Diesel maintenance tips from those that have had "next-gen" diesels for years?

[Eternity]

I have a 40' diesel motorhome that will be pulling my ecoDiesel Gladitor (coming in 2 weeks....so hard to wait!!). This is not for a discussion on whether or not to buy diesel. That question is answered. For my motorhome, which has an older-school diesel (Cummins 330 ISC), I know what to do to help make it a 300k+ engine and will do everything to help it last as long as possible. I would like to do the same to the Gladiator.

I plan to do as much maintenance myself (as many of you presumably do). With this 3rd generation ecoDiesel, is there anything I should consider doing that is above and beyond the owner's manual recommended services?

Secondly, are there recommended scheduled service items that are too difficult for DIY and probably have to be done at a shop? I'd prefer to avoid the outrageous dealer rates.

FYI.... I will be driving less than 10k a year, towing about 3-4k a year, snowbirding from Montana to New Mexico, and doing some overlanding but not rock crawling.

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[rharr]

I would throw the recommended service intervals out the window, and do oil changes at 3500 miles or so. Clean and fresh oil is the best thing you can do for a motor, and 10k intervals just seems crazy especially on a diesel with a EGR system.

A lot of people also seem to recommend a diesel fuel additive, there are a ton so have fun poking around to see which one makes you feel warm and fuzzy. Hotshot something seems to be a popular one.

Also run the thing and make it work, diesels aren't great commuters, so log some long trips on it and/ or make it pull some stuff.

If you wanted it as a pull behind commuter trade it in for a gas glad and pocket the extra money dealers are offering.

 

[Eternity]

Thanks for the tip on the oil change. That is kinda good advice for almost any engine. I'm sticking with diesel to have one fuel for everything. I will tow but I don't commute. I would assume that it is similar to my 7.5K diesel generator and my motorhome that should be run every month as a minimum. The gen also needs to be run with full load for about 2 hours once a month. I'm sold on the diesel for longevity, fuel, and low-end torq. I hope to not sell this for 30 years.....Who knows, regular gas could be banned at this rate in 10-15 years, but diesel will have to stick around much longer because of the infrastructure that relies on it.

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