Fluid Analysis

What can a comprehensive fluid analysis program do for you?

Identify minor problems before they become major failures

Extend oil change intervals
Extend equipment life
Increase resale value
Minimize warranty risks
Reduce downtime

A complete set of fluid samples would include:

Engine oil
Engine coolant
Transmission fluid
Generator oil
Generator coolant (if present)

Fluid Testing (lubricants and coolants) is an economic way to find out what’s going on inside your engine, generator, or transmission, without disassembly. A comprehensive fluids analysis is offered as an add-on to our standard motorhome/RV inspection and as part of an ongoing program for motorhome/RV owners. These tests can apply motorhomes, tow vehicles, Generators, even motorcycle and boat engines!.

A full spectrum of fluids analysis should be run on a brand new motorhome, as a baseline, for future tests. Our laboratory keeps a history of each vehicle on which tests are run. This way, they can give a more detailed fluids analysis. Having a full spectrum of fluids analysis run, at the time of purchase of a new motorhome, gives the lab an invaluable benchmark to refer back to, during future tests.

For Buyers –

The only ways a buyer has of knowing the condition of an engine, transmission, or generator, is to either have a mechanic disassemble those devices and visually look for signs of damage or excessive wear or to have fluid samples taken and analyzed. Obviously, taking fluid samples is much faster, easier, and far less costly. In fact, many chemists claim that they can tell more about an engine or transmission, through fluids analysis, than can a mechanic tell, by disassembly.

A fluid analysis looks for trace minerals and chemicals in the various fluids, which may indicate signs of excessive wear, heat breakdown of the fluid, or show chemical contamination of the fluid. A full-page report, showing parts per million of the various contaminants, is generated and sent to the client. That report also includes a plain English description of what was found, along with recommendations.

Hopefully, these reports will give the prospective buyer a greater sense of security in his purchase. But they may also be used by the buyer to aid in determining if he wants to continue with the purchase or walk away. In some cases, these reports may simply be used as a bargaining tool, to aid the prospective buyer in obtaining a better price. But in any event, purchasers should seriously consider a complete fluids analysis, along with the inspection of any motorhome (or towable with a large generator).

RV Owners –

A scheduled coolant and lubricant analysis program allows motorhome and tow vehicle owners to plan maintenance downtime through “predictive maintenance”. Lubricant and coolant analysis can diagnose problems and determine when attention is needed. Oil and coolant analysis lets you “see” into the equipment and determine the overall health of the unit.

You can either be proactive or reactive. Being proactive means that you know what’s going on inside your engine or generator and plan your maintenance, before an minor issue becomes a major problem. A scheduled lubricant and coolant analysis program gives you the ability to plan the best downtime for maintenance, instead of discovering a major problem in the middle of your vacation, hundreds of miles from the nearest RV service center.

Without the information provided by a scheduled fluids analysis program, you are at the mercy of Murphy, who famously said, “Anything that can go wrong, will.” Of course, RVers know that Murphy was an optimist. The things that go wrong on an RV will most often be the worst thing and it will go wrong at the worst possible time. Would you rather identify a potential problem and have it addressed on a schedule that suits your needs or have the problem show up, without warning, while you are on the road?

The obvious solution is to limit the number of things that can go wrong with your motorhome/RV. Contact me, to begin your scheduled fluids analysis program today. Even if you’re traveling, any NRVIA Level 2 Inspector across the country can do the same fluids analysis. I use JG Lubricants as our lab. So as long as your inspector sends the samples to that lab, the lab will be able to provide specific information about your motorhome, based not only on the provided samples, but on your vehicle history.