Engine hours/oil change interval

[Bocaloco]

Every hour idling you should add 30 miles to your total miles when trying to factor how many miles for an oil change.

Me, well I’m different from most because I want my vehicles to last. My F250, I changed the oil every 3K miles faithfully. With my new 3500 I’ll be doing the same. I now have 1700 miles on it and will do the first oil change at 2K to get the break in crap out but will then go to a strict 3K change interval. I don’t tow anything but my ego, and the most weight I’ll have in the truck will be the wife, 2 paddle boards and 2 dogs.

 

[VOwens]

I worked for a major oil company on the North Slope of Alaska for many years. Up there in the long winters our diesel-powered trucks were left to idle extensively because not all locations had electrical bullrails to plug into where the trucks could be shut off. The company was actually certified as a warranty service center for Ford and then Chevrolet. The company worked with those two vehicle manufacturers to determine how many engine idle hours equated to a driving mile. Maintenance timing was then calculated for every vehicle based on a combination of actual odometer miles plus idle hours (converted to miles). Unfortunately, I cannot recall the conversion number for idle hours to equivalent driving miles. The short answer to your question is yes, idle hours does affect engine oil life. You might try asking that question of Ram though I doubt any Lower 48 dealer would have a clue. When in doubt change the oil...after all it is the lifeblood of your engine. Why mess around with it!!