i don’t know what drugs you lot are taking.
i said i carry 2 gallons of oil. that’s all.
i top it up when it gets to about the halfway point.
it may be several months. but in the past i’ve had the odd pipe burst, a seal went on the fuel filter on an old daf. luckily i had plenty of oil and a spare filter, so i didn’t need to call anyone out.
it’s just my choice to be over prepared.
some of the above posts are probably from those that don’t carry any tools apart from the one behind the steering wheel.
Good for you phyllis , a post without mentioning magnets, Vosa and being a outlaw, the new munchenhausen syndrome drugs are working a treat , well done to the NHS for sticking with you on this one . 
limeyphil:
what consumption?
if it is down to half, then i top it up.
i carry 2 gallons to be on the safe side.
sometimes i’m away from the yard, and i’ve only covered 2000 miles. but sometimes it may be over 10000 miles due to turning in calais.
can’t see what makes you think it’s using a lot of oil? i didn’t say it was.
You answer your own question 
You say ‘what consumption?’
Then in the next sentence you say ‘if it is down to half then I top it up’
From this I have worked out that you have topped your oil level up to it’s original value by adding more oil, so unless your oil is being syphoned out of your sump, the oil that was missing has been CONSUMED 
When oil has been consumed, the term used to describe it is OIL CONSUMPTION
HTH 
newmercman:
limeyphil:
what consumption?
if it is down to half, then i top it up.
i carry 2 gallons to be on the safe side.
sometimes i’m away from the yard, and i’ve only covered 2000 miles. but sometimes it may be over 10000 miles due to turning in calais.
can’t see what makes you think it’s using a lot of oil? i didn’t say it was.You answer your own question
You say ‘what consumption?’
Then in the next sentence you say ‘if it is down to half then I top it up’
From this I have worked out that you have topped your oil level up to it’s original value by adding more oil, so unless your oil is being syphoned out of your sump, the oil that was missing has been CONSUMED
When oil has been consumed, the term used to describe it is OIL CONSUMPTION
HTH
you lot were making it out like i was running a knackered truck that used loads of oil per trip, when all i said is that i carried a couple of gallons of oil.
yes i top it up when it gets to about halfway, but i didn’t say how often that was.
you all just jumped to a negative conclusion.
■■■■■■ up, or drugged up?
which one was it? 
Standing practice on Argos’ Axors was wait until the digi display tells you it needs 6 litres, then top up, but not before.
Could never work that one out, but haven’t been near an approachable MB mech to ask why or indeed if thats normal MB practice.
I was the only idiot who topped up rental Ivecos at one place, cos i learned from the fitter how to tilt the cab (electric tilt, wasn’t going to risk it unless shown)…yes incredible but true Stralis needs the cab tilting to add oil.
Otherwise normally i tend to let the oil get down to about a halfway, then top up with around 2 or3 litres to just below min.
My own cars i always keep topped up, but then a sump of 3.5 or 6 litres doesn’t have quite as much to spare as a 5 gallon one…Millers oils for me.
Moose:
coiler:
Volvo used to say that the oil level will burnt to halfway on the stick then stay there. I’ve always found that to be the case. Strangely enough when the driver tells me the oil level is getting down to 1/4 on the stick or lower it always within a couple of weeks of a scheduled oil change.i also find the same, out of interest what intervals are you changing the oil+filters and derv filters on your volvos?
moose
Hi moose, Volvo main dealer changes the oil, filters and fuel filters every 3rd inspection which is every 24 weeks, which I would guess is about 40,000km. I noticed the oil level dropping before the oil change after we moved from inspection interval of 6 weeks to 8 weeks. (Oil chane is now 24 weeks instead of 18 weeks).
This is true of the 12 litre engines, not noticed the 13 litres doing it (yet!)
Steve
Juddian:
I was the only idiot who topped up rental Ivecos at one place, cos i learned from the fitter how to tilt the cab (electric tilt, wasn’t going to risk it unless shown)…yes incredible but true Stralis needs the cab tilting to add oil.
