If you live this lifestyle long enough, you learn one thing quickly. Maintenance is not optional. When your home has wheels and your plans depend on an engine starting every time, you do not cut corners. That is one of the reasons we have trusted AMSOIL for more than 25 years.
Why We Chose AMSOIL
We started using AMSOIL long before full time RV life. Back when we had a house, it went into everything from lawn mowers and generators to string trimmers and garden tillers. If it had an engine, it ran AMSOIL.
Over time, we saw real benefits. Engines ran smoother. Equipment lasted longer. We dealt with fewer issues. That consistency is what kept us using it year after year.
But one of the biggest advantages for us has been longevity.
Longer Fluid Change Intervals
One of the reasons we stick with AMSOIL is extended drain intervals compared to many OEM recommendations. That matters a lot when you are driving long distances and towing heavy.
Instead of changing fluids constantly, high quality synthetic oils are designed to last longer while still protecting under heat and load. For us, that means:
- Fewer oil changes
- Less downtime
- Fewer service appointments on the road
- Lower long term maintenance hassle
When you live full time in an RV, convenience matters. We are not always near a place we can work on our truck. Reducing how often we have to crawl under the truck or find a shop makes a big difference.
That being said, we don’t just guess.
Oil Analysis: A Blood Test for Your Truck
We regularly pull oil samples from our Ram 2500 Cummins diesel and send them in for analysis. Think of it like a blood test for your truck.
An oil sample can tell you:
- Wear metals inside the engine
- Fuel dilution levels
- Coolant contamination
- Soot levels
- Viscosity breakdown
- Overall oil condition
Instead of changing oil based only on mileage, we change it based on data. That gives us confidence that the oil is still protecting properly. It also gives early warning if something inside the engine is not right.
For a truck that tows a 38-foot travel trailer across the country, that kind of insight is valuable. It is proactive maintenance instead of reactive repair.
RV Life Demands More
We replaced all fluids in our Ram 2500 Cummins diesel with AMSOIL. Engine oil. Transmission fluid. Differentials. Transfer case. When you are towing heavy through mountains, heat is your enemy. Synthetic fluids handle high temperatures better and resist breakdown under stress.
Longevity is not just about how long the oil lasts. It is about how long your engine, transmission, and drivetrain last.
We also use AMSOIL lubricants in our camper. Wheel bearings, slide mechanisms, hitch components, and other high wear areas all benefit from quality lubrication. When you put tens of thousands of miles on your rig, small details matter.
Diesel Fuel Additive and Fuel System Protection
We also run a diesel fuel additive from AMSOIL in our truck. Modern ultra-low sulfur diesel does not provide the same lubricity older fuels once did. That can affect injector life and fuel system components over time.
Using a fuel additive helps:
- Improve lubricity
- Keep injectors cleaner
- Reduce deposits
- Support smoother performance
- Protect the fuel system long term
- Anti-gel benefits during colder months
Injectors on a modern diesel are not cheap. Anything we can do to extend their life and keep the system clean is worth it in our book.
Oil Bypass Filtration: Taking Protection to the Next Level
One of the biggest upgrades we have made to our Ram 2500 diesel is running an oil bypass filtration system.
Most factory oil filters are considered full flow filters. They are designed to filter oil quickly so the engine always has proper oil pressure. The tradeoff is filtration size. Many standard filters capture particles in the 20 to 40 micron range.
To put that in perspective, a human hair is around 70 microns thick. The damaging particles inside a diesel engine are often much smaller than what a standard filter catches.
A bypass filtration system works differently. It slowly pulls a small amount of oil at a time and filters it much finer, often down to around 2 microns. That means it removes the tiny particles that cause long term wear inside bearings, rings, and other critical components.
Here is why that matters:
- Cleaner oil for a longer period of time
- Reduced engine wear
- Lower soot levels in diesel applications
- Extended oil life
- Improved long term engine durability
Check out this video Steve made installing the bypass filter on our truck.
Instead of relying only on the standard filter, the bypass system continuously “polishes” the oil while you drive. Over time, that dramatically reduces contamination levels.
For us, this pairs perfectly with extended drain intervals and oil analysis. We are not just guessing that the oil is good. We are filtering it to a much finer level and confirming condition with lab testing.
When you tow heavy and put serious miles on your truck like we do, cleaner oil equals less wear. Less wear equals longer engine life.
If longevity is the goal, bypass filtration is one of the smartest upgrades you can make. It is not just about changing oil less often. It is about protecting your engine at a deeper level, down to the micron level.
For a truck that carries our home across the country, that extra layer of protection is worth it.
The Long-Term Mindset
After 25 years of using AMSOIL in everything from yard equipment to heavy duty diesel trucks, we look at maintenance differently. We focus on long term reliability.
Extended intervals backed by oil analysis. Better heat resistance under load. Cleaner internals. Added fuel system protection.
When your truck is your tow vehicle and your RV is your home, longevity is not just a bonus. It’s the goal.
Good maintenance is always cheaper than major repairs. For us, AMSOIL has been part of that strategy for decades. It helps us spend more time exploring and less time sitting in a repair shop.
And that is exactly how we want to live this journey.