Coolant Change Costs

[cmillsap]

Here's a good example of periodic maintenance costs associated with owning a Wanderlodge. New or prospective owners of one of these behemoths should take note. If you can do most of these maintenance items yourselves; you can save a lot of the cost. In my opinion, coolant changes are a PIA when trying to do them yourself. Consequently, I usually hire this done.

The coolant system capacity on an LXi is 25 gallons. This is due to the long runs to and from the heater core up front and the coolant circuit on the AquaHot system. The system will need to be flushed with water at least a couple of times to assure the old coolant has been totally removed. Dealing with that quantity of used coolant requires several large containers. This is the biggest reason why I have it done at a repair facility as they can handle this kind of volume.

It is a good idea to flush the radiator with a radiator flush product during the process. I would also recommend changing the thermostat too. BTY, the DD S60 has 2 thermostats.

The proper filter for the type of coolant you use to refill the system is important. Some extended life coolants will require a non-sca dispensing filter while the use of other coolants will require a sca dispensing filter that will need to be changed every year.

It is not cheap to have the coolant changed in a Wanderlodge. Here is an example of the costs.

1) Power Cool Plus Coolant= 24 gal. @ $18.95 = $454
2) Radiator Flush 2 @ 13.00 = 26
3) New Thermostats 2 @ 42.00 = 84
4) Thermostat Gaskets 2 @ 4.00 = 8
5) Coolant Filter 1 @ 20.00= 20
6) Labor to Flush/Change coolant = 192
7) Labor to change (2) Thermostats = 64
8) Hazardous Waste Fee = 20

As you can see, it's pretty easy to spend between $800 & $900 on just a coolant change......

Chuck