You may have taken your car or pickup to an “instant oil change” station. It’s handy and fast. But when it’s time for an oil change for the motorhome, don’t count on anything as fast. Major engine oil manufacturer Valvoline is working to change all that. The company has now opened its first “heavy duty fleet service center” that can do a quick oil change on even the largest of motorhomes.
A slick business in a big market
Rolling into Valvoline’s new Heavy Duty Fleet Center in Lexington, Kentucky, you may find more than motorhomes. The company says they’re looking forward to servicing large delivery trucks, dump trucks, concrete trucks, fire trucks, buses, and, of course, RVs. There must be an incentive for this sudden reach out to the “big boys,” right? Absolutely. The slick delivery company says outsourced fleet maintenance for these kinds of rigs could mean business worth upwards of $8 billion in the U.S. alone.
“Valvoline recognizes there is a need in the market to serve owners of mixed fleets with a tried-and-true service experience adapted from nearly 40 years of hands-on expertise at Valvoline Instant Oil Change”, said Valvoline CEO Sam Mitchell.
“This heavy-duty fleet service center is one additional step in Valvoline’s commitment to evolve its service strategy to provide the right solutions for owners of all vehicles now and in the future.”
Reduce your wait time significantly
If you take your motorhome to a service center, how long do you wait for the work? Assuming you can get an appointment within a reasonable time frame, from there you may wait a bit. Valvoline says a typical 24-hour turn-around time is common, if not more. But it claims, bring your Class A to their Heavy Duty Fleet Center, and your in-and-out time should run about 75 minutes. Yes, they do appointments, and, yes, they have room for those who drop in and wait.
So what kind of work can you get done on your motorhome? Check out the graphic Valvoline provided. It’s your typical “under the hood” work on a lightweight maintenance level. RV dealerships have nothing to fear—Valvoline has no interest in fixing your leaky roof, leaky toilet, or leaky electrical system.
As mentioned, the new Heavy Duty Fleet Center is in Kentucky. If that’s a bit too far for a drive, we imagine that, if successful, Valvoline’s idea will spread. When we asked the company for projections about new locations and dates, they told us this: “This center is part of an early-stage pilot to help us continue to explore and understand the full potential of this segment, including growth. We are excited about that potential – and the initial customer response we’ve received! We look forward to being able to share more in the future.”
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When I had my Class A diesel pusher I always had the oil and lube service done at Speedco. they were set up for very fast turnaround for OTR truckers. Did the motorhome the same way. Sounds like Valvoline is copying them.
I was impressed that Speedco wanted the owner present when putting in the oil and transmission plugs. Had to verify the torque settings and sign off on it.
Great idea…they need to put one off i95 to grab the snowbirds coming and going!
Like a lot of things, these quick service schemes slow down as more and more people avail themselves of the service. It isn’t that the actual work is slow, it’s just that the volume of customers slows things down.
Like Yogi said…”nobody goes there anymore…it’s too crowded!” LOL
If you build it they will come!!
On our recent trip, we stopped at the Jiffy Lube in Lethbridge, Alberta. They did our toad and our Thor ACE. What a great experience and the staff were phenomenal. Got a great deal too.
There is one place near us in San Antonio that has large enough bays for our 31 ft class c. We get an oil change and an inspection every May when it’s time to get the tags updated. I wish there were more!!
Good news. I’ve already noticed a Valvoline is generally tall and wide enough for a small MH, so I seek them out. Other companies seem determined to build service centers with narrow, low doors.
Not every company wants to service big vehicles. It is a small percentage of the available business.