A towing weekend is a severe-service weekend
Owner's manuals split maintenance into a normal schedule and a severe one, and towing is on the severe list in most of them. What surprises people is how little towing it takes to count.
Pulling a boat or a loaded trailer up from the water is hard work for an engine. It runs hotter, under heavier load, often at low speed on grades where there is little air moving through the radiator. Oil working under those conditions breaks down faster than oil in a car cruising empty on the highway, even if the odometer only moves a few miles.
The practical answer is to count towing days rather than towing miles.
A pickup that tows most weekends through the summer is a severe-service vehicle for that season, and its oil interval should follow the shorter schedule in the manual.
A vehicle that tows twice a year is mostly on the normal schedule, with an eye on the oil life after a long haul.
Before the first tow of the season is a sensible point for a change, so the hardest work of the year starts on fresh oil.
What to bring up when you book
How often the vehicle tows, what it pulls, and roughly how far. Tell the store the oil specification in the owner's manual too, so the change matches what the manufacturer calls for.
An oil change is a good moment for a quick look at the rest of the tow vehicle. Belts, hoses and the cooling system all work harder when towing, and a rear end that sags with the trailer on is suspension repair, both here. The national oil change page covers what the service includes.
Other stores nearby
Springfield and Washington also change oil in Missouri.
About this store
The Osage Beach store runs thirteen services and is managed by Brett Turner.
See the national oil change page for all 33 locations.