in the past: change it every 15,000 miles. Our man Alex, who also owns a Cummins 2500, sated that he does his oil changes often, eschewing the manufacturers’ recommendations.
[I] Go early to change the oil. If I have to pay over $60,000 on a truck, I have no problem dropping about $100 on an oil change.
Alex
Andre feels like the manufacturer’s recommendation is the right one.