It’s worse than that, not just to add oil you have to tilt the cab just to get to the dipstick. You’re reliant on the dash oil level display for daily checks which Iveco stupidly decided was a good enough reason to not bother locating the dipstick access under the front grill. This makes carrying spare oil a must, I would tend to any way as if you get a red oil warning just getting to the next motorway junction can be enough to destroy the engine in any make.
It’s always one step forward and two back with Iveco at least on the Stralis you can tilt the cab without the risk of it crushing the front-grill against the bumper now, I still never trust it though and open the grill out of habit.
Juddian:
Standing practice on Argos’ Axors was wait until the digi display tells you it needs 6 litres, then top up, but not before.
Could never work that one out, but haven’t been near an approachable MB mech to ask why or indeed if thats normal MB practice.I was the only idiot who topped up rental Ivecos at one place, cos i learned from the fitter how to tilt the cab (electric tilt, wasn’t going to risk it unless shown)…yes incredible but true Stralis needs the cab tilting to add oil.
Otherwise normally i tend to let the oil get down to about a halfway, then top up with around 2 or3 litres to just below min.
My own cars i always keep topped up, but then a sump of 3.5 or 6 litres doesn’t have quite as much to spare as a 5 gallon one…Millers oils for me.
I’m a Merc tech and as your aware dip sticks are an optional extra on a few new vehicles 
always put 2ltrs less in then what it wants otherwise you get a lot of high readings. Not the greatest set up I must admit.
Snap-on Harry:
Juddian:
I’m a Merc tech and as your aware dip sticks are an optional extra on a few new vehicles
Ah so thats the reason for allowing Axors to drop so low, thanks for that, but why down to 6 litres before topping up, is that bacuse they know most drivers will put 5 litres in max and not go back to the drum for another litre, hence it will most likely be one litre below max?
I detest this lack of underbonnet dipstsick on so many new vehicles, wouldn’t entertain a car without a diptsick and wouldn’t buy a lorry without one either, its not just the level its having a look/feel/sniff of the oil as well.
Looking/feeling and sniffing oil is an old wive’s tale 
Some engines will turn the oil black after starting it just once, others will still have clean looking oil after 10,000miles, it tells you nothing about the contaminants in the oil, that’s the problem with doing that, you could have 2% fuel dilution, you’d never smell it, but it will reduce the life of your engine, you could have rising iron, lead or copper values that indicate bearing wear, but they’re measured in parts per million and you’d have to have one hell of a hooter to sniff out 100 parts per million of any of those substances, yet each one tells a story about the health of your engine
The only way to tell what is going on with your oil is to send it off to a lab and get a complete analysis of it
Although, if you do that you may end up worrying about it and spend sleepless nights wondering if tomorrow’s the day it all goes pear shaped on you, so maybe dropping the sump plug every 12,000miles is the way to go, after all, oil is far cheaper than metal parts
Not keen on the “idiot light” type of oil level guage. If the light comes on, is it a case of needing oil or has the sensor packed in? Similarly, if the engine suddenly seizes or throws it’s conrods all over the M6, has the bulb in the warning light blown?
I know, I’m an old-fashioned know-nothing old ■■■■, but I’d rather pull a length of wire out of it’s tube every day or two than sit on the hard shoulder waiting for a tow truck and a crippling bill And while we’re on the subject, can anyone else recall having to check International engines oil level with the motor running?
How much oil does a truck take between min and max ?is it universal ?
No, matey, depends on the size and shape of the sump, not to mention the depth that the dipstick sits in the oil. If, by any chance you’ve got a handbook with the vehicle, a search through it should tell you the difference in litres between high and low marks. If all else fails, wait until the level goes down a bit, chuck a couple of litres in, give it a few minutes to settle then dip it again and note how much further the oil has come up the stick.