Generator Oil Change

The Cummins Onan generator that's on the Travato needs a regular oil change.  The manual actually says first 20 hours, then every 150 hours.  But I'm playing it safe (as this is a critical piece of equipment for boondocking) and doing it every 100 hours.  There is a good written procedure on how to do this on the Travato Owners and Wannabees Facebook Group that I started with.  Basically, get these parts, drain the oil, put in 24 oz (only) of new oil, run for a bit and double check the dispstick.

Parts required:

• 1 Qt Oil.  Cummins recommends 15W-40, but a high quality 10W-30 should work fine.
• Seachoice 32 oz Gear Lube Oil Pump - this fits conveniently in the quart oil bottle
• Teflon Pipe Thead Tape - found in plumbing
• FloTool Heavy Duty Oil, Lube and Drain Pan, 7qt - or equivalent

Tools required:

• Socket wrench set, although all I used was 9/16"

Optional:

• Car ramps to get extra clearance underneath
• Wire brush to clean drain plug

Procedure:

• Remove drain plug, catching oil in pan, wait about 10 minutes for it to drain out
• Clean drain plug of any gunk or previous tape, then reinstall
• Insert oil pump into oil container, remove dipstick and insert oil tube in stick hole
• Pump 24 oz of oil into engine (stop when oil level is at 12 oz remaining)
• Reinsert dipstick and run generator under load for a few minutes
• Check oil level on dipstick.
• Cleanup and dispose of oil properly.

Video: